A tragedy in Virunga National Park has hit the news cycle, but there aren’t many answers at this time. The park in Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) says officials found 50 dead hippos floating in a lake, and they state anthrax was the hippos’ cause of death.
The dead hippos were found in Lake Edward, a lake straddling the border between the DRC and Uganda. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax, and this bacteria lives naturally in soils around the world. Livestock and wild animals can become infected and then pass the disease to humans if they come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products.
“Livestock and wild animals can become infected when they breathe in, eat, or drink spores in contaminated soil, plants, or water,” the CDC says. “People can breathe in anthrax spores, eat food or drink water contaminated with spores, or get spores in a cut or scrape in the skin.”
Although Virunga National Park hasn’t released an official statement about this devastating loss, the park gave a brief statement to AFP. “Anthrax poisoning has killed about 50 hippos in Virunga, Africa’s oldest national park located in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled east, the head of the park told AFP on Tuesday,” wrote AFP News Agency on X.
Anthrax poisoning has killed about 50 hippos in Virunga, Africa’s oldest national park located in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled east, the head of the park told AFP on Tuesday ➡️ https://t.co/QZlhVdhfTo pic.twitter.com/YjQGezJz1T
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 8, 2025