In late October 2020, 30 Congolese dwarf crocodiles were released into their natural habitat, after having been seized from poachers. This incident highlighted the peculiar trafficking of a poorly known and vulnerable species that is endemic to the Congo Basin....
This year, more than 20 young Congolese men and women joined the Nouabalé-Ndoki Foundation team of ecoguards in northern Congo. They work day in and day out, sometimes risking their lives, to protect the most threatened wildlife species....
In 2018, scientists from ten different organizations assembled the largest survey dataset ever on western lowland gorillas and central chimpanzees. We collated the information on great apes nests from 59 sites in five countries surveyed over 11 years between 2003 and 2013. The study indicated that although there were more gorillas than previously published, they were in deep trouble- declining by a shocking 2.7% every year....
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...
Donatien Mengonga, Bayaka indigenous tracker, has a dream: to become a research assistant at the Mondika site in the northern Republic of Congo. WCS's scientific skills development programme has enabled him to resume his studies....
On the 9th of November 2018 Her Excellency Rosalie Matondo, the Republic of Congo’s Minister of Forestry Economy; the US Ambassador, Todd Haskell; Paul Sabatine, Mission Director to USAID/DRC; the Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Congo program; and local authorities gathered in Sibiti in the Lekoumou Department to create, by official decree, Congo’s fifth national park - the Ogooué-Leketi National Park. ...
The Republic of Congo is home to 60% of the world’s remaining gorillas. A recent study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society pulled together survey data collected between 2003 and 2013 across central Africa and found that there are many more western lowland gorillas than previously estimated, but many of these gorillas are found beyond the boundaries of protected areas. In northern Congo, in and...
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. ...
Twenty-two Congolese men and women stand lined-up in a clearing surrounded by dense rainforest. To their left, Unit Leader Frank Moutengue, marches forward and raises the Congolese flag beneath the blazing sun. The national anthem echoes through the trees that encircle the training facility. These brave individuals are the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park’s on-the-ground defence against a wave of poaching that threatens northern Congo’s wildlife. ...
Out of the thick forest, a loud grunt signals the presence Kingo, a 200 kg silverback gorilla, sitting on the forest floor calling to his group. Kingo Ya Bole, which means “The Loud Voice”, calls constantly to his group, but when agitated he inflates his chest and builds up a hooting crescendo delivered with a chest beat which can travel for hundreds of meters. ...