Bonobo sanctuary hit by deadly ‘plague’
A rescue sanctuary for gravely endangered bonobo apes in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been struck by a deadly virus described by one researcher as “like some kind of plague.”
At least six bonobos have died already from the flu-like disease and 10 more of the endangered apes at the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary outside Kinshasha now have the infection.
The main symptom appears to be a severe respiratory condition which prevents the apes from breathing comfortably. Death follows after several days.
“I have never seen anything like this epidemic. it’s like some kind of plague,” researcher Vanessa Woods wrote on the Lola ya Bonobo blog. “You go down to the night building and there are 10 bonobos face down, arms spread eagle, and they can’t breathe.”
Woods fears the disease may have been spread to the sanctuary, which looks after bonobos orphaned by the bushmeat trade, by humans during a severe flu epidemic in Kinshasha in February.
Bonobos are the most endangered of all the great apes with estimates of numbers left in the wild ranging from 5,000 to 50,000. Many bonobo infants are also sold as pets, or for use in witchcraft.
So far the sanctuary’s nursery has managed to escape the disease and there were hopeful signs as well that one of the sick apes, Kikongo, appeared to be getting better.
“Kikongo is such a character,” Woods wrote. “He’s one of the funniest bonobos at Lola, he likes doing armless cartwheels and running around in circles until he gets dizzy and falls over. If he dies it is just going to break my heart.”
Unfortunately the sanctuary is suffering from a lack of food and medicine because of shortfalls in funding. Click here to see how you can make a donation to support Lol ya Bonobo’s work or even adopt one of the apes.
Sounds like some of those secret experiments we know that the Bonobos are working on have backfired.