DR Congo hippos 'face extinction' (within weeks)

[Barrett808]

Poaching has brought the hippopotamus population in Democratic Republic of Congo to within a few months of extinction, wildlife experts say.

Researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) say the population has halved in the last two weeks.

They say the Mai Mai militia has set up camp in Virunga National Park and catches the animals for meat and ivory.

The hippo entered the Red List of Threatened Species this year, and is declining in many parts of Africa.

ZSL says the militia killed hundreds of hippos in a two week period, and numbers now are below 400.

Its scientists warn the entire population may disappear before the end of the year without urgent action.

(more)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6065796.stm

[leftchick]

1. omg

:cry:

The world has gone mad.

:cry:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. Welcome to Africa!

Home of genoide and poaching-to-extinction since... well, since we showed up.

[The Stranger]

2. Why can't anything be done?

With so many resources dedicated to killing people in Iraq, why can't one hundredth of a percent be dedicated to saving this species?

[GOPNotForMe]

3. extinction... what a concept...

so tragic.

[wicket]

4. Oh my god

:cry: :cry:

[judaspriestess]

5. for meat and Ivory

I swear I would slap someone silly if I ever see them wearing ivory. great lets make all the animals extinct while HUMANS reproduce like maggots. :cry:

so what is going to happen when all the hippos are gone? wtf are they going to eat next?

[Karenina]

6. Have you seen the new Nokia

"FANTASY" cell phones? SO STYLISH!!! They'll be out of style or non-functional in a year, millions thrown on the trash heap to poison the water table. And for their sake, my neighborhood is filled with those who had the means and education to get the hell outta Dodge. I now have easy access to BEAUTIFUL, COLOURFUL, 100% cotton fabrics, any product or service my hair ever could demand, but the sadness and distance of my new neighbors' faces... :cry::cry::cry:

[stepnw1f]

7. fuck! It Never Had to Be This Way.... (nt)

[anotherdrew]

8. africa must be disarmed, every militia, rebel, whatever - dead

the entire place is turning into (or already is) hell on earth. total blockade of arms shipments to africa, destruction of any weapon manufacturing facilities anywhere. then everyone who can work needs to be put to work building basic shit out of available sustainable local resources. Something MUST be done, the status quo is completely unacceptable.

[jrw14125]

11. good luck withthat

We can't stop people from killing their own people. there's no way you stop hippo extinction!

And as for stopping gun sales in Africa?! Who's going to do that? US? France? Germany? Russia? China? There's your top-5 gun-runners in the world!

R.I.P. hippos.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. They'll just start killing each other with knives...

...or their bare hands.

Yeah, this is pretty much what happens when you rape an entire continent for a period of several hundred years. The fact that it's surprising to anyone is what really gets me.

[Shakespeare]

16. Oh, they've already done that.

See: Rwanda. Machete, anyone? And your point is spot-on.

[Jcrowley]

20. You've

pretty much nailed it here.

Google Cellphones,-Coltan,-Congo to get a detailed description of more of the same.

[BootinUp]

9. doesn't sound good.

I got pissed and stopped reading it.

[BlueEyedSon]

12. Destiny: Humans, Rats & Roaches

Soylent Green, anyone?

[OKthatsIT]

14. They need to be moved...that region is too unstable and desperate

factor in the 'water crisis' about to unfold once the glaciers have melted in the mountains...water for humans or hippos?

Not a good prognosis there.

[MisterP]

21. outta the way, the Imperial Species needs to suck up all the resources!

have we read the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Requirement_of_1513">requiremento to them yet?

[Barrett808]

15. New Scientist: Imagine Earth Without People

New Scientist: Imagine Earth Without People
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x241016

[The Stranger]

17. K&R

[shadowknows69]

18. Species go extinct all the time

I'm sure humans didn't have anything to do with it. :eyes:

[Habibi]

19. Some hope?

Hippos in captivity--to be cloned or cared for in special repopulation/breeding programs when the habitat is more stable or a new one can be found? Am I a dreamer?

[Nevernose]

24. We reintroduced wolves, right?

Of course, we forgot to remove the ignorant rednecks, first (no offense against rednecks, just ingnorance). Maybe we should wait until the rebels are gone? DO something REAL to ensure political stability in Africa?

No, you're not a dreamer. You're an optimist. Me? I'm a cynical optimist. It CAN be done, but it probably won't be.

[semillama]

33. Note to folks here: Hippos not going extinct just yet

The article is about the likely extirpation of the DRC population, not the species as a whole, which is nevertheless a threatened species.

Still, this should be a wake-up call for conservation groups and governments world wide.


Would the UN send troops someday to keep a species from extinction?

[BreweryYardRat]

22. Ignorant jackasses.

Incapable of seeing beyond the money they need to fund their little skirmishes.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. I feel sick...

:cry:

[Matilda]

25. Things just get more depressing by the day.

Where are we heading?

[nam78_two]

26. This is so sad/nt

[Jcrowley]

27. Kick

In Bukavu, a 29-year-old human rights campaigner called Bertrand Bisimwa summarised his country’s situation for me with cruel concision. “Since the nineteenth century, when the world looks at Congo it sees a pile of riches with some black people inconveniently sitting on top of them. They eradicate the Congolese people so they can possess the mines and resources. They destroy us because we are an inconvenience.” As he speaks, I picture the raped women with bullets burying through their intestines and try to weigh them against the piles of blood-soaked electronic goods sitting beneath my Christmas tree with their little chunks of Congolese metal whirring inside. Bertrand smiles and says, “Tell me – who are the savages? Us, or you?”

[Coventina]

28. Fucking people, too stupid to realize that once they are gone

they are GONE FOREVER!

I hate my species. We are the worst thing that has ever happened to this planet.

[0007]

30. We're right around the corner from our BIG surprise

Now I lay me down to sleep....

[bikebloke]

29. BBC report

Last night, I was listening to this on the BBC World Service. They have a preserve with about 200 hippos seperate from those the poachers are decimating. The preserve is guarded by park rangers who are unarmed. So you can imagine what will happen when the poachers run out of hippos, then migrate to the preserve.

The rebel groups are selling the ivory for weapons. The meat is eaten or sold to nearby villages.

[Javaman]

31. A truly amazing animal... >pics

[The Stranger]

32. Kicking it again.

[leftyladyfrommo]

34. It really doesn't look good for any wild animals.

We are decimating them all. What is the difference between rebels in the Congo and animals dying all over the plant from pollution and habitat
destruction?

If we don't turn this stuff around - like tomorrow- we are not going to have a planet to live on.

I don't know why that is such a hard concept for people to grasp.