{ 13 septembre 2005 }
oh no, hippos
according to the world wildlife fund, there are only 887 hippos left in the congo, which once had the world’s largest population of the animals. in fact, in 1974 there were 29,000 hippos in the region. but now they are facing extinction because people are killing them for their meat, hides and ivory teeth. a dwindling hippo population is bad of course for the hippos, but also for the fish in lake edward because they eat hippo poo. and since the hippo population has declined, the number of fish in the lake has decreased as well. the wwf has implored the congo government to take this situation seriously because “this will not only lead to an environmental disaster, but also to an economic crisis for local communities.” i hope for the sake of the local communities—but mostly for the sake of the hippos—that the government does take action in this matter.
posted at 00.12