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. We have started to fear this situation, which is unfolding whilst we are in the midst of the Ebola outbreak,” Michael Kambale, a resident of the Vitshumbi enclave, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, told Al Jazeera.
Following laboratory tests, Virunga National Park confirmed that anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, was responsible for the wildlife deaths. According to park officials, 28 hippos died over approximately one month. Joel Mbusa Mapoli, an expert in ecology and veterinary medicine, said the deaths represented a significant loss for Virunga National Park and called for urgent action to contain the outbreak.
He explained that hippos act as ecosystem engineers, altering nutrient flows and the ecological conditions of their habitats. Virunga National Park said it was focusing on surveillance, the safe management of carcasses and reducing risks to wildlife and local communities. Founded in 1925, Virunga is Africa’s oldest national park and is renowned for its biodiversity.
Olivier Ndoole Bahemuke, a Congolese environmental activist and head of Alerte Congolaise pour l’environnement et les droits de l’homme, a nonprofit organisation operating in the DRC, said the armed conflict that has persisted in the country for nearly three decades had fuelled poaching and deforestation. The park says it has lost control of a significant part of its territory over the past four years because of the ongoing conflict between the Congolese army and M23 fighters. The M23 armed group says it is helping protect the area from poachers and other potential human threats.
Park officials said anthrax outbreaks had previously been observed among hippos and other wild animals in the ecosystem during periods of drought. According to Mapoli, several factors contribute to recurring anthrax outbreaks in Virunga National Park. These include the persistence of the bacterium in the environment, deteriorating ecological and climatic conditions, the concentration of animals around aquatic habitats and difficulties in monitoring wildlife health.
The park’s February 2026 census estimated the hippo population at more than 2,700, distributed across 171 groups. In 2025, an anthrax outbreak killed 65 hippos in Virunga National Park, according to the park’s February 2026 population update. Park staff mobilised excavators to retrieve the carcasses from the water.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
