By Abbas Nazil
Nearly 100 buffaloes lost their lives in Namibia’s eastern region after a stampede caused by lions ended in tragedy along the Chobe River, officials confirmed this week.
The event occurred at dawn on Tuesday when the herd, fleeing from lions that had crossed in from Botswana, rushed toward the river and toppled over a steep cliff.
According to tourism ministry spokesperson Ndeshipanda Hamunyela, the animals were unable to escape and many either plunged into the water or were crushed as they stumbled over one another.
Video clips released by the state-run Namibia Broadcasting Corporation later showed groups of men cutting up the carcasses and loading the remains into pickup trucks.
Hamunyela explained that security agencies and the ministry had moved to the scene both to control the crowd and to oversee the handling of the meat.
She added that the carcasses would be distributed to communities in the vicinity in coordination with regional stakeholders to ensure proper use and fairness.
The Zambezi conservation area, where the stampede happened, is a unique landscape of rivers, forests, and marshes that supports a wide range of wildlife.
Namibia relies heavily on its natural heritage, with tourism contributing about seven percent of national income, and such incidents have raised concerns over both conservation and economic impacts.
Mass drownings of buffaloes are not new to the region.
In October 2023, more than 100 buffaloes were killed in a similar chase by lions, while in 2018 northern Botswana recorded the loss of over 400 buffaloes in one episode.
Conservation experts caution that apart from immediate losses, the deaths of so many animals can contaminate rivers and attract predators closer to villages, creating risks for both ecosystems and human safety.
