UGANDA’S CONSERVATION FRATERNITY MOURNS THE LOSS OF FOUR MOUNTAIN GORILLAS
(Posted 09th February 2020)
Only now are news emerging that four mountain gorillas were killed in a lightning strike several days ago inside Mt. Mgahinga National Park.
The four, three females and one male adolescent, belong to the Hirwa family, a habituated group of mountain gorillas regularly visited by tourists.
The Hirwa group previously comprised 17 members and the loss of four is seen as a major challenge to the group’s survival.
The statement above, from the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration, which includes Uganda, Congo DR and also Rwanda, explains the circumstances of the tragic loss of four of the prized animals.
Uganda is a country which experiences regular and often very heavy thunderstorms and lightning strikes on buildings are commonplace, as are sadly also lightning strike victims among the in particular rural population.
