Rare Animals Flee Fires in Kenya Park

February 25, 2008—Rhinoceroses flee fires in Kenya's Lake Nakuru National Park on February 23, 2008.

After beginning on February 21, the blazes have so far destroyed about a third of the park's 72 square miles (188 square kilometers), which are home to leopards, flamingos, giraffes, zebras, both black and white rhinos, and hundreds of other species.

"The buffalo really panicked, going in this direction and that," observer Jayne Nguatah told the Times of London. "There were rhino and impala as well, all trying to get out of the way."

Nakuru's black rhinos may have borne the brunt of the disaster. Listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union, the species numbers only about 60 in the park, and its chief foraging areas—the park's forests—were among the hardest hit areas of the park.

No human fatalities have been reported as a result of the fires.

Link to rest of story