Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo was established in 1992 to conserve the most intact natural habitat of the Okapi. It covers 13,700 square kilometers of the Ituri Forest in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo has been built to preserves plants and wildlife. Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo has been declared as a World Heritage Site in 1996.
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve occupies about one-fifth of the Ituri forest in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over 1,500 species of plants and animals can be found in this reserve. The reserve consists of endangered species of primates and birds. About 5,000 of the estimated 30,000 okapi surviving in the wild are housed in this reserve. It also boasts of some dramatic scenery, which includes waterfalls on the Ituri and Epulu rivers. The reserve is inhabited by traditional nomadic pygmy Mbuti and Efe hunters.
Apart from the 5,000 okapi, the reserve also shelters 4,000 elephants, 2,000 leopards, 13 primate species including chimpanzees, three species of crocodile, and may other rainforest species such as forest buffalo and water chevrotain. A wide variety of birds and insects are also found here. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve is the most important site for bird conservation in mainland Africa. The Mbuti and Efe pygmies, some of the last truly forest people left on earth inhabit in the Ituri Forest.
During the civil war in Congo, the wildlife and the people of the region suffered huge losses. Scores of elephants, primates and other wildlife were gunned down by troops occupying the Reserve. Casualties among the local human inhabitants were high; homes, schools and clinics were looted; the forest, itself, was under attack. However the Okapi Project Staff continued to provide daily care for the okapi. Not a single okapi was lost during the war.
Today after 6 years of intense civil war, relative peace has returned to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. All military personnel are out of the Reserve. They are being disarmed and disbanded. The Gilman International Conservation has initiated a concerted effort to build on the conservation progress in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.
Detailed online information on Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo can be obtained in travel.mapsofworld
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