Untold number of wild and pet animals affected as Ukraine blames Russia for blowing up Kakhovka Dam

Besides leaving thousands of people's homes submerged, news reports say that Monday's explosion at the Ukraine's Kakhovka hydroelectric dam over Dnipro River has affected an untold number of wild and domestic animals.

Ukraine has blamed Russia for blowing up the massive dam, but Moscow denies any role in the disaster, which happened in the Russian-occupied Kherson area in southern Ukraine.

Many animals drowned while others made their way to high ground. An image of a young stag shivering alongside a village road after people pulled it from the rising water was widely published by the Ukrainian media.

A deer, shocked and terrified, rescued from raging flood waters on the Dnipro River near Antonivka, Kherson Oblast. The destruction of the #Kakhovka #dam upstream will not only affect humans, but cause huge damage to the environment and wildlife. pic.twitter.com/oLMZmSuhRj

— Euan MacDonald (@Euan_MacDonald) June 6, 2023

In the industrial and low-lying Neftegavan district, people saw a beaver making its way down the sidewalk after rising waters forced it out of its home somewhere in the hundreds of square kilometers of marsh that make up the Dnipro River delta near the city of Kherson.

https://twitter.com/peterodwyerukr/status/1666161786075381760

Privately-run petting zoo Kazkova Dibrova in the town of Nova Kakhovka, which is adjacent to the demolished dam, was possibly the worst-hit animal sanctuary. The zoo housed some 60 animals, including monkeys, porcupines, nutria, tortoises, hamsters, goats and racoons. According to the local Radio Roks station, all animals in the zoo have drowned.

Ukrainians save animals.

With each hour the water becomes more and more.#Kakhovka #KakhovkaDam #KakhovkaHydroelectricPowerPlant pic.twitter.com/rjKPgk7ZLo

— UkrARMY cats & dogs (@UAarmy_animals) June 6, 2023

On the other hand, Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that around 16,000 people were in the "critical zone" on the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the river.