Kampala — MOUNTAIN gorillas and other animals started fleeing the Mufumbiro mountain ranges at the Uganda-Rwanda border yesterday following a bush fire that started in Rwanda in the morning and spread to Uganda.

The gorillas are said to be fleeing to the Congo side of the mountain range. Muhabura Mountain was covered in thick smoke by press time.

Efforts to control the rampant fire were hampered by an acute shortage of water, according to local officials.

The Kisoro resident dictrict commissioner, Ahmed Doka, ran announcements on radio urging Ugandans of goodwill to help put out the fire.

"We are working with the respective armies in Uganda and Rwanda and other stakeholders to manage the situation," said Moses Mapesa of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

He downplayed the incident, saying such fires occur in cycles and are a natural phenomenon.

"They help the system get rid of excessive biomass and dangerous species like some fungi, thus giving way for better and healthier species to emerge."

However, a Rwandan source said the fire could have been lit to 'smoke out' Interahamwe rebels, who had been seen in the mountains.

The Mufumbiro mountain range, which include Muhabura, Mgahinga, Sabyinyo and Nyamuragira mountains, harbour over 200 animal species, the most famous being the pygmy chimpanzees (Bonobo apes) which share 98.4% of their genetic make-up with humans.

The fire, described as the worst disaster to hit the flora and fauna in the area, comes in the Year of the Gorilla, as declared by the UN.

UWA and other stakeholders had organised a series of activities to protect the endangered Mountain Gorilla, of which there are only about 720 left in the world, all in the border area of Uganda, Rwanda and D.R. Congo.

One population of about 340 mountain gorillas inhabits the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Kisoro, south-western Uganda.

The second population is found in a mountainous region referred to as the Virungas, which includes Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Uganda), Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda) and Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of Congo). Approximately 380 gorillas are found in the Virungas.

Planned activities included a gorilla race in September. Local UWA authorities are worried that if the fire spreads to neighbouring Mgahinga National Park, there could be no gorillas left for the scheduled race.

By yesterday afternoon, buffaloes and other animals were taking refuge around homesteads.

Other sources said the gorillas, being more cunning than other animals, had already found an escape route to neighbouring Congolese forests.

(Additional reporting by Anthony Bugembe)