Kavimba: Ninety buffaloes died in a stampede near Kavimba village in the Zambezi Region early on Tuesday. Colbert Lubasi, chairperson of the Kabulabula Conservancy, told Nampa the incident occurred around 05h00 when a herd of buffaloes which was being chased by lions, plunged from a cliff into the Chobe River.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the buffaloes were reportedly fleeing from an island in Botswana when they fell and drowned on the Namibian side of the river. 'By 06h00 there were still lions on the side of Botswana from the Chobe National Park. Luckily when they spotted the hordes of people they started retreating,' Lubasi said.

A crowd of over 150 people quickly gathered and, by noon, had skinned the carcasses and taken the meat to their homes for consumption. Lubasi noted that some people were still arriving after 12h00 hoping to get some meat, but the carcasses had all been collected.

He also confirmed that this is the third such incident in the past five years, with similar buffalo stampedes and drownings occurring in 2019 and 2023. The Kabulabula Conservancy is located in the eastern flood-prone areas of the Zambezi Region, approximately 90 kilometres from the regional capital, Katima Mulilo.