CAR and Bonobos in the DRC - August 2009

Everyone who travels with us shares our enthusiasm for Africa and most are also fans of the great apes. Our latest trip to Central African Republic (CAR) and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) focused on
observing lowland gorillas and bonobos, fabulous species in their own right but boy they live in difficult terrain and indeed difficult countries within Africa. So this trip definitely required a sense of adventure and we’d like to thank Marian, Lisa, Robin and David for entering into the spirit of things and joining us on a more adventurous trip. We know you have become fans of Bonobos and all their antics!

We started our trip on a recce to CAR, really keen to get sightings of lowland gorillas and we’d heard about the bais which attract forest elephants in particular, to forage for minerals in the mud. Both CAR and DRC have experienced terrible wars and conflict which have caused great hardship for their people and wildlife and there are some parts of these countries we regrettably still wouldn’t be comfortable to visit but with care we have found it is possible to safely get in and see some of what the countries have to offer, and to of course see some species that are found nowhere else in the world. Apes rock, we can see all sorts of human behaviour in them, both good and bad and you can come away with some insights into some of what humans get wrong and right. We met wonderful people and did manage to photograph both gorillas and bonobos. Every day was filled with either adventure or bonobo sex, sometimes both! Click the trip report button above to read more.