INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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.
