Anthrax killed 28 hippos in Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, leaving floating carcasses that clogged the Semuliki River. The outbreak hit a protected wildlife population already under pressure from conflict, and park management warned nearby communities not to handle dead wildlife or eat infected bushmeat.
Anthrax is caused by Bacillus anthracis, a spore-forming bacterium that can linger in soil for decades. Park authorities said the risk is not limited to the dead animals themselves: spores can stay in the environment and reach herbivores grazing close to the ground during dry spells.
Virunga National Park and the 28 hippos
The death toll is smaller than the 65 hippos lost in the same park last year, but it points to a repeated pattern in a place where the hippo population is estimated at over 2,700 across 171 groups. Joël Mbusa Mapoli, an expert in ecology and veterinary medicine, said hippos drive nutrient flows across aquatic and terrestrial boundaries, a role that makes each loss matter beyond the individual animal.
The park said conservation teams have lost direct control over a substantial chunk of its territory over the last four years because of fighting between the Congolese army and M23 insurgent groups. That gap in control leaves fewer barriers between disease, carcasses, and the people living near the Semuliki River and Lake Edward.
Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Olivier Ndoole Bahemuke, an environmental activist, said: "prolonged insecurity completely shreds the institutional safety nets meant to protect both people and nature". His warning fits the practical problem on the ground: the park is urging communities to stay away from infected carcasses, but avoiding bushmeat is harder where insecurity and food pressure narrow daily choices.
The immediate priority is containment through warnings and monitoring, not a full recovery of territory or a quick end to exposure. For families living along the Semuliki River and Lake Edward, the safe step now is simple even if the situation is not: do not touch dead wildlife and do not eat meat from animals that may have been exposed.
