Mbeli Bai is a 13 hectare swampy forest clearing in the

Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park is a national park in the Republic of the Congo. Established in 1993, in the northern provinces of Congo, it is home to forest elephants, great apes, including western lowland gorillas and the eastern sub-species of ...

in the Republic of Congo.

History

Since the end of the 1990s the

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

has worked in the north of the Republic of Congo and in 1993 together with the Ministry of Forest Economy and Environment has created the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (4,200 km²). The Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park with its low levels of disturbance represents one of the last remaining intact forest blocs (no history of logging) in the Congo Basin and an important stronghold for

western gorilla The western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') is a great ape found in Africa, one of two species of the hominid genus ''Gorilla''. Large and robust with males weighing around , the hair is significantly lighter in color than the eastern gorilla, '' ...

forest elephant The African forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis'') is one of the two living African elephant species. It is native to humid forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a shoulde ...

s and other

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

forest mammals. Researchers have been continuously monitoring the mammals visiting Mbeli Bai since February 1995 with the aim to increase understanding of the biology of western gorillas and other large mammals that are otherwise difficult to study in the dense

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

. Since 1995 more than 330 gorillas have been monitored (actual population ~130 gorillas) spanning more than 1750 gorilla years of around 55 gorilla units (groups and solitary

silverback Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

s). The result of this monitoring of individual identifiable animals has provided major and unique insights into the social organization and behavior of this elusive species including many spectacular behavioral observations such as twin births, silverback splash displays and the first observation of tool use in free-ranging gorillas.

References

External links

Wildlife Conservation Society - Congo Program

Wildlife Conservation Society

Mbeli Bai Study

Western-Gorilla.org
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