Mammal sizes in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park (IMAGE)
Caption
Mammals in Gorongosa National Park range in size from the tiny oribi, which lost half of its population to Cyclone Idai, to the massive elephants that saw no fatalities from the storm or its aftermath. When Cyclone Idai slammed Gorongosa with 105 mph winds and pounding rains on March 15, 2019, the resulting floodwaters transformed the ecosystem of the park, the smallest animals were hardest hit. Half of the oribi and reedbuck (two small antelope species) died, but the largest mammals saw few if any fatalities. Some of the small herbivores died during the storm, unable to outrun the rising waters, while others died of starvation or malnutrition in the aftermath, as nutrient-dense grasses drowned, leaving animals to forage on nutrient-poor substitutes.
Credit
Graphic by Hallie Brown, Princeton University
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