Page 38 - World of Animals - Issue #28 Magazine

Wildlife of the African tropical rainforest

A forest under threat

This rich and diverse habitat is being eroded by human
activity, posing a threat to its many wild residents
The Congo Basin is one of the most
important wildernesses left on the planet.
Second only in size to the Amazon rainforest,
this habitat spans a huge area of over 340
million hectares (830 million acres) through
the Democratic Republic of Congo, the
Republic of Congo, Cameroon, the Central
African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and
Gabon. The lifeblood of the ecosystem is the
Congo River, which flows through the basin
to meet the Indian Ocean. Throughout this
habitat, dense rainforest is interspersed with
green savannahs, rivers and marshy swamps,
providing a huge range of niches for an
incredible number of species. This African
rainforest is thought to be home to over 400
species of mammal and 1,000 species of bird.
As well as having rich biodiversity, the area
is also abundant in natural resources, such
as timber, petroleum and even diamonds.
These are in high demand, and extraction
techniques pose a threat to wildlife – habitat
loss due to mining and logging, as well as
building of roads and dams are the biggest
threats to wildlife.
The illegal bushmeat trade is also a real
threat to many rainforest animals. Monkeys
and antelope are the animals most at risk,
and it’s estimated that in the Democratic
Republic of Congo alone, over a million
tonnes of bushmeat are eaten each year.

“Dense rainforest is interspersed
with green savannahs, rivers

and marshy swamps”

Rainforest natives

Introducing just a few of the jungle inhabitants that can be found in this vast and varied ecosystem

African forest elephant African grey parrot Mandrill
An elusive relation of the African elephant, forest Africa’s largest parrot sports grey plumage with The largest of the monkeys, mandrills are only
elephants have more rounded ears and their a shock of red at the tail. Daytimes are spent found in African tropical rainforests. Their
tusks point downward. They are important to foraging for food on foot, using their strong, colourful red and blue facial markings are
the rainforest ecosystem, as they clear paths that curved beak to collect seeds, berries and fruit. unmissable, as are their large cheek pouches that
other creatures rely on, and they help to disperse During the evenings, huge numbers of grey they use to store food. They live in groups known
plants when seeds are deposited in their dung. parrots come together in the treetops to roost. as ‘troops’, led by a dominant male.

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