Ituri Forest

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Photo by flickr user izzie_whizzie

The Ituri Forest encloses more than 60,000 square kilometres of the Congo River Basin from the high altitude forests through the swamps and tropical lowland forests. The area’s great biodiversity stems from the last glacial age when many species of animal crowded to the warmer lowland forests for survival and then remained there, now the short dry season within the forest attracts more wildlife as the areas surrounding it are logged and cleared. The forest itself remains densely vegetated except in some places where the canopy is so thick only tiny shafts of light break through it and hardly anything grows on the forest floor. Ituri is famous for two of it’s inhabitants in particular, the Okapi, the giraffe’s only living relative and the local people the Mbuti. The Mbuti are indigenous pygmy tribes, some of the oldest inhabitants of Africa. There are different Mbuti groups living in Ituri, with varied languages and distinct cultures. Other tribes also live in the Ituri. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve covers about a quarter of the forest’s area and monitors the Okapi population. As well as the Okapi and the Mbuti, Ituri is also home to Forest Elephants, primates of all sizes, over 300 different types of birds and a diverse range of fish species.

Written by  Kate Griffin.

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