Kahuzi Biega National Park Animals
Kahuzi Biega National Park Animals
Kahuzi Biega National Park animals are the reason why most of the visitors the park receives annually do come in the first place. Yes, Kahuzi Biega National Park is an amazing little gem in the Democratic Republic of Congo little known to the world, but the park has some of the most fascinating natural endowments, including the wild animals.
Kahuzi Biega National Park is a UNESCO world heritage site that is protected by the Congolese Institute of Conservation of Nature (ICCN) in partnership with the Congolese government. Established in 1970, Kahuzi Biega National Park encompasses about 6000 square kilometres, making it one of the biggest national parks in the Congo set in both mountainous and lowland terrain.
Kahuzi Biega National Park lies west of Bukavu town in the South Kivu Province. Part of Kahuzi Biega National Park is in Mitumba Mountain range of the Albertine Rift in the Great Rift Valley while the other part being of lowland terrain. Kahuzi Biega National Park has two mountains, Mount Kahuzi and Mount Biega both of which contributed to the naming of the park. Kahuzi Biega National Park is rich in diversity of flora and fauna, not with the variant vegetation cover in the park, and other physical features like mountains, swamps, and small rivers. The park therefore has all the reasons to inhabit a number of wildlife in the park, including a variety of animals in Kahuzi Biega National Park.
Kahuzi Biega National Park has 136 species of mammals recorded in the park, with the eastern lowland gorillas being most prominent and the reason why the park is slowly being known worldwide. Kahuzi Biega National Park by 2008 had a record of only 125 eastern lowland gorillas in the park a great reduction from about 800 eastern lowland gorillas in the years before 1990. In the recent years however, the population of the eastern lowland gorillas has slowly been increasing, with a number of them being habituated that travellers can now enjoy eastern lowland gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park.
The eastern lowland gorillas in Kahuzi Biega National Park can be tracked all year round, with the best time being the dry season. The eastern lowland gorilla trekking procedure is the same as the usual gorilla trekking procedure of the mountain gorillas in Congo or Rwanda or gorillas in Uganda. The difference though could be that eastern lowland gorilla trekking could not be as hectic and strenuous as mountain gorilla trekking for the eastern lowland gorillas can be found in the lower areas of the park unlike the mountain gorillas which do live in the mountainous areas.
For one to be allowed to take part in eastern lowland gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park, one ought to pay for a gorilla permit in the park, at a cost of $400 per person per trek. Gorilla trekking rules do apply here too, and travellers are reminded to carry their essential gorilla trekking gear for a successful and more memorable gorilla trekking experience in Kahuzi Biega National Park.
Other Kahuzi Biega National Park animals
Apart from the eastern lowland gorillas which do bring a number of tourists to the park, there are other Kahuzi Biega National Park animals which are worth a mention and would make your stay in Kahuzi Biega National Park all the more thrilling and memorable. These other Kahuzi Biega National Park animals include primates like the eastern chimpanzees, owl faced monkeys, mammals like the bush elephants, bush buffaloes, hylochere, bongo, aquatic civet, the eastern needle-clawed galago, Maclaud’s horseshoe bat, the Rwenzori least otter shrew, alexander’s bush squirrel, the Albertine owlet and the Mount Kahuzi climbing mouse. Leopards, Olive baboons, giant forest hogs, hippos, and so much more.
Other primates that make part of the Kahuzi Biega National Park animals include the Angolan black monkeys, blue monkeys, Bosman’s potto, Dent’s Mona, and red-tailed monkeys. Kahuzi Biega National park animals that are endemic to the park include Alexander’s bush squirrel, Maclaud’s horseshoe bat, Rwenzori least otter shrew, Thomas ‘tree squirrel, and the Mount Kahuzi climbing mouse.
Kahuzi Biega animals are a great reason to visit the Congo on a Congo safari tour. Whereas visiting Kahuzi Biega National Park can be done alone, combining it with Virunga National Park for gorilla trekking and Tchegera Island for a more relaxing experience is a great thought to consider. Plan for a Congo safari tour and get to spot a number of Kahuzi Biega’s animals and so much more.
