Four critically endangered mountain gorillas, including a baby gorilla, have been killed by an apparent lightning strike in their living place in Uganda, conservation officials have said. The Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC) said it was "deeply saddened by the unfortunate deaths of four mountain gorillas from the Hirwa family in Mgahinga National Park in Uganda".
"The mountain gorillas are suspected to have been killed by a lightning strike on 3 February 2020. The gorillas that lost their lives include three adult females and a male infant," the researchers said. The possible cause of death based on the "gross lesions" on the animals' bodies, "field assessment observation and history... is likely to be hurt and killed by the lightning that night". A team led by GVTC staff, along with members of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and Gorilla Doctors collected samples for detailed laboratory analysis for a full post-mortem which will be completed in two to three weeks.
The health of the 17-member family, which crossed into the park from Rwanda in August, will be closely monitored. On Friday, the GVTC tweeted that two new babies had been seen in the park. It is not known if one of them was the youngster killed.
There are only about 1,000 mountain gorillas left on earth, living at between 8,000 and 13,000ft (2,438-3,962m) on the green, volcanic slopes of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to National Geographic. Though their numbers have increased, they are on the critically endangered list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which sets the conservation status of species.
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