Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Summary

• Bonobo (Pan paniscus) are present in Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve.
• It has been estimated that approximately 1,000 individuals occur in the site.
• The bonobo population trend is increasing.
• The site has a total size of 3,625 km².
• Bonobos are mainly threatened by poaching.
• Conservation activities have focused on regular anti-poaching patrols and habituating bonobos for the purpose of eco-tourism and research.

Site characteristics

Map of Lomako © Antwerp Zoo Foundation (Zoological Society of Antwerp)

Lomako-Yokokala (Réserve de Faune de Lomako-Yokokala, RFLY) was designated as Faunal Reserve in 2006. In addition to bonobos, other species found at the site include the endemic Congo peacock (Pierard et al, 1999), golden cat, giant pangolin (Omasombo et al, 2005), and forest elephants (Maputla et al. 2020). The reserve, situated in the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba landscape, is bordered by the Lomako and Yokokala Rivers in the north and south, respectively. RFLY is a Category IV protected area (IUCN) and one of the KBAs (BirdLife International, 2020).

Table 1. Basic site information for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Area	3,625 km²
Coordinates	0.994 N, 21.168 W
Designation	Faunal Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical dry forest, Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/tropical swamp forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The Lomako is renowned for research on bonobos that started in the 1970's (Badrian & Badrian 1977). In the late 1980's and early 1990's, the creation of a Lomako Protected area was proposed despite little knowledge on the status of bonobos in the larger area (Dupain et al. 2000, Dupain & Van Elsacker 2001), but political turmoil halted this initiative. Nevertheless, bonobo research projects continued (Susman 1984, Fruth & Hohman 1993, Dupain et al. 1996). The Central African Regional Program for Environment identified the Maringa Lopori Wamba Landscape centered around the Lomako forest (see State of the Forest 2006) and allowed for the creation of the Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve (3625 km²) in 2006. The total bonobo population was estimated at about 910 (95% CI: 497-1668) (A.Vosper 2010). More recent surveys and anecdotal observations indicate that the bonobo population is growing and expanding throughout the protected area, probably comprising well over 1000 individuals.

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

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
Pan paniscus	2004	362.5-2,537.5	0.1-0.7		Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve	Line transects (Distance)	Omasombo et al. 2005	81 beds/km2 in the L-plot, and 12 beds/km2 in the Y-plot

Threats

Hunting has been, and still is, the prime threat to bonobos in the Lomako forest. (Thompson-Handler et al. 1995, Dupain & Van Elsacker 2001, Dupain 2003). Since its creation in 2006, RFLY has been managed by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN). The status of all biodiversity in the protected area has been improving, with amongst others also forest elephants coming back. Thanks to long term investments and relationships with the local communities, the threats to the protected area are currently very limited. The major threat today would be the termination of support to the management of the RFLY.

Table 3. Threats to apes in Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Absent
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Absent
3. Energy production & mining		Absent
4. Transportation & service corridors		Absent
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present, but threat severity unknown	35 hunting camps were recorded in a 2004 survey (Omasombo et al. 2005).	Commercial poaching (Dupain et al. 2005, Fruth et al. 2016). Hunting pressure has been especially strong in the northern part of the reserve (Dupain et al. 2000).	Ongoing (2021)
	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present, but threat severity unknown		The southern part of the reserve suffers from exploitation of forest products as alternatives to the declining coffee, rubber, and palm oil businesses (Dupain et al. 2000).	Ongoing (2021)
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		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The site is managed by Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) with support from the ARCUS foundation through the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) (Arcus Foundation 2020). Due to performance-based management, with a focus on efficient law enforcement and community outreach, RFLY is witnessing increasing numbers across all fauna. The Antwerp Zoo Foundation (AZF) of the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, together with a Congolese NGO, Juristes pour le Renforcement et l’Application de la Loi dans le secteur de l’Environnement (JURISTRALE), signed a memorandum of understanding with the DRC National Office of Tourism and ICCN in 2019 and 2020, respectively, to prepare the Lomako for the tourism and scientific research that focus on bonobos.

Table 4. Conservation activities in Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

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	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) manages the patrol of rangers.	Ongoing (2021)
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	10.2. Involve local community in primate research and conservation management	Habituation efforts of bonobos with field assistants from local communities.	Ongoing (2021)
11. Habitat Protection	Not reported
12. Species Management	12.1. Habituate primates to human presence to reduce stress from tourists/researchers etc.	Habituation efforts of bonobos with field assistants from local communities.	Ongoing (2021)
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Management of RFLY by ICCN has been financially supported by conservation NGOs. If financial support from outside would stop, ranger patrol of ICCN would also stop.

Table 5. Challenges reported for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Challenge	Source
Lack of financial means	Dupain (pers. comm.)

Research activities

Lomako forest has been known as a long-term study site for bonobos since 1974 (Badrian & Badrian 1977; White 1996), with teams from a number of universities and institutes (Stony Brook University, Max Planck Institute, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp University, etc.) attempting to set up long-term research sites (Dupain & Van Elsacker 2001). Since the creation of the RFLY in 2006, intermittent efforts to habituate bonobos for tourism and scientific research continued until 2018. In 2019-2020, most bonobos in one group (named Tolende group) were well habituated to the presence of observers, allowing for behavioral studies (Sakamaki et al. 2020).

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Behavior	Source
Hunting and meat eating	Wakefield et al. 2019
Leaf swallowing	Dupain et al. 2002

External links

A Brief History and Context of Bonobo Conservation in Lomako

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Arcus Foundation. (2020, February 14). A Rare View of the Forgotten Ape: Documenting Bonobos in Their Natural Habitat. Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://www.arcusfoundation.org/blog/great-apes/a-rare-view-of-the-forgotten-ape-documenting-bonobos-in-their-natural-habitat/
Badrian A, Badrian N. (1977) Pygmy chimpanzees. Oryx, 14, 463–468. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0030605300014502
Dupain, J., Van Krunkelsven, E., Van Elsacker, L., & Verheyen, R. F. (2000). Current status of the bonobo (Pan paniscus) in the proposed Lomako Reserve (Democratic Republic of Congo). Biological Conservation, 94, 265–272.
Dupain J, Van Elsacker L. (2001) Status of the proposed Lomako Forest Bonobo Reserve: a case study of the bushmeat trade. In: All apes great and small volume 1: African apes. Galdikas BMF, Briggs N, Sheeran LK, Shapiro GL, Goodall J (eds), Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, pp:259–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47461-1_25
Dupain J, Van Elsacker L, Nell C, Garcia P, Ponce F, Huffman MA. (2002) New evidence for leaf swallowing and Oesophagostomum infection in bonobos (Pan paniscus). International Journal of Primatology, 23, 1053-1062.
Dupain, J. (2003). The proposed Lomako Forest Reserve of the Democratic Republic of Congo: urgent action needed. Oryx. Vol. 37(4), 3-4.
Fruth, B., Hickey, J.R., André, C., Furuichi, T., Hart, J., Hart, T., Kuehl, H., Maisels, F., Nackoney, J., Reinartz, G., Sop, T., Thompson, J. & Williamson, E.A. (2016). Pan paniscus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T15932A102331567. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T15932A17964305.en
Maputla N, Lushimba A, Kasa P, Facheux C, Muruthi P. (2020). First record of a breeding forest elephant herd in the Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo. Afr J Ecol, 58, 537–539. https ://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12725
Omasombo,V., Bokelo,D. & Dupain, J. (2005). Current Status of Bonobos and Other Large Mammals in the Proposed Forest Reserve of Lomako-Yokokala, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Pan Africa News, 12(2), 14-17.
Pierard,M., Dupain,J. & Van Elsacker,L. (1999) The Congo Peacock Afropavo congensis in the Lomako Forest, Equateur Province. Afropavo, 5.
Sakamakai T, Mashini C, Dupain J. 2020. Development of bonobo tourism in the Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve, DRC. Pan Africa News xx: xx–xx.
Thompson-Handler,N., Malenky, R. K., and Reinartz, G.E., 1995: Action plan for Pan paniscus: report on free-ranging populations and Proposals for their Preservation. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Zoological society of Milwaukee County.
Wakefield ML, Hickmott AJ, Brand CM, Takaoka IY, Meador LM, Waller MT, White FJ. (2019) New observations of meat eating and sharing in wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Iyema, Lomako Forest Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Folia Primatol, 90, 179–189.
White FJ. (1996) Pan paniscus 1973 to 1996: Twenty-three years of field research. Evolutionary Anthropology, 5, 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1002(SICI)1520-6505(1996)5:1%3C11::AID-EVAN5%3E3.0.CO;2-Z

Page completed by: Jef Dupain & Tetsuya Sakamaki Date: 25/10/2021