Quick answer: Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its mountain gorillas. It is in the news because an anthrax outbreak has killed 28 hippos along the Semuliki River in about a month, as reported on 2 November 2026, prompting the park to step up surveillance and warn nearby communities.
Why Virunga National Park is in the news
Residents near Vitshumbi, about 100 km north of Goma in North Kivu, began noticing hippo carcasses in the Semuliki River in mid-September 2026. Laboratory tests carried out by the park confirmed that anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, was behind the deaths. According to park officials quoted by Al Jazeera, 28 hippos died over roughly one month; some other reports give a slightly higher figure.
The park said its teams are tracking new deaths and arranging safe handling and disposal of carcasses. People living nearby have been told not to touch, skin or eat animals found dead, and to report carcasses to the authorities, since the disease can pass to humans through contact with sick or dead animals or by eating their meat. The DRC is also battling what Al Jazeera calls its deadliest Ebola outbreak.
Key facts about Virunga National Park
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo (eastern part, bordering Uganda and Rwanda) |
| Status | National park since 1925, Africa’s oldest; UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979 |
| Area | 790,000 hectares |
| Geological setting | Centre of the Albertine Rift, part of the Great Rift Valley |
| Altitude range | About 680 m to 5,109 m (Pic Marguerite on the Rwenzori massif) |
| Volcanoes | Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira, the two most active volcanoes in Africa |
| Great apes | Mountain gorilla, eastern lowland gorilla and eastern chimpanzee; about one-third of the world’s mountain gorillas |
| Species count | 218 mammals, 706 birds, 109 reptiles, 78 amphibians, 22 primates |
| Manager | Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) |
- Heritage in Danger: The World Heritage Committee placed Virunga on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1994, after the arrival of nearly one million refugees fleeing the war in Rwanda led to deforestation and poaching.
- Hippo stronghold: UNESCO notes hippos along Lake Edward and the Rwindi, Rutshuru and Semliki rivers. The park’s February 2026 census estimated more than 2,700 hippos in 171 groups.
- Repeat outbreaks: In 2025, an anthrax outbreak killed 65 hippos in the park, according to its February 2026 population update.
- Shared borders: It adjoins Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth and Rwenzori Mountains national parks; Pic Marguerite is Africa’s third-highest summit.
Anthrax: the disease behind the deaths
According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), anthrax is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Its spores are very hardy and can survive in soil for decades. The disease strikes mainly domestic and wild herbivores and is a zoonosis, meaning it can pass from animals to humans.
- Three forms in humans: cutaneous (skin), gastrointestinal and inhalational. The skin form is the most common.
- Name: From the Greek word for coal, after the dark-centred skin ulcers.
- Control: Preventable by vaccines and treatable with antibiotics; safe carcass disposal is vital.
- Drought link: Park officials say outbreaks have earlier been seen during dry spells, when grass is scarce and herbivores graze close to the ground near the few remaining water points, raising their contact with contaminated soil.
Pressures on Virunga
Over 800 rangers guard the park; about four million people live within a day’s walk of it. It says it has lost control of much of its territory in four years of fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 group. Activists link nearly three decades of conflict to poaching and forest loss.
Exam angle: how NDA, CDS and CAPF can ask this
- Map-based questions on the East African Rift and the Great Lakes region (Lake Edward, Lake Kivu, Albertine Rift) are common in NDA and CDS geography.
- Matching national parks to countries is a regular format: Virunga (DRC) against Queen Elizabeth and Rwenzori Mountains (both Uganda).
- Zoonotic diseases and their causative agents appear in general science sections.
Practice MCQs
Q1. Virunga National Park is located in:
(a) Uganda (b) Rwanda (c) Democratic Republic of the Congo (d) Kenya
Answer: (c) — it lies in eastern DRC, bordering Uganda and Rwanda.
Q2. Anthrax is caused by a:
(a) virus (b) bacterium (c) fungus (d) protozoan
Answer: (b) — the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis.
Q3. Which two active volcanoes lie in Virunga National Park?
(a) Kilimanjaro and Kenya (b) Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira (c) Etna and Stromboli (d) Erebus and Erta Ale
Answer: (b) — UNESCO calls them the two most active volcanoes in Africa.
Q4. Virunga was placed on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger in:
(a) 1979 (b) 1989 (c) 1994 (d) 2004
Answer: (c) — in 1994, after a refugee influx from the Rwandan war.
Frequently asked questions
How many hippos have died in the Virunga anthrax outbreak?
Park officials said 28 hippos died over about a month, with carcasses found in the Semuliki River from mid-September 2026.
Can anthrax spread to humans?
Yes. It is a zoonotic disease that can pass to people through contact with sick or dead animals or by eating their meat, which is why the park has warned nearby residents.
Why is Virunga famous?
It is Africa’s oldest national park, created in 1925, and shelters about a third of the world’s mountain gorillas along with active volcanoes and the Rwenzori glaciers.
When did Virunga become a World Heritage Site?
It was inscribed in 1979 and has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1994.
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Sources: Al Jazeera, Voice of Nigeria, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO State of Conservation 1994, Virunga National Park, WOAH. Facts as reported up to 8 November 2026.
Featured image background: Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
