The Jungle Speaks

Finding the soul of Africa inside the heart of darkness.

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Deep in the Central African jungle, lowland gorillas dwell peacefully with inhabitants of the forest. Chimpanzee and leopard, elephant and pygmy wander through one of the largest and least-explored regions of tropical forest in the world. Here, in the Congo Basin, is a place that has long conjured exotic images of cannibalistic tribes, devastating plagues and ferocious creatures, a jungle forever saddled with Conrad’s moniker “heart of darkness.”

Despite recent marketing efforts by the tourism industry, the Congo Basin is still one of the world’s best-kept wildlife secrets. It covers 470 million acres of pristine rain forest in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Gabon and is home to the world’s largest populations of lowland gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo and forest elephant.

Lowland gorillas represent nearly 90 percent of the world’s gorilla population, but little is known about them compared to the fame heaped on their better-known cousin, the mountain gorilla. Civil wars and coups have sheltered lowland gorillas from the outside world and kept their habitat relatively intact. However, as Central Africa is developed, human encroachment takes its toll. Deforestation, road construction and slash-and-burn farming have already wiped out almost 90 percent of Central Africa’s rain forests and are threatening the species that long dwelled within.

Conservation groups such as the World Wildlife Foundation are working with local governments to create protected areas and learn more about these great apes. The Dzanga-Sangha Reserve in the Central African Republic and Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in Congo are two such areas, and Dzanga-Sangha now hosts the first group of lowland gorillas habituated for tourism.

It was to see these enigmatic gorillas that I traveled hundreds of miles into the depths of the Congo rain forest. Long fascinated by African wildlife, I was determined to come face to face with a giant silverback.

I am bound for the rain forest by bush plane. My companions aboard the two-hour flight from Douala, Cameroon, are European tour operators in search of novel expeditions to challenge their well-heeled clients. With gorilla-mania much in vogue, many adventurous travelers have already seen the mountain gorillas and are looking for the next big thing. Little do we know that the Congo Basin will present us with so much more than gorillas.

After landing, we weave through the jungle on a narrow red dirt road, our old pickup bumping over washouts and puddles from rainstorms past. We reach a barbed wire fence marking our arrival at the World Wildlife Fund’s Bihokou Camp. Decorative rows of rusted tin cans protect the camp from curious elephants.

Image 2:  Family of gorillas in Mbeli Bai, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Congo.

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