Democratic Republic Congo's Hippos Months From Extinction - BBC

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Poaching has brought the hippopotamus population in Democratic Republic of Congo to within a few months of extinction, wildlife experts say. Researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) say the population has halved in the last two weeks.

They say the Mai Mai militia has set up camp in Virunga National Park and catches the animals for meat and ivory.

The hippo entered the Red List of Threatened Species this year, and is declining in many parts of Africa. ZSL says the militia killed hundreds of hippos in a two week period, and numbers now are below 400. Its scientists warn the entire population may disappear before the end of the year without urgent action.

Twenty years ago there were about 22,000 hippos in Virunga Park, but the country's civil war brought numbers crashing down. Its location on the border with Uganda and Rwanda has made it prone to incursions. Rwandan rebels fled to the area after the 1994 genocide.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6065796.stm