© HurrietdailynewsThis is one of the most brutal mass suicidal die-offs.
One sheep reportedly jumped off a 20-meter high cliff and was followed by the others in the herd, which was grazing in the Topyıldız village of Van's Gürpınar district.
The sheep that triggered the bizarre incident was reportedly trying to jump from one cliff to another in the early hours of June 12 in the Arebi-Krom plateau near the Yaprakli hamlet.
© Hurrietdailynews
After the shepherd informed the sheep owners of the incident, villagers arrived at the scene to find the dead bodies of 500 animals.
© Hurrietdailynews
The villagers sought help from the Gürpinar prefecture and the local directorate of agriculture and livestock, trying to identify their own sheep among the pile of dead animals.
© Hurrietdailynews
We are completely shocked. We have lost 500 cattle here. We want support from the officials," villager Ahmet Karataş said.
© Hurrietdailynews
This video shows a similar sheep mass suicide in 2010 in Turkey again:
Well I doubt they have received any kinds of compensations. Insurances probably do not cover animal mass suicides.
Comment: This is also eerily similar to an incident in France a few years ago where
200 sheep died from jumping off a cliff. While a bear was blamed for chasing the sheep, the incident could have been caused by something altogether different. As the SOTT editor commented:
Although a bear attack can't be ruled out, we can suspect that the incident was created by a "weather event" or something that created a high impact explosion, like a sonic boom or lightning strike. Sheep have acute hearing and are prone to "instantly scatter" away from heavy percussion and the source of the vibration. Many of the sheep were found to have dispersed over the mountains. It's dubious that a bear attack would create that type of a reaction.
Comment: This is also eerily similar to an incident in France a few years ago where 200 sheep died from jumping off a cliff. While a bear was blamed for chasing the sheep, the incident could have been caused by something altogether different. As the SOTT editor commented: