3 May 2018
111 horses have died on tribal land in northern Arizona, apparently after getting trapped in a muddy stock pond over the past week
Photos show clusters of horses with dried mud on their bodies, some overlapping each other
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye issued a drought declaration about two months ago and warned cattle owners to prepare for the conditions
The Navajo Nation reservation spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah
Dozens of horses have died on tribal land in northern Arizona, apparently after getting trapped in a muddy stock pond as a drought grips the region.
Navajo Nation spokesman Mihio Manus said on Wednesday that 111 horses died in the pond over the past week.
Officials are trying to determine how best to deal with the carcasses, which could attract wildlife such as scavenging birds and bring disease to the area.
The stock pond near Cameron typically is a good spot for thirsty animals because it is one of the last in the region to dry up. But Manus says drought conditions left it without much water from runoff this year.
‘It’s been happening for a few years,’ said Cameron Chapter President Milton Tso.
‘Usually one or two or three horses would get stuck and die down there, but this year we didn’t get any snow. We hardly get rain down here.’
Photos show clusters of horses with dried mud on their bodies, some overlapping each other.
Northern Arizona is going through the worst stages of drought, with the area that supplies water to Cameron under a red swatch of exceptional drought. A community upstream on the Little Colorado River is the driest on record since October 1, down three inches from normal, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Suk.
The stock pond near Cameron typically is a good spot for thirsty animals because it is one of the last in the region to dry up but drought conditions left it without much water this year
Suk said that although rain and snow fell in parts of Northern Arizona on Wednesday, it was too late for the animals. Temperatures are expected to start warming up on Friday again.
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye issued a drought declaration about two months ago as concern grew over wells, windmills and earthen dams across the reservation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
The tribe has struggled in the past years with how to deal with wild horses.
Tso said he’s encouraged tribe members to downsize their livestock and that he believed more horses have died from thirst.
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