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Four critically endangered mountain gorillas, including an infant, have been killed by an apparent lightning strike 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".It went on: "The mountain gorillas are suspected to have been killed by a lightning strike on 3 February 2020.
The deceased gorillas include three adult females and a male infant."The "tentative" cause of death based on the "gross lesions" on the animals' bodies, "field assessment observation and history is likely to be electrocution by lightning".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 know 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.
