A couple exercising their two miniature
horses have been attacked by a swarm of around 30,000 bees, stinging the
animals so many times that they died.
Kristen Beauregard, 44, was stung about 200
times and her boyfriend around 50 times as the insects chased and followed them
in Pantego, north Texas. She said they were sweeping up “piles and piles” of
bees and “it was like a bad movie.”
Ms Beauregard said everything was normal as
she exercised Trump, a Shetland pony, until he started jumping and kicking.
Suddenly, a dark cloud of bees appeared and began stinging both of them. When
their attempts to swipe the bees away failed, she jumped into the pool and the
pony followed.
She said: “It got all dark, like it was
night time, there were so many bees. We were trying to stand up in the water
but every time we stuck our heads out for air, they would cover us and start
stinging us. We were trying to breathe and they were stinging us in the face
and in the nose.”
She escaped into her rental home, with bees
flying behind her and crashing into windows, reported the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram. Horrified, she watched Trump frantically run all over the yard,
rubbing against bushes to wipe off the bees and stumbling.
Her boyfriend, whom she declined to
identify, called 911 as the bees overwhelmed Trump and a second horse, Chip.
She said firefighters sprayed a foam substance to clear the bees, and dragged
the horses to a pasture to be treated by police and paramedics.
Show horse Chip, six, died before a vet
arrived, while Trump spent a night at her clinic but also died. The bees have
also killed five hens and a beekeeper has disposed of a nearby hive.
The insects are being tested to see whether
they are Africanised or “killer” bees, which are a hybrid of the Western and
African honeybees.
Culled: Agency
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