5 horses killed by lightning bolt
2012-12-10 09:07
Johannesburg - Five wild horses were killed by a single
lightning bolt during a thunderstorm in Kaapsehoop, Mpumalanga, over the
weekend, it was reported on Monday.
Reinette van Niekerk, a member of the Kaapsehoop horse fund,
told Beeld that a herd of nine wild horses sheltered under a tree a short
distance away from the guesthouse where she was staying on Saturday afternoon.
"It looked as though something was bothering them. They
seemed stressed and restless."
With a storm fast approaching, Van Niekerk and her husband
went to move their car into the garage.
"We were still in the car when we heard a deafeningly
loud crack. We went to investigate and saw five of the horses lying under the
tree."
The remaining four horses had run away, and were nowhere to
be found.
Van Niekerk's father, Willie Charlotte, said everyone in the
town knew the horses, as they moved freely in the nature reserve outside the
town.
"It's a sad story for the town, we were all very fond
of those animals," he said.
- SAPA
