Inspiration, discovery and conservation in action from Congo’s wild places.
Last week a team from the WCS Batéké Project was in the field with a group of fire experts from US Forest Service to look at fire management in the Lefini and Lesio Louna wildlife reserves. Around one third of Congo’s surface area is covered by savannah. The grassy plateau stretches across the middle of the country from Gabon to the east of Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo, and supports a unique mix...
Our latest video, 'The Ndoki Experience' showcases the incredible diversity of the pristine forest of Nouabale-Ndoki National Park. The park, created in 1993, spans 4,238.7 km2 in the northwestern corner of the Republic of Congo and is a rare example of an intact forest wilderness, completely uninhabited by human settlers and with low human population densities in the surrounding area. The forest is part of the larger Sangha Trinational Forest Landscape that in July...
Christian and Brel are ecoguards working for the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Northern Congo. Their job is highly varied – from manning strategic check points on logging roads to conducting river patrols in search of illegal wildlife traffickers operating in the areas around the Park....
The first quarter of 2016 saw the official start of the forest elephant-monitoring programme at Bonye bai, a remote forest clearing in Nouabale-Ndoki National Park. A team of WCS researchers and trackers headed out to the bai to construct a basic observation platform in February. The mission and construction of this tower, built to aid bai observation efforts, was covered in a mini-documentary ‘The Elephant Tower’ produced following its development. Three extended field missions...
The serenity of the forest is punctuated by the crash of figs as they hit the leaf litter on the forest floor, sent plummeting down by several gorillas feeding in the canopy 20 meters overhead. The rest of the family group is scattered in the undergrowth around us. Kingo the group’s silverback is lying on a bed of leaves in front of us in a very human-like, relaxed pose: one arm behind his head, elbow...
At the end of March 2015, at a routine roadblock on a logging route cutting through the forest, a pastor from the Ngombe village in northern Congo was caught with a basket loaded full of elephant meat. The pastor was arrested by the Ministry of Forestry Economy and Sustainable Development (MEFDD) ecoguards manning the barricade, and taken to the Ngombe police station for questioning. MEFDD ecoguards, trained by WCS and the Congolese Army, monitor the...
Across the north of Congo spans one of Africa’s most pristine belts of rainforest. This vast expanse of trees not only harbors astonishing biodiversity, but is also a vital buffer against the effects of climate change. Further south, pockets of forest on the sandy hills of the savannah result in interesting and unique faunal assemblages. This year the theme for Earth Day is Trees for the Earth, here at WCS Congo we have a...
It is with great sadness that we are sharing the tragic news that Jana Robeyst died on April 8th 2016, whilst pursuing a promising career dedicated to the study and conservation of wild forest elephants at Mbeli Bai. She was an amazing scientist and wonderful person who loved her work and was living her dream. She will be truly missed by everyone who ever had the opportunity to meet her. Forever will she be a...
Say 'Congo' and most people will think of thick, impenetrable forests. Few people realise that one third of Congo's surface area is covered by savannah. The WCS Batéké project works in the area around the Lefini reserve in central Congo. Trees cover only about 20% of the landscape, meaning that the wooded areas are increasingly under pressure from a growing human population. The reserve was created in the 1950s as a big game hunting area....
During a recent visit to Nouabale-Ndoki National Park I had the pleasure of taking a walk to Wali bai guided by Gabi Mobalambi. Gabi started working for WCS Congo in 1997. At the time he was an eco-guard posted as an assistant to researchers working at Wali bai. Eight years in the field working alongside several botanical experts, and a keen interest in the natural world, built a wealth of knowledge in Gabi. As a...