Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Congolese Hippos in Trouble

An article in the New York Times this weekend reported this of hippos in Congo, in the national park where the mountain gorillas also live:

“Between July and October, 508 hippopotamuses and 48 elephants were killed,” said Deo Mbula, head warden in the east of the Virunga National Park, where the animals are most prevalent. “There are 308 hippos left. At this rate there will be none left in a month.”

That's terrible... and yet, the people killing the animals for profit subsist on less than ten dollars a month.

It's a bit of a tough situation for the poor hippo, who is just minding his own business and knows nothing of poverty or dollars.

What's a hippo to do?

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