elephant Tag

Scientific research, an essential tool for the conservation of forest elephants

Posted on August 12, 2019

For more than 25 years, scientists have been monitoring, studying and observing Mbeli bai’s wildlife in the Nouabalé-Ndoki national park. The Mbeli study is named after the bai , or clearing, where the research is conducted. Forest elephants, a still little known and often overlooked sub-species, are frequently observed in this unique landscape. The Mbeli study has contributed essential knowledge to the development of improved...

Nouabale-Ndoki National Park celebrates 25th Anniversary

Posted on July 17, 2019

by Zanne Labuschagne

BRAZZAVILLE, REPUBLIC OF CONGO (June 18th, 2019) – Her Excellency Rosalie Matondo, the Republic of Congo’s Minister of Forestry Economy, the U.S. Ambassador, Todd Haskell, and the Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS’s) Africa program, Tim Tear celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park – a stunning protected area, and World Heritage Site, that spans 1,621 square miles (4,200 square kilometers) of...

Congo Adopts Recommendations of First National Judicial Review of Wildlife Crime

Posted on August 3, 2018

by Zanne Labuschagne

Over the past decade central Africa’s forest elephants have been hit by an unprecedented wave of ivory poaching. Elephant populations have declined drastically in the region. The Republic of Congo, harbouring a quarter of Africa’s remaining forest elephants, has not escaped this poaching crisis. Poaching gangs have become more organised, often traveling from neighbouring countries to exploit Congo’s wildlife. ...

Nouabale-Ndoki’s elephant listeners

Posted on April 28, 2018

by Zanne Labuschagne

Phael Malonga and Frelcia Bambi spend up to a five-weeks at a time out in the wilderness of the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo. They are working on an exciting new project - at the end of 2016 Cornell University’s Elephant Listening Project and WCS-Congo launched a study using hidden microphones to better monitor forest elephant populations and movements, pinpoint the gunshots...

Elusive Congolese Poacher Sentenced to Five Years in Jail

Posted on December 18, 2017

by Zanne Labuschagne

OUESSO, Republic of Congo (December 15, 2017) – A local court sentenced a notorious elephant poacher and ivory trafficker to five years in prison and a fine of 1,200,000 XAF (~2100 US$). The sentencing, which took place yesterday, is an indication that Congolese government is becoming increasingly serious about dealing with criminals that threaten the country’s natural heritage. Over the last 12 years, Benjamin Mbondo,...

Mbeli Bai

Posted on May 16, 2017

by Zanne Labuschagne

Mbeli bai is a large (12.8 ha) natural forest clearing located in the south-west of the Nouabalé-Ndoki national park, Northern Congo. Due to the mineral rich soils and aquatic vegetation, Mbeli Bai is an attractive resource for numerous elusive mammal species including the western lowland gorilla and the African forest elephant. The Mbeli Bai Study (MBS) was established in 1995 with the aim of enhancing...

taking to the sky

Posted on May 11, 2017

by Zanne Labuschagne

On the 31st of April 2017, Jean Pierre Sagette, took WCS Congo to the air on its first surveillance flight. Jean Pierre, an experienced pilot with more than ten years of flying experience in Africa, is the newest member of the WCS Congo family. From his last position piloting charter planes in Mozambique, Jean Pierre is applying skills to the conservation realm for the first...

investigation leads to 70 kg ivory seizure

Posted on February 6, 2017

by Zanne Labuschagne

On the 27th of January 2017 seventy kilograms of ivory was seized near a residential home in Ouesso, northern Congo. The group responsible for obtaining and selling the ivory is an ivory trafficking network that has been closely followed by WCS’s Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) since September 2016, when four members of the network were arrested following collaboration between the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and...

the sound of conservation

Posted on November 30, 2016

by Terry Brncic

Cornell University’s Elephant Listening Project and WCS-Congo are launching a new study using hidden microphones in the forest to better monitor forest elephant populations and movements, pinpoint the gunshots of poachers, and record the biodiversity in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Congo. Any animal (including humans) that makes a loud noise can be detected and recorded by the acoustic devices. Elephants are exceptionally good subjects for acoustic...

Dismantling northern Congo’s trafficking networks

Posted on September 13, 2016

by Zanne Labuschagne

The fight to protect northern Congo’s forest elephants has reached boiling point. In the past two months 32 poachers have been arrested, over 100 kilograms of ivory seized and six semi-automatic weapons detained across the Ndoki landscape. This includes the arrest of an ivory trafficker tied to one the most notorious poaching rings in northern Congo. ...