Here’s one for the books: a 2-year-old boy living in Uganda was swallowed head-first by a hippo before spitting him back out and making a hasty retreat. Sound made up? Definitely, but according to news reports, it really did happen. The child is a resident of Katwe Kabatoro Town Council in the western Kasese District […]
Tag: congo

Congo’s bongos are in danger, and curbs on trophy hunting could save them
When the first bongo was reported dead by the Sangha River in the Republic of Congo in 1997, it was believed to have drowned. Several more turned up in the following weeks. Some were spotted tottering along open roads, unusual for a mostly nocturnal animal. Others appeared uncharacteristically fearless. All were emaciated. At least 17 […]

Petition: Increase Protections for Gorillas and Rangers at Virunga National Park!
Virunga National Park is Africa’s oldest and most biologically diverse protected area. Virunga’s Senkwekwe Center is home to critically endangered mountain gorillas. The orphaned gorillas have been in the care of the park rangers at Virunga since they were babies. They are often hunted and poached, and when left as orphans, they are cared for […]

Three more rangers killed in a deadly month around the world for wildlife defenders
Three rangers have been killed in separate countries in a deadly month for wildlife defenders. A ranger at Serra da Capivara national park, in Brazil’s north-eastern Piaui region, was killed by hunters on 18 August. Edilson Aparecido dos Santos and two other colleagues were patrolling the park when they were ambushed by a group of […]

Expedition in the Congo rediscovers lost primate
The last time there was a sighting of Bouvier’s red colobus disco was all the rage, the Internet was non-existent, and Madonna still referred solely to the mother of God. But then the African monkey vanished and conservationists feared it had gone extinct—a victim of the bushmeat trade. For years, research groups called for an […]

Elephants massacred for ivory in Central African Republic
Dozens of elephants have been slaughtered in the Dzanga Bai World Heritage Site in the Central African Republic just days after conservationists warned about an impending threat from the movement of 17 heavily armed poachers. The massacre occurred at a site renowned as “village of elephants”, where tourists and scientists have for decades observed wild […]

17 poachers allegedly enter elephant stronghold in Congo, conservationists fear massacre
Local researchers and wildlife guards say 17 armed elephant poachers have gained access to Dzanga Bai, a famous large clearing and waterfole where up to 200 forest elephants visit daily in the Central African Republic (CAR)’s Dzanga-Ndoki National Park. WWF, which works in the region but has recently evacuated due to rising violence, is calling […]

Beautiful striped bat is the “find of a lifetime” (photos)
Scientists have uncovered a rare, brilliantly-striped bat in the South Sudan that has yielded new secrets after close study. Working in Bangangai Game Reserve during July of last year, biologist DeeAnn Redeer and conservationist Adrian Garsdie with Fauna & Flora International (FFI) came across an unmissable bat, which has been dubbed by various media outlets […]