7,000 Penguins Die in Mystery Stampede

More than 7,000 King penguins, most of them chicks, were crushed to death on a remote Tasmanian island south of Australia in an apparent mass panic, wildlife officials said Monday.

The officials said they are still unsure about the cause of the incident, which occurred about two weeks ago on Macquarie Island, a 67-square-mile nature reserve. The dead birds were piled up four deep when found a few days ago by wildlife officials, who likened the stampede to a crowd at a sports stadium.