Maiko National Park

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Maiko National Park

Summary

• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) & Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) are present in Maiko National Park.
• The chimpanzee and gorilla population trends are decreasing.
• The site has a total size of 10,830 km².
• Civil conflict and the rise of armed groups controlling artisanal mines have led to widespread poaching in the area.
• The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGF) and Flora and Fauna International (FFI) have implemented community conservation projects near Maiko National Park.

Site characteristics

Located in eastern DRC, Maiko National Park is the only protected area that harbours Grauer’s gorilla alongside important populations of okapi, Congo peafowl and forest elephant (Maldonado et al. 2012).

Table 1. Basic site information for Maiko National Park

Area	10,830 km²
Coordinates	-0.438204 N, 27.470303 E
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Sutropical/tropical moist lowland forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Based on the encounter rates of nests of the 2005 and 2014 surveys, both chimpanzee and gorilla populations at Maiko National Park declined by 95.24% and 99.52% respectively (Plumptre et al. 2015). However, due to security issues, the surveys conducted have been infrequent, and they only covered sections of the park. For a more accurate assessment on the status of great apes, a survey covering the entire area is needed (Plumptre et al. 2015).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Maiko National Park

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Gorilla beringei graueri	2011-2012	111-417			Maiko National Park North	Informed guess	Plumptre et al. 2015
Gorilla beringei graueri	2011-2012	306-866			Maiko National Park South	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Nixon et al. 2005, Nixon 2010, as cited by Plumptre et al. 2015
Gorilla beringei graueri	2014-2015	15	0.001		Maiko National Park	Data from the SMART patrols, recces, transects and occupancy surveys were used in the spatial occupancy analysis.	Plumptre et al. 2015	Abundance and density estimates are based on encounter rate data (from transects whenever possible).
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2014-2015	60	0.006		Maiko National Park	Data from the SMART patrols, recces, transects and occupancy surveys were used in the spatial occupancy analysis.	Plumptre et al. 2015	Abundance and density estimates are based on encounter rate data (from transects whenever possible).

Threats

In eastern DRC, the civil war gave rise to the formation of armed groups that controlled artisanal mines in the area. Armed groups and miners relied on hunting bushmeat. Gorillas are highly prized as bushmeat because of their large size and they are killed relatively easily since they move in groups on the ground. Insecurity and lack of law enforcement continue to be a concern; the presence of militia groups have made it very difficult to assess great ape populations at the site and protect them (Plumptre et al. 2016).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Maiko National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & urban areas	Present, but threat severity is unknown	Less than 0.2 inhabitants/km² (BirdLife International 2020)	Rebels, miners and poachers live in temporary or more permanent settlements in the park (BirdLife International 2020).	Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	Present, but threat severity unknown		Artisanal miners rely on bushmeat once they are deep in the forest; in addition, apes are also at risk from disease transmission from miners (Plumptre et al. 2015).	Ongoing (2015)
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Hunting of gorillas in the southern part of the park has been recorded; outside of the park, a nearby population has been exterminated (Plumptre et al. 2015).	Ongoing (2015)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGF) and Flora and Fauna International (FFI) established three community conservation projects near Maiko. DFGF works at Nkubu Conservation Area, which covers about 1,000 square kilometers between Maiko National Park and Kahuzi-Biega National Park, a second stronghold for Gauer's gorillas. On the western edge of Maiko, FFI works in two unofficially designated reserves; REGOLU, founded in 2004, and REGUMUKI, founded in 2007. Both sites are in the process of becoming officially recognized community forests, and they cover 500 and 1,000 square kilometers respectively (Fritts 2019).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Maiko National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	Not reported
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	Not reported
11. Habitat Protection	Not reported
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Maiko National Park

Challenge	Source
Civil unrest	Maldonado et al. 2012
Lack of logistical means	Maldonado et al. 2012
Lack of law enforcement	Plumptre et al. 2015

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Maiko National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Maiko National Park

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Maldonado, O., Aveling, C., Cox, D., Nixon, S., Nishuli, R., Merlo, D., Pintea, L. & Williamson, E.A. (2012). Grauer’s Gorillas and Chimpanzees in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Kahuzi-Biega, Maiko, Tayna and Itombwe Landscape): Conservation Action Plan 2012–2022. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation & Tourism, Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature & the Jane Goodall Institute. 66pp.
Plumptre, A.J., Nixon, S., Critchlow, R., Vieilledent, G., Nishuli, R., Kirkby, A., Williamson, E.A., Hall, J.S. & Kujirakwinja, D. (2015). Status of Grauer’s gorilla and chimpanzees in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: Historical and current distribution and abundance. Unpublished report to Arcus Foundation, USAID and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Plumptre, A.J., Nixon, S., Kujirakwinja, D.K., Vieilledent, G., Critchlow, R., Williamson E.A., et al. (2016). Catastrophic Decline of World's Largest Primate: 80% Loss of Grauer's Gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri) Population Justifies Critically Endangered Status. PLoS ONE 11(10): e0162697. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162697
BirdLife International. (2020). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Maiko National Park. Online: http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/maiko-national-park-iba-congo-the-democratic-republic-of-the/text
Fritts, R. (2019, July 16). Agriculture, mining, hunting push critically endangered gorillas to the brink. Online: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/agriculture-mining-hunting-push-critically-endangered-gorillas-to-the-brink/

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 03/12/2020