Gorilla Threat

If you, like the Beetle have a yen to go and visit the gorillas, it is disheartening to learn from a recent survey that over 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. Scientists warn that, coupled with the commercial hunting of gorillas, it may be enough to push them to extinction. One of the most virulent viruses known, Ebola has killed more than 1,000 people since it was first recorded in 1976. Scientists are still working on a vaccine and there is no known cure. In 2002 and 2003, several outbreaks of Ebola flared up in human populations in Gabon and Congo. Outbreaks of the disease in humans have sometimes been traced to the bush meat trade.



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