Deaths of about 40 horses discovered near Santa Teresa blamed on extreme weather conditions

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Forty wild horses have been found dead at a dry waterhole in central Australia in what is believed to be a mass death caused by extreme weather.

Shocking pictures have been published of the animals, which were discovered by rangers near the remote community of Santa Teresa last week.

About 40 dead feral horses were found at the Apwerte Uyerreme waterhole and another 50 were found in poor health and had to be culled by the Central Land Council.

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The region has had record run of 12 days exceeding 42C.

The Ltyentye Arpurte ranger team discovered the animals last Thursday when they drove past the waterhole en route to another job and noticed the absence of roaming brumbies.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Santa Theresa, near Alice Springs, has had a run of days hotter than 42C. Photograph: Ralph Turner

Arrernte artist and activity engagement officer Ralph Turner, who also came across the scene and took the photographs, told the ABC he found the animals after travelling to the location to assess how the heatwave was affecting water levels.

“We we found all these poor horses, all perished,” Turner said. “We’ve been having hot weather, day after day.

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“I just couldn’t believe something like that happened out here, first time it happened like that.”

The community is meeting to determine what to do with the bodies of the horses.

Like much of Australia, the red centre has been in the grip of a long-running heatwave.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast Alice Springs would reach 42C on Wednesday and 43C on Thursday.