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Two tons of illegal ivory confiscated en route from Uganda
Last week, an unaccompanied cargo of two tons of ivory and five rhino horns left Uganda’s Entebbe airport and... Full Story |
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Hot off the press is our report on the Hippo Survey of Queen Elizabeth, all the more poignant this year for its ability to help monitor the current Anthrax outbreak that has so far resulted in the... Full Story |
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| 27 hippos die of suspected anthrax |
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At least 27 hippos have died of suspected anthrax in Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) boss revealed yesterday. "They died on Friday and we buried 27 carcasses on Saturday and Sunday but we are still waiting for experts to confirm whether the animals died of anthrax," Moses Mapesa said. The deaths occurred five kilometers east of the Katunguru bridge towards Lake George. Tom Okello, the Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area manager, said UWA had set up a surveillance team to monitor the waters. The deaths come six years after the park lost about 300 hippos, several vultures, hyenas and other grass eating animals in the park to anthrax. Tom Okello said "the situation is under control. After the 2004 anthrax attack we are now more prepared to handle it." He described the incident as "part and parcel of nature, a natural phenomenon." Mapesa explained that whenever an animal grazes at a spot harbouring anthrax spores, the spores come with the grass. "The bacteria is always dormant in the soil until there is something to trigger it," he said. Livestock keepers have been advised to avoid grazing their animals in the park. ( Extract from article by John B Thawite, 14th June 2010, The New Vision, Uganda) Comment - UCF works closely with Uganda Wildlife Authority in QENP. UCF has recently assisted and financed, with the support of Seaworld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, a hippo survey across the Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area which showed that hippo numbers were on the increase. With your help the work of UCF in Uganda can make a difference. PLEASE DONATE ONLINE NOW. |