Fifty hippos in Congo’s Virunga National Park are killed by anthrax

The administrator of the Virunga National Park in eastern Congo said Tuesday that at least 50 hippos and other huge animals have been killed by anthrax poisoning and have been seen floating along a key river that feeds one of Africa’s largest lakes.

Emmanuel De Merode, the director of Virunga Park, stated that tests verified anthrax poisoning and that buffalo had also been killed. It was still unclear what specifically caused the poisoning.

The hippopotamuses are either ensnared in the greenery on the muddy banks of the Ishasha River or immobile on their sides and backs, according to photos released by the park.

The park has been attempting to increase the number of hippos in recent decades after poaching and violence decreased the population from over 20,000 to a few hundred by 2006. The fatalities mark a significant loss for the park. There are currently 1,200 hippos in the park.

When the dead animals began to show up along the river, which forms Congo’s boundary with Uganda and passes through a territory controlled by rebel rebels, around five days ago, park guards realized something was off.

The dangerous disease anthrax is typically brought on by bacteria that are naturally present in soil. Inhaling anthrax spores from polluted soil, plants, or water can infect wild animals.

The Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation issued a statement on Tuesday cautioning locals to boil water from local sources before consuming and to stay away from wildlife in the region.

According to De Merode, a team was on the scene and was attempting to remove the hippos from the water and bury them, but it was challenging because they lacked excavators.

“It’s challenging because of the logistics and lack of access,” De Merode told Reuters. “We have the means to limit the spread (of the disease) by…burying them with caustic soda.”

Locals saw more corpses at Lake Edward, where the river flows north.

According to Nyakakoma civil society activist Thomas Kambale, “there are more than 25 hippopotamus bodies floating in the waters of the lake, from Kagezi to Nyakakoma,” he told Reuters.

With more bird, reptilian, and mammal species than any other protected area in the world, the Virunga is a large region of thick woods, glaciers, and volcanoes.

Since civil wars occurred around the turn of the century, it has been caught up in militia activities.