Anthrax outbreak kills hippos in DR Congo’s Virunga National Park

Vitshumbi, DR Congo – While the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to grapple with the deadliest Ebola outbreak in its history, another disease is taking a heavy toll on wildlife in Virunga National Park in the country’s east. Over the past four weeks, hippopotamus carcasses have been discovered in the Semuliki River, west of Africa’s oldest national park, raising concern among communities living along its banks. “It was in mid-September that we began to notice the mass deaths of hippos in the Semuliki River.