Sign up for our free e-mail newsletter Also see: Today's Top Stories This Story E-mail this story Sponsored in part by National Geographic News Updated February 6, 2003 Get National Geographic Subscribe now for a year of animal adventures, dinosaur discoveries, and more. View photo gallery: Go>> A catastrophic die-off of lowland gorillas and chimpanzees at the very heart of their range in central Africa has been reported by scientists. Scientists working with the ECOFAC program (an EC-funded regional forest conservation program for central Africa) in northern Republic of Congo said today that they were witnessing what appears to be a massive decline in ape populations in the Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary (about 100 square miles/250 square kilometers) situated about 10 miles (15 square kilometers) to the southwest of the famous Odzala National Park (5,250 square miles/13,600 square kilometers). The region is thought to contain the majority of central Africa's lowland gorillas because of its isolation, the presence of several protected areas, and large undisturbed areas of habitat types particularly favored by gorillas. Wildlife Conservation Society veterinarian Annelisa Kilbourn, wearing a hazmat suit to guard against possible infection, collects tissue samples from a gorilla that died of Ebola virus in the Congo. | |
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