At least fifty hippos have died from anthrax poisoning in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The deadly bacteria also killed several other large wild animals in the park.
Photos shared by the park show the bodies of dead hippos floating in the Ishasha River, which flows into Lake Edward.
Park director Emmanuel de Merode told the news agency Reuters that they are working hard to collect and bury the dead animals to stop the spread of the disease. But the work is difficult because the park has no digging machines, and some areas are hard to reach.
Anthrax is caused by bacteria that can infect animals when they breathe in its spores. It is still common in many parts of Africa due to weak animal health programs, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
1200 hippos left
The Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation has warned locals not to go near wild animals and to boil water from natural sources before drinking it.
The deaths are a serious setback for Virunga National Park. Since 2006, the park has been trying to grow the hippo population, which dropped from 20,000 to just a few hundred because of poaching and war. Today, about 1,200 hippos live in the park.
Virunga, founded in 1925, is the oldest national park in Africa. While it used to attract many tourists, it has become dangerous due to fighting nearby between rebel groups and the Congolese army.
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