Agriculture

Anthrax kills 30 hippos in popular Uganda park

KAMPALA — Anthrax has killed at least 30 hippopotamuses in a popular Ugandan game park that saw a similar outbreak six years ago, officials said Wednesday. Tom Okello, conservation area manager at Queen Elizabeth National Park, a much-visited safari destination, said 10 of the hulking semi-aquatic animals were found dead over one half-day period alone. “This was something that we had seen before, so I knew immediately that we had to get the blood samples tested,” he said, recalling a 2004 outbreak that claimed around 300 hippos around a small lake in the park. “When anthrax is involved, the blood doesn’t clot. That is the reason we have to act very fast,” he said.