In the News...
September 2005

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This month's stories:

• Hippos face extinction in DRC
• South African Man Killed by Hippo

Hippos face extinction in DRC

According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), only 887 hippos remain in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - down from 1,307 in 2003 and around 29,000 just 30 years ago. 

The park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a 400 mile long boundary, continues to be occupied by soldiers and armed groups in the park, the WWF said. Following a five-year war in this central African country, the postwar transitional government has had little success in calming the east, where killings, looting and rapes continue almost unabated.

"Soldiers are left in the park without being fed nor paid and that's a recipe for disaster," said Marc Languy, who heads WWF's regional program. said.

The disappearance of hippos also triggers serious secondary effects for the population, the WWF said. Because hippo dung provides vital nutrients for the fish in Lake Edward, its absence has led to a rapid decline of the lake's fish stocks and has affected the thousands of fishermen living around Lake Edward, inside the national park.

"If the government does not take the hippo situation in Virunga seriously, this will not only lead to an environmental disaster, but also to an economic crisis for local communities," said Languy.

Created in 1930, Virunga Park stretches 8,000 sq km along DRC's border with Rwanda and Uganda. The aerial survey was carried out by the Congolese Institute for Conservation of Nature, the European Union and WWF.

Sources: Various including ABC News (online) and USA Today (online) 12 September 2005; enn.com and BBC (online) 13 September 2005
9/10/05

South African Man Killed by Hippo

Spokesman Superintendent Moatshe Ngoepe said that on 6 September 2005, 47-year old Thomas Ngobeni, from the Prieska village near Phalaborwa, was attacked when attacked by a hippo. Mr. Ngobeni was reported to be washing in the river when the hippo attacked him and grabbed him by the leg.

A group of passers-by saw the incident and clapped their hands and shouted to scare the animal away. 

The hippo jumped back into the water and the people managed to drag the severely injured Ngobeni onto the bank and to a nearby road. The rescuers called an ambulance but were too late to save the victim. He died at the scene.

Ngobeni was reportedly forced to wash in the river because the water supply to his village has been partly cut. 

Sources: SAPA via Independent online (of South Africa) and the Herald (of South Africa online) 7 September 2005
9/10/05