CONGO'S RAINFOREST

---

The Congo region has long conjured up thoughts of pygmies, mythical beasts, dreadful plagues, and cannibals. It is a land made famous by adventurers of the nineteenth century (Stanley and Livingstone) as well as its wildlife.

The Congo rainforest is the second largest contiguous block of rainforest in the world after the Amazon. Six nations -- Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon -- share the 1.5 million square mile Congo basin. Over 10,000 animal species are known to live in the area.

The Congo is one of the world's most threatened ecosystems. Commercial logging, clearing for subsistence agriculture, and widespread civil strife has devastated forests, displaced forest dwellers, and resulted in the expansion of the "bushmeat" trade.

Satellite image of the region

AFRICAN RAINFOREST PHOTOS
Male Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) Baby gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) In search of gorillas in Bwindi (Uganda) African slender-snouted crocodile, Cocodrilo hociquifino africano Rainforest frog in leaf litter		Rain forest along the Mpivie river in Gabon (Gabon) Forest elephant heading toward the jungle in Loango National Park (Gabon) Male silverback gorilla standing tall Blue and green butterfly Purple heron in flight		Forest elephant in Gabon African forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) on forest edge Malachite Kingfisher (Alcedo cristata) Young lowland gorilla (Gabon) Red duiker in the Bwindi rainforest (Uganda) Hippo bearing its teeth at Iguela in a lagoon bordering Loango National Park in Gabon

• About rainforests
• Rainforest animals
• Rainforest people
• Why are rainforests important?
• Why are rainforests disappearing?
• How can we save rainforests?

FAQs May I use graphics from mongabay.com for my projects? Yes, you may provided that you don't remove the mongabay label from the images. You may use information from the site for class projects and can cite kids.mongabay.com as the source. Is this web site credible? Mongabay is the world's most popular source for information on tropical forests. The site is highly acclaimed by a number of the world's leading tropical scientists and is run independently, meaning it is has no affiliation with advocacy groups or outside corporations. Rhett Butler, who founded Mongabay in 1999 and runs the site today, has published several scientific papers. Can I interview the founder of mongabay.com for my school project? Unfortunately due to the large number of requests and the need to work on the main Mongabay site, Rhett is not available for interviews. However he has answered some common questions on the Rainforest Interview page. Do you have any games or activities? Currently there are a few on the resources page. There may be more in the future. Who are some scientists who study rainforests? Take a look at the Interviews with rainforest experts page. How can I help save rainforests? Some ideas are listed on the Rainforest Solutions page. Where can I learn more about rainforests? There is a wealth of information at the main rainforest site