Lope Game Reserve, Gabon Photograph by WWF/ John Newby   Central Africa Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands   159,700 square miles (413,500 square kilometers) -- about twice the size of Minnesota Critical/Endangered

· Follow the River
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Follow the River

As the mighty Congo River makes its way to the coast, it passes through the Western Congolian Forest-Savanna Mosaic and two countries’ capitals: Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo. Large dissected plateaus frame the lower Congo River, separated by spectacular canyons that plunge down to depths of 980 ft (300 m). Around the river, and extending further south into Angola, this ecoregion is a mix of dry and moist forests, savanna, and grasslands.

Special Features

In the last 10 million years, the climate has fluctuated significantly in Central Africa. Over 20 different fluctuations took place, and with each oscillation the proportion of forest to savanna changed. In dry conditions, savannas expanded, while moist climates favored the spread of rain forest. Conducting research on the present-day distribution of vegetation and animals can offer valuable clues into the climates and conditions of long ago.

	In addition to climatic changes, people may have influenced the balance between forest and savanna. Pre-agricultural people used fire as a key tool when hunting, to flush game out of the forest. By setting fires, they could have reduced forests and accelerated the spread of savannas.

Wild Side

A number of primates can be found here, including the endangered Bouvier’s red colobus and the black mangabey, which lives in the forest canopy along waterways. Other mammals found here include elephants, lions, forest buffaloes, warthogs, and a variety of antelopes such as waterbuck, reedbuck, common duiker, and even the swamp-dwelling sitatunga, the most aquatic of the antelopes. A number of bird species are endemic here, including the white-headed robin-chat and the orange-breasted bush-shrike. Unfortunately, both species are threatened by forest clearing.

Cause for Concern

Major urban centers, such as Kinshasa and Brazzaville, hold human populations that still depend on the forest for resources such as bushmeat and wood for construction. The Congo River and local roads provide easy access to the forest. In more rural areas, vegetation is often converted to agriculture. But perhaps the biggest threat of all has been civil wars plaguing Angola, the DRC, and the Republic of Congo. These wars produce massive movements of refugees and devastate the environment.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.