This forest and its river were the subject of a famous book called The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Hunting and poaching has endangered many of the animals there, but the jungle itself is not being destroyed.
This forest and its river were the subject of a famous book called The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Hunting and poaching has endangered many of the animals there, but the jungle itself is not being destroyed.
This forest and its river were the subject of a famous book called The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Hunting and poaching has endangered many of the animals there, but the jungle itself is not being destroyed.
The Congo is the Earth's second largest river by volume, draining an area of 3.7 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) known as the Congo Basin. There were lots of important kingdoms in the Congo region before the Europeans came there. The Kongo Empire was one of these. The Kongo was a group of small states near the mouth of the Congo river ruled by a king. That nation gave the river its name. The Portuguese came to the Kongo for the first time in the 1480s. Portugal was sailing farther and farther along the coast of Africa to reach India and China on the other side. At first they made friends with the Kongo nation. They sent missionaries and ambassadors. Unfortunately, the friendship did not last. The Portuguese were more interested in making money than making friends. The Portuguese treated the people of the Kongo badly. The king of Kongo became a Christian and took the name Afonso. He wanted to learn from the Europeans and teach his people, but the Portuguese only wanted to use their friendship with Afonso to gain slaves to sell.
The Republic of Congo is home to one of the richest and most biologically important forest ecosystems on the planet. Around 60% of the country is covered by lowland tropical forests, much of which is made up of large tracts of undisturbed virgin wilderness.The Congo Basin represents 70% of the African continents plant cover and makes up a large portion of Africa's biodiversity with over 1,000 tree species and 10,000 animal species. It is characterized by dense rainforest. Broad-leaved trees, such as the African Oak. Red Cedar and Mahogany form a dense top canopy, over 40 meters above the ground. Trees of different sizes (but smaller) form small canopies below the top canopy.
Trees compete for the light which means tall growth is vital. Many animals inhabit the Congo Rainforest, such as the Giant Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei) an endangered species. Some other rainforest inhabitants are chimpanzees, elephants, pygmy hippopotami, antelopes, wild boars, buffaloes and white rhinos. There are also many species of fish, birds and reptiles.
Endemism in general excludes examples kept by humans in botanical gardens or zoological parks, as well as populations introduced outside of their native ranges. Juan J. Morrone states that a species may be endemic to any particular geographic region, regardless of size, thus the cougar is endemic to the Americas, however, endemism is normally used only where there is a considerable restriction in the area of distribution. All species are not endemics, some species may be cosmopolitan. All endemics are not necessarily rare -some might be common where they occur. All rare species are not necessarily endemics, some may have a large range but be rare throughout this range.
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 contributes significantly to maintain the composition and structure of the Guinean Forests of West Africa and the Congolese rainforests.The first Scientific description of the species was published in 1900. During the 20th century, overhunting caused a sharp decline in population, and by 2013 it was estimated that less than 30,000 individuals remained. The conservation status of populations varies across range countries. Since 2021, the species has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), also known simply as chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. The chimpanzee lives in groups that range in size from 15 to 150 members, although individuals travel and forage in much smaller groups during the day. The species lives in a strict male-dominated hierarchy, where disputes are generally settled without the need for violence. Nearly all chimpanzee populations have been recorded using tools, modifying sticks, rocks, grass and leaves and using them for hunting and acquiring honey, termites, ants, nuts and water. The species has also been found creating sharpened sticks to spear small mammals.
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 contributes significantly to maintain the composition and structure of the Guinean Forests of West Africa and the Congolese rainforests.The first Scientific description of the species was published in 1900. During the 20th century, overhunting caused a sharp decline in population, and by 2013 it was estimated that less than 30,000 individuals remained. The conservation status of populations varies across range countries. Since 2021, the species has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
The bonobo is an endangered great ape. It is one of the two species making up the genus Pan, the other being the common chimpanzeeAlong with the common chimpanzee, the bonobo is the closest extant relative to humans.As the two species are not proficient swimmers, the formation of the Congo River 1.5–2 million years ago possibly led to the speciation of the bonobo. Bonobos live south of the river, and thereby were separated from the ancestors of the common chimpanzee, which live north of the river. There are no concrete data on population numbers, but the estimate is between 29,500 and 50,000 individuals. The species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is threatened by habitat destruction and human population growth and movement, though commercial poaching is the most prominent threat.
The okapi, also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa.The okapi stands about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall at the shoulder and has a typical body length around 2.5 m (8.2 ft). Its weight ranges from 200 to 350 kg (440 to 770 lb). It has a long neck, and large, flexible ears. Its coat is a chocolate to reddish brown, much in contrast with the white horizontal stripes and rings on the legs, and white ankles. Male okapis have short, distinct horn-like protuberances on their heads called ossicones, less than 15 cm (5.9 in) in length. Females possess hair whorls, and ossicones are absent.
The Country's tropical climate is characterized by heavy precipitation and high temperatures and humidity. The Equator crosses the country just north of Liranga. In the north a dry season extends from November through March and a rainy season from April through October, whereas in the south the reverse is true. On both sides of the Equator, however, local climates exist with two dry and two wet seasons.Temperatures are relatively stable, with little variation between seasons. More variation occurs between day and night, when the difference between the highs and lows averages about 27 °F (15 °C). Over most of the country, annual average temperatures range between the high 60s and low 80s F (low and high 20s C), although in the south the cooling effect of the Benguela Current may produce temperatures as low as the mid-50s F (low 10s C).
The Congo rainforest is home to some of the most famous tribal people in the world, the Pygmies. The tallest of these people is usually still less than 1.5 m in height. There are many tribes of people living in this forest. In total there are about 130,000 to 170,000 forest dwellers distributed over a large area.
These people live in groups of 15-70 depending largely on outside factors -hunting, trading, disease, and forest area. They tend to be nomadic, moving to new parts of the forest several times during the year and carrying all their things. Their nomadic lifestyle is less damaging to the rainforest environment because it allows the group to move without too much damage to the forest. Their lifestyle seems to be very harmonious with their chosen environment, the live and treat it almost as if it's a human.
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