Latest news with #DeMerode
Times
28-04-2025
- Times
Rangers defy new threat to protect Virunga National Park
Even from the air, Virunga National Park's scale and beauty are almost impossible to grasp. At the controls of a Bat Hawk bush aircraft, the park's director Emmanuel De Merode points north towards the Rwenzori massif where 17,000ft peaks defy the equatorial heat with their permanent snow cover and glaciers that feed the Nile. He banks low to follow the curving Semliki river. Below, hippos and crocodiles slip into the current that drains Lake Edward, which straddles the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. A pair of elephants emerging from acacia trees completes the Eden-like scene. 'They're feeling safe enough to return to Virunga,' De Merode, 54, says, his voice crackling through the headset over the roar of the single propeller. He
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
At Least 50 Hippos Dead After Mysterious Viral Outbreak at Iconic National Park
At least 50 hippopotamuses and other large wild animals have died as the result of a viral outbreak at a popular national park. Sick and dying hippos have reportedly been spotted floating on their sides or backs or hiding amongst foliage following an anthrax outbreak at the Virunga National Park in Africa's Democratic Republic of the Congo. Park director Emmanuel De Merode told Reuters earlier this week that at least 50 hippos and other large animals, such as water buffalo, have died after becoming infected with is an infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis bacteria which is commonly found in soil and can take hold through inhalation, contact with the skin, or intestinal absorption. Symptoms can begin as early as one day or as long as two months after the infection. Livestock and wild animals are the most frequently affected by anthrax, but the virus can be contracted by humans as well. "Although this disease mainly affects wildlife, it poses a potential risk of transmission to humans as well as domestic animals,' the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) told Agence France-Presse. De Merode specified that, while park workers are confident anthrax is the cause of the deaths, they don't yet know how the animals became infected. He went on to detail the difficulty he and other park employees were having in attempting to remove the dead bodies from the water to give them a proper burial."It's difficult due to lack of access and logistics,' he said. 'We have the means to limit the spread (of the disease) by…burying them with caustic soda.' Virunga National Park had already seen a precipitous drop in its hippo population before the outbreak of anthrax. 'Instability in the region' has seen the park's hippo population make a dramatic 95 percent plummet from a count of 29,000 in the 1970s. The park notes that hippos are often illegally poached "for their meat by armed groups and those in absolute poverty and for the ivory found in their teeth."
USA Today
09-04-2025
- Health
- USA Today
Dozens of hippos found dead at national park in Africa due to anthrax poisoning
Dozens of hippos found dead at national park in Africa due to anthrax poisoning Dozens of hippopotamuses died as a result of anthrax poisoning at the oldest national park in Africa. At least 50 of the vulnerable animals were found deceased at Virunga National Park, and their bodies were captured in the Ishasha River and its banks, Reuters reported. Director Emmanuel De Merode told the outlet on Tuesday that it's unclear what caused the mass poisoning. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anthrax is a disease linked to bacteria, which could be found in soil and commonly impacts wildlife. "Livestock and wild animals can become infected when they breathe in, eat, or drink spores in contaminated soil, plants, or water," the agency noted. Reuters reported that other animals, like Buffalo, have died in the biologically diverse park due to anthrax. USA TODAY reached out to Virunga National Park for comment. Photos shared by the park show the hippos lifeless in the water. Some readers may find the images below disturbing. Not just for thrills: The real-life magic Disney is working to save animals Significant decrease in the hippo population at the park According to the national park's website, the hippos' population has been massively declining due to poaching and habitat destruction. In the 1970s, there were nearly 30,000 of the animals in the park, but there has been a 95% decrease since then. Reuters reported that there are an estimated 1,200 that remain. De Merode said that crews are working to remove the animals from the water, but there has been some roadblocks. "It's difficult due to lack of access and logistics," De Merode said to Reuters. "We have the means to limit the spread (of the disease) them with caustic soda." Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
At least 50 hippos found poisoned at Africa's oldest national park
*Attached video: Unusual animals spotted in Ohio (WJW) – At least 50 hippos and other large animals were found dead due to anthrax poisoning in eastern Congo's Virunga National Park. According to Reuters, Virunga National Park Director Emmanuel De Merode said hippos and other animals such as buffalo have been spotted floating along a major river that feeds one of Africa's great lakes, Lake Edward. 'Dangerous' fugitive wanted by Geauga County officials De Merode told Reuters that tests confirmed the anthrax poisoning in the animals, but it is not yet clear what caused the poisoning. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anthrax is a disease that is usually caused by Bacillus anthracis bacteria. That bacterium is found naturally in soil around the world. According to the CDC, anthrax commonly affects livestock and wild animals. Animals can become infected when they breathe in, eat or drink spores in contaminated soil, plants or water. According to the Virunga National Park website, the park recorded the largest number of hippos in the world in the 1970s. There were 29,000 individual hippos recorded in and around Lake Edward. What is Issue 2 on Ohio's May 6 ballot? 'Since then, instability in the region has led to increased poaching and a 95% decline in the size of the population,' the website states. According to the website, a terrestrial census organized in August 2019 assessed the park's hippo population at about 1,500. According to Reuters, park guards noticed there was a problem when the dead animals started to appear about five days ago along the river, which forms Congo's border with Uganda and runs through an area under the control of rebel fighters. De Merode said that a team was on site and that they were trying to get the hippos out of the water and bury them, but that it was difficult because they did not have excavators. 2 plead in 'gun battle' outside Saint Malachi Parish Images shared by the park show the hippopotamuses motionless on their sides and backs in the Ishasha River, or caught among foliage on the river's muddy banks. According to Reuters, the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation has warned residents to avoid wildlife in the area and to boil water from local sources before drinking. The river runs north to Lake Edward, where locals spotted more corpses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reuters
08-04-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Anthrax kills 50 hippos in Congo's Virunga National Park
April 8 (Reuters) - At least 50 hippos and other large animals have been killed by anthrax poisoning in eastern Congo's Virunga National Park and have been spotted floating along a major river that feeds one of Africa's great lakes, the head of the park said on Tuesday. Tests confirmed anthrax poisoning, said Virunga Park director Emmanuel De Merode, adding that buffalo have been killed too. The exact cause of the poisoning was not yet clear. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report This Ad Images shared by the park show the hippopotamuses motionless on their sides and backs in the Ishasha River, or caught among foliage on the river's muddy banks. The deaths represent a major loss for the park, which has been working to increase the number of hippos in recent decades after poaching and war reduced the population from over 20,000 to a few hundred by 2006. The park now holds about 1,200 hippos. Park guards noticed there was a problem when the dead animals started to appear about five days ago along the river, which forms Congo's border with Uganda and runs through an area under the control of rebel fighters. Anthrax is a serious disease usually caused by bacteria found naturally in soil. Wild animals can become infected if they inhale anthrax spores in contaminated soil, plants, or water. In a statement on Tuesday, the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation warned residents to avoid wildlife in the area and to boil water from local sources before drinking. De Merode said that a team was on site and that they were trying to get the hippos out of the water and bury them, but that it was difficult because they did not have excavators. "It's difficult due to lack of access and logistics," De Merode told Reuters. "We have the means to limit the spread (of the disease) them with caustic soda." The river runs north to Lake Edward, where locals spotted more corpses. "There are more than 25 hippopotamus bodies floating in the waters of the lake, from Kagezi to Nyakakoma," Thomas Kambale, a civil society leader in Nyakakoma, told Reuters. Virunga is a vast expanse of deep forests, glaciers and volcanos, with more species of birds, reptiles, and mammals than any other protected area in the world. It has been caught in the middle of militia activity since civil wars fought around the turn of the century.
