Congo Basin

The Congo Basin's rivers, swamps and forests are home to a host of spectacular wildlife.
© WWF/Richard Carroll

From famous forest elephants to rare butterflies, the Congo Basin has a global reputation for the variety of wildlife found inside its forests. Peaks of biodiversity and endemism are found in the Cameroon highlands, the western equatorial forests of Cameroon and Gabon, the coastal mangroves, the Albertine Rift highlands and the eastern lowland forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Frogs and birds abound in mountain areas, where many endemic species are found. But while these forests are rich in the numbers of species by world standards, they actually have smaller numbers than other tropical rainforests throughout the planet. 

Salonga - about the size of the Netherlands - is the only national park within bonobo range.
© WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

Bonobo
Found only in the Congo Basin, bonobos are humans' closest relatives - sharing over 98 percent of our DNA. Bonobo society is matriarchal and relatively egalitarian, and conflicts are often resolved through sexual activity rather than aggression. Bonobos are under threat from bushmeat hunters and habitat loss. 

In 2007, WWF discovered a new  bonobo population in the south-west of the Lake Tumba region in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The group that was discovered is larger than any other known sites, and lives well beyond the borders of any previous bonobo sightings.   

Hippopotamuses, also called hippos, are gregarious, living in groups of up to 40 animals. Hippos average 11 ft long, 5 ft tall at the shoulder, and weigh from 13,300 to 7,000 lbs.
© Lee Poston/WWF

Hippos
Hippos are now found in the rivers of Uganda, Sudan, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, west to Gambia as well as in Southern Africa. A separate population is in Tanzania and Mozambique. The less familiar pygmy hippopotamus of West Africa exists in two populations. One ranges in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. The other population, with a different shape to the skull, ranged until recently in the Niger Delta but may now be extinct.

Mountain gorilla
Only 700 mountain gorillas still survive in the wild. Males can weigh 450-500 lbs with an armspan of seven feet, while females weigh between 150-200 lbs. The mountain gorilla's future is threatened by hunting, conflict, disease, destruction of forest habitat as well as poaching. A WWF-sponsored survey indicates that, after a decade of conservation efforts, mountain gorillas are showing a slow but steady comeback.

Found in the vast lowland forests of Central Africa, the western lowland gorilla is the most widespread and numerous of all gorillas.
© WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey

Western lowland gorilla
The western lowland gorilla is smaller than the mountain gorilla and has shorter, partially reddish-brown fur. Although adult males may weigh over 400 pounds, they can climb up to 100 feet to feed on leaves or fruits. WWF scientists have succeeded in habituating some gorillas to human presence. This allows for more in-depth study of their behavior and has permitted the development of ecotourism, offering new hope for the future survival of the species and income for surrounding communities. 

Forest elephant
African elephants, the Earth's largest land animals, can measure up to 11 feet wide at the shoulder and weigh more than six tons. The African forest elephant is distinguished from the more widely recognized savanna elephant by its smaller size and downward-projecting tusks. The illegal trade in ivory is largely responsible for the continued drop in the forest elephant population in recent years.

A solitary animal, the okapi only joins other individuals for mating.
© WWF-Canon/P.J. Stephenson

Okapi
The okapi, sometimes known as the forest giraffe, is chocolate-brown, with white stripes on its legs and white "stockings" on its ankles. It is found only in the forests of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Okapis feed on forest plants, fruits, fungi and mineral-rich clay. In 2006, WWF researchers found the first evidence in 50 years of the presence of okapi in the DRC's Virunga National Park.

Leatherback turtle
The Atlantic Coast of the Congo Basin is home to the world's largest nesting site for leatherback turtles. The leatherback is the largest marine turtle and one of the largest living reptiles. They are distinguished by their leathery shell and long front flippers. These turtles can reach six feet in length, and weigh over 1,000 pounds. After more than a hundred million years they are now facing extinction.