Apocalypse Cow: An abandoned cow in silhouette near the burning Kuwait oil fields immediately after the end of the Gulf War (March, 1991). Within a few weeks there were no animals alive in the desert. The burning Magwa oil fields near Ahmadi in Kuwait right after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. An abandoned cow is silhouetted by the burning oil well. All cattle died within a few weeks. More than 700 wells were set ablaze by retreating Iraqi troops creating the largest man-made environmental disaster in history.