Republic of the Congo

África

203

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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The Republic of the Congo is largely covered by equatorial rainforest and by one of the most singular wetland systems on the planet: the peatlands of the Cuvette Centrale, a flooded swamp forest that extends into the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well and that makes up the largest known tropical peat complex, with carbon stores of global scale. In the north, Nouabalé-Ndoki and Odzala-Kokoua protect primary rainforest dotted with bais, swampy clearings where gorillas, forest elephants, buffalo and sitatungas gather. On the coast, Conkouati-Douli links ocean to mountain and brings together sea turtles, manatees, humpback whales and lowland forest in a single park. The Congo, Sangha and Likouala rivers structure the region's transport and life.

The nature of Republic of the Congo

National animal: No official national animal; the lion appears as a supporter on the state coat of arms

Did you know?

In the Goualougo Triangle, inside Nouabalé-Ndoki, lives a community of chimpanzees that had barely had contact with humans and that, instead of fleeing, approached the first researchers out of curiosity. It was there that they were documented using genuine tool kits: first a thick stick to pierce the termite mound and then a slender rod, whose end they fray with their teeth into a brush, to extract the termites.

Biodiversity profile

Africa Central (Cuenca del Congo)Casi 16% del territorio del Congo bajo alguna forma de proteccion, con 16 parques creados desde 1935

Climate

•Ecuatorial humedo (Af) en el norte y centro
•Tropical con estacion seca (Aw) en el sur

Main biomes

•Selva tropical humeda de la Cuenca del Congo (norte, parte del complejo trinacional Sangha)
•Sabana y mosaico de bosque-sabana (sur)
•Selva ecuatorial húmeda
•Turbera tropical inundada
•Claro pantanoso o bai
•Sabana costera
•Manglar atlántico
•Río de aguas negras
•Bosque de galería

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Costa atlantica con manglares y zonas de anidacion de tortugas marinas

Flagship wildlife

•Gorila de llanura occidental
•Bongo de tierras bajas
•Elefante de bosque africano
•Bufalo de bosque africano
•Gorila occidental de llanura
•Chimpancé
•Bongo
•Sitatunga
•Búfalo de bosque
•Manatí africano
•Ballena jorobada
•Tortuga laúd
•Pangolín gigante

Notable endemic species

•Los bosques congoleños cubren 20 millones de hectareas, aprox. 10% de la Cuenca del Congo, entre los mas ricos de Africa en biodiversidad

Notable threatened species

•Gorila de llanura occidental (En Peligro Critico, poblaciones importantes en el Parque Nacional Odzala-Kokoua)
•Elefante de bosque africano (En Peligro Critico)

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional Odzala-Kokoua (uno de los parques mas antiguos de Africa, alta densidad de gorilas)
•Parque Nacional Nouabale-Ndoki (parte del complejo trinacional Sangha)
•Parque Nacional de Nouabalé-Ndoki
•Parque Nacional de Odzala-Kokoua
•Parque Nacional de Conkouati-Douli
•Reserva Comunitaria del Lago Télé
•Turberas de la Cuveta Central
•Parque Nacional de Ntokou-Pikounda

Main conservation threats

•Caza furtiva de elefantes y gorilas por marfil y carne de monte
•Tala comercial en zonas colindantes a areas protegidas
•Ampliacion prevista de la red de areas protegidas con nuevos parques anunciados (Ogooue-Lekiti y Ntokou-Pikounda) para sumar casi un millon de hectareas adicionales

Conservation

The peatlands of the Cuvette Centrale, mapped in detail from 2017, store an amount of carbon comparable to several years of global emissions, and draining them would be catastrophic. Nouabalé-Ndoki is a World Heritage Site within the Sangha Trinational property.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Odzala in the dry season for gorillas at the bais. Nouabalé-Ndoki year-round for chimpanzees and forest elephants. Conkouati between July and October for humpback whales.

Sources: worldrainforests.com - Congo Conservation | Embassy of the Republic of Congo - Congo Basin

Savanna Rainforest Ocean