Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Summary

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• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Okapi Wildlife Reserve.
• It has been estimated that 5,019 individuals occur in the site.
• The chimpanzee population trend is stable.
• The site has a total size of 13,700 km².
• Armed groups involved in illegal mining, logging and hunting are the most concerning threat to chimpanzees and other wildlife in the

Okapi Wildlife Reserve.

• Conservation activities at the site include anti-poaching patrols.

Site characteristics

Established in 1992, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve occupies about one-fifth of the Ituri forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Okapi Conservation Project). The reserve was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, and it is also an Important Bird Area, with nearly 400 bird species recorded (BirdLife International 2020). The site is one of the largest blocks of intact forest remaining in the Congo Basin. The forest is important for the Mbuti and Efé pygmies, who live here as hunter-gatherers (BirdLife International 2020; UNESCO). The reserve is famous for being home to the largest population of the endemic okapi, Okapia johnstoni (BirdLife International 2020; UNESCO). The reserve supports other mammals of global conservation importance, including eastern chimpanzees, forest elephants, water chevrotains, aquatic genets, bongos, Hamlyn's monkeys, and mountain monkeys (BirdLife International 2020). The site is also notably rich in butterfly species (BirdLife International 2020).

Table 1. Basic site information for Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Area	13,700 km²
Coordinates	1.758921, 28.504352
Designation	Wildlife Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical/tropical swamp forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The eastern chimpanzee population remained stable between 2007-2018, at around 5000 individuals; in 2018 the estimate was 5019 individuals (c.i. 3719-6773; CV 15%). However, there is some evidence of a range reduction in the west of the Reserve since 2011 (Madidi et al. 2019).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Okapi Wildlife 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 troglodytes schweinfurthii	2009	8,802	0.62		14,157 sq. km	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Plumptre et al. 2010
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2018	5019 (3719-6773)			12,000 sq. km	Line transects (Distance)	Madidi et al. 2019	survey effort: 321 km

Threats

The presence of armed militia involved in illegal mining, logging and hunting is one of the most concerning threats to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. Most human activity is associated with the concentration of mines in the south and west, both north and south of the national road that bisects the Reserve (Madidi et al. 2019). In 2012, armed rebel groups brutally attacked the headquarters of the reserve, killing six people and 14 captive okapis (Dasgupta 2019). Immigration is also a serious threat, as the RN4 road, which bisects the southern part of the reserve was rehabilitated, allowing easy access to pristine forests (IUCN).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High		Illegal gold mining. Miners often depend on bushmeat (Dasgupta 2019). Mining is concentrated in the southern and western parts of the reserve (Madidi et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Rehabilitation of the RN4 road, which bisects the southern part of the reserve from east to west facilitated access to the forest (IUCN).	Ongoing
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Hunting for bushmeat, linked to illegal mining activities (IUCN).	Ongoing
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Illegal logging and clearing of forest by immigrants (Dasgupta 2019; IUCN).	Ongoing (2019)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	High		Armed militia involved in illegal mining, logging and hunting (IUCN).	Ongoing
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

In 2019 an agreement was reached to manage the Okapi Wildlife Reserve between Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Government’s Nature Conservation Agency, ICCN (WCS). Between 2011 and 2019, hunting activity diminished as people have shifted their activities towards the mining camps in the southwest of the reserve. In addition, the core area is regularly patrolled by anti poaching teams (Madidi et al. 2019).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Okapi Wildlife 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	Rangers walk up to 20 days a month to patrol the forest (Okapi Conservation Project, Madidi et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
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	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site is designated as a Wildlife Reserve.	Ongoing
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 Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Challenge	Source
Lack of logistical means	BirdLife International 2020
Civil unrest	IUCN

Research activities

A research project has been based at Epulu since the early 1980s and has been supported since 1986 by the Wildlife Conservation Society. Besides conducting the first study of Okapi in the wild, this project has included long-term studies of natural and selectively-logged forest and research into the socio-economic impact of human migration (BirdLife International 2020).

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Behavior	Source
Making ground nests	Plumptre et al. 2010
Smashing large snails	Plumptre et al. 2010
Smashing tortoises	Plumptre et al. 2010

External links

UNESCO Okapi Wildlife Reserve
IUCN World Heritage Outlook

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Okapi Faunal Reserve. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/12/2020.
Dasgupta, S. (2019). DRC’s Okapi Wildlife Reserve gets new management partner in WCS. Retrieved 30 December 2020 from Mongabay.com. Web site: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/drcs-okapi-wildlife-reserve-gets-new-management-partner-in-wcs/#
Madidi, J., Maisels, F., Kahindo, F., Nsafusa, B., Angemito, T., Manala, M., Ngohe, O., & Liengola, I. 2019. Inventaires des Grands Mammifères et de l’Impact Humaine, Réserve de Faune à Okapis, 2018. Rapport technique No : 01/BION/RFO/2019 p. 40. WCS DRC, Kinshasa, DRC.
Plumptre, A.J., Rose, R., Nangendo, G., Williamson, E.A., Didier, K., Hart, J., Mulindahabi, F., Hicks, C., Griffin, B., Ogawa, H., Nixon, S., Pintea, L., Vosper, A., McClennan, M., Amsini, F., McNeilage, A., Makana, J.R., Kanamori, M., Hernandez, A., Piel, A., Stewart, F., Moore, J., Zamma, K., Nakamura, M., Kamenya, S., Idani, G., Sakamaki, T., Yoshikawa, M., Greer, D., Tranquilli, S., Beyers, R., Furuichi, T., Hashimoto, C. and Bennett, E. (2010). Eastern Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii): Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 2010–2020. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland. 52pp

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 14/08/2023