· Life Among the Leaves
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
· Looking Ahead

Global 200 Snapshot

As part of the vast rain forests of central Africa, this ecoregion contains some of the highest numbers of plants and animals in Africa. This Global 200 ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests; Sao Tome and Principe moist lowland forests; Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests

Life Among the Leaves

The incredible diversity of plants and animals in the Congolian Coastal Forests indicates a long evolutionary history. Sharing affinities with the forests of South America and Upper Guinea, these forests may date back more than 100 million years. They also contain what some feel are ancient refuges that remained forested even during arid periods. That's one reason their diversity is so high. Giant ginger, goliath frogs, western lowland gorillas, and red-eared monkeys are just a few of the organisms living in and under the tropical trees.

Special Features

The coastal forests receive the highest rainfall in Africa (over 33 feet (10 m) per year), with warm to hot temperatures hovering within a narrow range.

	This region contains an unusually large number of endemic frogs and some of the highest numbers of butterflies in Africa.

Wild Side

If you were to enter the Congolian Coastal Forests, you may notice the scent of ginger. This is the endemic aframomum giganteum, the tallest species of ginger in the world and a favored food of the lowland gorilla. Another notable plant is the Dioscorea, a native yam that is a staple crop for many local people. The moist environment is also suitable for small trees that produce cola-fruits, a popular food for primates, squirrels, and humans. A variety of orchids is also found here. You might hear a group of mandrills, colorful relatives of baboons, keeping up a constant chatter of barks, grunts, and squeals. Or, you might see the goliath frog, the world’s largest frog. From overhead might come the scratching sounds of a scaly-tailed squirrel or the haunting birdsong of the Gabon coucal. The northern needle-clawed bushbaby--a small primate--feeds on tree gum in the dark of night, using its sharp claws to secure its hold on the bark.

Cause for Concern

The major threat to the integrity of the forest habitat in this ecoregion comes first from commercial logging, followed by clearing for agricultural. Another major threat to the animals of the area is the hunting of larger mammals for food. In addition, human-caused fires have destroyed many tracts of forestland.

Looking Ahead

Although there has certainly been extensive fragmentation of the original forest in many areas, some large blocks of habitat remain intact. In the border region between Nigeria and Cameroon, these blocks are still quite well connected. In general, habitat fragmentation in this ecoregion is lower than in the forest ecoregions farther west in Africa, although it is expected to increase.