FROM THE “FARTING COWS AND PLANES” FILES: “Ecologists understand the implications. Then environmental organizations continue campaigning to remove cattle from rangelands because they’re ‘destroying’ the environment. The Serengeti proved that 1.5 million large grazers make the land healthier, not worse. But admitting this would require acknowledging that maybe cattle aren’t the problem.”

1890s: Rinderpest virus arrives in East Africa via imported cattle. It spreads through wild ruminant populations catastrophically.

The Serengeti's wildebeest population collapses from over 1 million to around 200,000. Buffalo, other ungulates also devastated.

1960s: Veterinary… pic.twitter.com/zYQ6PlWRb8

— Sama Hoole (@SamaHoole) December 22, 2025