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‘Lightning strike’ kills four rare mountain gorillas

AnimalFebruary 8, 2020
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BUKIMA, VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK, DRC - AUGUST 6: The Bageni family in the gorilla sector of Virunga National Park, on August 6, 2013 in Bukima, DR Congo. The gorilla sector is currently occupied by the M23 rebel movement of the Congolese army. Despite this and a previous occupation by a previous rebel group, the gorillas continue to survive, largely due the efforts of the ICCN, the Congolese Conservation Authority. The previous Bukima camps were destroyed, first by the CNDP rebel movement in 2008 and 2009; now most recently by their followers, the M23 rebels. Despite these setbacks and the ongoing danger, the ICCN Congolese conservation rangers continue to protect the mountain gorillas of the region and to plan for tourism which will follow if peace is achieved. UK company Soco International PLC is planning to explore for oil in DRC's Virunga National Park, a protected World Heritage Site and most biodiverse park in Africa. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images for WWF-Canon)
There are an estimated 1,000 mountain gorillas remaining in the wild, the loss of three females has been described as ‘extremely sad’ (Picture: Getty)

A lightning bolt is believed to have struck the mountainside of Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park, killing four gorillas.

Three adult females and an infant male were found covered in ‘gross lesions’, which conservationists said indicated they had been electrocuted.

The gorillas were part of a band of 17, known locally as the Hirwa family. One of the females was pregnant.

The Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC) described the deaths as a ‘big loss for the species’, of which there are only about 1,000 in existence.

‘This was extremely sad,’ Andrew Seguya, executive secretary of the GVTC, told the BBC.


BUKIMA, VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK, DRC - AUGUST 6: The Bageni family in the gorilla sector of Virunga National Park, on August 6, 2013 in Bukima, DR Congo. The gorilla sector is currently occupied by the M23 rebel movement of the Congolese army. Despite this and a previous occupation by a previous rebel group, the gorillas continue to survive, largely due the efforts of the ICCN, the Congolese Conservation Authority. The previous Bukima camps were destroyed, first by the CNDP rebel movement in 2008 and 2009; now most recently by their followers, the M23 rebels. Despite these setbacks and the ongoing danger, the ICCN Congolese conservation rangers continue to protect the mountain gorillas of the region and to plan for tourism which will follow if peace is achieved. UK company Soco International PLC is planning to explore for oil in DRC's Virunga National Park, a protected World Heritage Site and most biodiverse park in Africa. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images for WWF-Canon)
The surviving members of the Hirwa family are said to be well (Picture: Getty Images)

‘The potential of the three females for their contribution to the population was immense.’

He added that the 13 surviving members of the Hirwa family have been found and are feeding well.

Mountain gorillas live only in protected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

The Hirwa crossed into Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park from Rwanda

Post-mortem examination results are expected within three weeks, the GVTC said, when authorities hope to confirm the cause of death.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





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