Summary

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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

Species	Gorilla beringei graueri, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii
Area	10,830 km²
Coordinates	Lat: -0.438204 N , Lon: 27.470303 E
Type of site	Protected area (National Park)
Habitat types	Sutropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance

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 reported for Maiko National Park

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Area	Method	Source	Comments
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	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	Survey data, Reconnaissance walk, Line transects	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	Survey data, Reconnaissance walk, Line transects	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 reported for Maiko National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1 Residential & commercial development	1.1 Residential areas	Present, but threat severity is unknown	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 intrusions & 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 threat		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).

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Maiko National Park

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source
6 Safety and stability	6.3 Civil unrest/war	Maldonado et al. 2012
1 Site management	1.2 Need for improved coordination	Maldonado et al. 2012
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Plumptre et al. 2015

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Maiko National Park

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Maiko National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

Exposure to climate change impacts

External links

Maiko National Park

Relevant datasets

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/

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