why cows die
A rare, early October blizzard the dropped three to four feet of snow following two inches of rain has devastated South Dakota, after as many as 100,000 head of cattle may have died following the October 3rd storm. The losses have ranchers reeling both financially and emotionally, as they are tasked with gathering and burying tens of thousands of dead animals.
John M. Glionna with The Los Angeles Times reports on what made the story so deadly:
The blizzard hit just days after 80-degree weather, before ranchers had moved their herds from less-protected summer grazing lands. Most ranchers were set to bring calves to market — the satisfying payday after another year of grueling labor. Thousands of head had been recently relocated here from Texas and New Mexico to escape punishing droughts in those states.
"Some ranchers lost all their cattle. They've yet to find one alive," Christen said. "They're facing absolute destruction."
Kelo/Screen capture
Lamphere, a former ranch hand, said the cattle lacked their warmer winter coats to protect them from wet snow that stuck to bodies already chilled by freezing rain. He said cattle caught in the open field by bad weather instinctively head downwind, their heads low, as they seek shelter.
"They go into survival mode," he said. "Some animals walked 12 miles, breaking through fences, crossing highways, until they finally met their end."
Unable to see, many livestock fell into ditches, quickly covered by trailing animals in a tragic chain reaction. Some animals were so weary they stood frozen in groups, eventually suffocated by piling snow. Cattle collapsed along fences, perishing from hypothermia, others hit by passing cars.
South Dakota's Keloland.com spoke with a cattle rancher that also works as a veterinarian about what the animals faced with this storm:
In a lot of cases, entire herds huddled up in the open pastures and ravines to try to stay warm.
"The worst thing is we had two inches of
John M. Glionna with The Los Angeles Times reports on what made the story so deadly:
The blizzard hit just days after 80-degree weather, before ranchers had moved their herds from less-protected summer grazing lands. Most ranchers were set to bring calves to market — the satisfying payday after another year of grueling labor. Thousands of head had been recently relocated here from Texas and New Mexico to escape punishing droughts in those states.
"Some ranchers lost all their cattle. They've yet to find one alive," Christen said. "They're facing absolute destruction."
Kelo/Screen capture
Lamphere, a former ranch hand, said the cattle lacked their warmer winter coats to protect them from wet snow that stuck to bodies already chilled by freezing rain. He said cattle caught in the open field by bad weather instinctively head downwind, their heads low, as they seek shelter.
"They go into survival mode," he said. "Some animals walked 12 miles, breaking through fences, crossing highways, until they finally met their end."
Unable to see, many livestock fell into ditches, quickly covered by trailing animals in a tragic chain reaction. Some animals were so weary they stood frozen in groups, eventually suffocated by piling snow. Cattle collapsed along fences, perishing from hypothermia, others hit by passing cars.
South Dakota's Keloland.com spoke with a cattle rancher that also works as a veterinarian about what the animals faced with this storm:
In a lot of cases, entire herds huddled up in the open pastures and ravines to try to stay warm.
"The worst thing is we had two inches of