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Kokolopori Study Site

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Lonoa research camp in Kokolopori
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Members of the Kokoalongo community on the ground

(directed by Martin Surbeck)

Field work is conducted in the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officially gazetted in 2009, the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve is the result of the collaborative efforts of the Bonobo Conservation Initiative, Vie Sauvage, Kokolopori residents, the DRC government, ICCN, and various supportive organizations. Habituation of the bonobos close to Yetee village started in 2007 and in early 2016 we established a research camp to study the neighboring bonobo communities of Ekalakala and Kokoalongo. Both bonobo communities are habituated and tolerate the presence of researchers which facilitates daily observations and non-invasive collection of samples for physiological, pathogenic and genetic studies. All members of both communities have been identified individually.