Okapi Wildlife Reserve
Overview
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in the Ituri Forest in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, near the borders with Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. At approximately 14,000 km², it covers approximately one fifth of the area of the forest.
The Nepoko
Nepoko River
The Nepoko River is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It joins the Ituri River at the town of Bomili to form the Aruwimi River....
, Ituri and Epulu rivers flow through the reserve.
The imposing Mbiya Mountain overlooks the Epulu village.
The reserve is home to about 5,000 okapi
Okapi
The okapi , Okapia johnstoni, is a giraffid artiodactyl mammal native to the Ituri Rainforest, located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central Africa...
, 4,000 elephants, 2,000 leopards, chimpanzees and crocodiles.
Other Ituri rain forest animals include forest buffalo, water chevrotain, and forest elephants.
The reserve has over 300 species of bird, and is one of the most important sites for bird conservation in mainland Africa.
Nomadic Mbuti
Mbuti
Mbuti or Bambuti are one of several indigenous pygmy groups in the Congo region of Africa. Their languages belong to the Central Sudanic and also to Bantu languages.-Overview:...
pygmies and indigenous
Indigenous peoples of Africa
The indigenous people of Africa are those people of Africa whose way of life, attachment or claims to particular lands, and social and political standing in relation to other more dominant groups have resulted in their substantial marginalisation within modern African states The indigenous people...
Bantu farmers also live within the reserve.
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve was added to the list of world heritage sites in danger in 1997.
Unanswered Questions
