Its becoming clear that the largest population of hippos in the world has diminished considerably, and is not threatened with extinction.
With the extinction of the hippos, the local economy is also in danger, as the population depends largely on fish from Lake Edward. It is the nutrition in the excrements of hippos which cause the lake to be full of fish. A decrease in hippos will thus cause the number of fish to drop as well.
Poachers are the most important cause of the decrease in hippos, especially soldiers and militias. They roam the protected park without food or pay. WNF calls the situation a recipe for disaster. Hippos are killed for their tusks that will raise a lot of money in the illegal ivory trade.
Hippopotamus threatened with extinction
16september2005
Photos from the National Park Virunga in Congo show that there are only around 887 hippopotamuses in the park. According to the World Nature Fund (WNF), there were over 1300 of them only two years ago, while thirty years ago there were over 29,000 animals.
