Mbeli Bai
 Mbeli Bai is a large swampy clearing in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo and is part of the
Nouabalé-Ndoki Project of the Wildlife Conservation Society in collaboration with the
Ministère de l’Economie Forestière in Congo. Research in Mbeli Bai Study is
conducted using direct observations, which are done from a viewing platform overlooking the clearing
(“bai” in the local language). The Bai is a valuable location to conduct research because many
different animal species visit this area, providing researchers with a unique opportunity to monitor many individuals
of different species. Approximately 100 gorillas have been monitored for past 10 years. Long-term monitoring and research is providing important information on
the social organization, demography, and behaviour of gorillas, forest elephants, sitatungas,
forest buffalo, black and white colobus and otters
Salonga National Park
 Salonga National Park (36,000 km 2) is the largest protected area in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is located in the center of the country and is administered by the national conservation authority, the Institut Congolaise pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN). It is part of the Cuvette Central which comprises more than 800,000 km 2 of evergreen tropical lowland rainforest. Apart from the Amazon Basin, it is the largest rainforest area on earth. In terms of flora, the montane fringe areas are characterized by extreme species diversity and phylogenetically young taxa, while the central basin is dominated by phylogenetically old taxa.
The park contains a high number of endemic species of both flora and fauna.
Examples of endemic vertebrate fauna include the bonobo, okapi and the Congo peacock.
Taï National Park
 The Parc National de Taï (4,350 km 2), a Biosphere Reserve and a
UNESCO World heritage site, is situated in the western part of the Republique de Côte d’Ivoire.
It is an evergreen primary rainforest dominated by Diospyros mannii and Eremospatha macrocarpa,
with average rainfall and temperatures of 1800mm and 24-28°C respectively. It is the largest remaining part
of the former Guinean forest belt and harbors some rare and endemic species such as the pygmy hippopotamus
and the white breasted guinea fowl. Research in the Park is undertaken by the Taï Chimpanzee Project
[chimpanzee project] and the Tai Monkey Project
in collaboration with the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques based in Abidjan [http://www.csrs.ch]
and at the Station de Recherches en Ecologie tropicale located in the western part of the Park.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (331 km 2), a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
is located in southwest Uganda, on the edge of the Western Rift Valley.
Bwindi is an afromontane rainforest ranging in altitude from 1160 to 2600m characterized by
steep hills and narrow valleys. This altitudinal variation, along with its former status as a
Pleistocene refugia, has resulted in a rich diversity of flora and fauna, particularly of
birds and butterflies, and is also home to half of the world’s remaining endangered mountain gorillas.
One group of habituated gorillas has been studied since 1998. Research carried out in Bwindi is conducted collaboratively with the
Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (http://www.itfc.org/index.htm)
and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (http://www.uwa.or.ug/).
Goualougo Triangle
 The Goualougo Triangle Study Area (380 km 2) is located in the northern Republic of Congo.
The semi-deciduous lowland forest ecosystem contains some of the most globally important flagship
species of any forest tract of this type remaining in central Africa. Significant populations of
endangered species such as forest elephants (Loxodonta africana cyclotis),
western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and chimpanzees
(Pan troglodytes troglodytes) are found in this region. In addition,
large tracks of pristine forests still remain and in June 2003, a portion of the intact forests of the
Goualougo Triangle were annexed on to the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park (4,440 km 2)
(http://www.wcs-congo.org )
including it in a larger conservation
presence in the region. The Park is contiguous with the Dzanga-Ndoki National
Park in Central African Republic and is close to the Lobeke National Park, in
Cameroon. The trinational protected area system forms the core of the efforts
of several conservation organizations and scientists aimed at forest preservation and
wildlife conservation of the northern fringe of the Congo Basin.
Bai Hokou
 Bai Hokou is located within the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park (1240 km²)
in south-western Central African Republic (CAR).
Together with the Dzanga-Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve (3159 km²),
the Park is directed by the Dzanga-Sangha Project (DSP), an integrated conservation
and development project under the collaborative management of the CAR Government,
the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Under the DSP,
Bai Hokou is the base of the Primate Habituation Programme, where the habituation of gorillas
for tourism has been ongoing since 1997. Research is also an integral part of the program.
To date, 2 gorilla groups have been habituated, the first, group Munye, received tourists from late 2001.
Unfortunately, with the death of the silverback, group Munye disintegrated in early August 2004.
Currently, the second group, Makumba (including 13 individuals), tolerates researchers and
tourists alike at approximately 15-20m. Habituation of a third group is now underway,
as well as a large group of agile mangabeys (Cercopithicus agilis).
Loango National Park
 Research at Loango National Park, Gabon, focuses on chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes)
and western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). The Loango ecosystem is unique in that it contains a
mosaic of seashore, coastal forest, lagoon, savannah, swamps, secondary forest, and primary forest.
It is ecologically distinct from other sites where similar research has been conducted and therefore will
provide new data on the variability in diet, social behavior, culture, and population dynamics exhibited
by both chimpanzees and gorillas. A main goal of the project is to study the interactions of the two species,
which currently are not well known.
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