Students have probably already learned a little about animal behavior and threats to the tropical rain forest. This lesson asks them to consider the ways in which human activities in the rain forest might affect the behaviors of some well-known African mammals, particularly in the Congo River Basin.

Geography, ecology, conservation

Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"

Three hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Writing materials

Students will

• read Congo Trek field reports and list the animal species and their interactions with the people on the trek;
• discuss the differences between wild and domestic animals;
• hypothesize the impacts of human contact with wild animals;
• research the behaviors of gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants, and write paragraphs explaining how these animals' behaviors might be affected by human contact; and
• pretend they have just returned from Congo Trek, and prepare statements they would provide to a local news crew regarding human impacts on African animals.

Have students visit the Congo Trek site and read the first page to get a background on biologist Michael Fay's trek across the Central African rain forest. Discuss as a class the reasons why they think this trek is important.

Show the class the Congo Trek location on a map.

Have students read a few of Fay's field reports and list the animal species he encounters, how he reacts when he sees them, and how the animals react to him. Students can start with the most recent report and work backwards.

Ask students to define the words "wild" and "domestic" and to provide a few examples of each. What differences in behavior would they expect to find between an animal that has been domesticated, such as a pet dog or horse, and an animal that is completely wild, such as a wild dog, mustang, or bear?

Ask students to think about different circumstances under which wild animals might live. Some wild animals live in close range to humans, while others have never seen people and have been only minimally impacted by human activities. What might be the differences in behavior between wild animals in these two types of conditions? Can students think of examples to illustrate these different scenarios? For example, perhaps they have heard about bears who wind up in backyards or garbage bins in mountain communities. Do they think these bears behave differently from bears who live deep in the forest and have never encountered people?

Tell the class that Fay is interested in finding out the numbers of animals of various species that live in the rain forest through which he's trekking. He has encountered some truly wild animals, such as chimpanzees, which he believes have never seen people. One concern is that, as humans increasingly use the forest for logging, poaching, and other activities, these animals will come into direct contact with people. This contact will not only decrease the animals' habitats but will also change their behaviors.

Explain that the animals Fay has encountered on Congo Trek are highly vulnerable to human activities, such as logging and agriculture. If the rain forest is completely cut down, these animals will lose their habitats altogether and could disappear from the region. If their habitat is only partially destroyed, these animals might be more and more likely to encounter humans in their daily lives. What do students think might be the long-term effects of these encounters on the animals' behaviors and social structures?

Have students use the following Web sites and any other relevant resources they can find to learn about the behaviors of gorillas, chimpanzees, and African elephants:

National Geographic: Creature Feature—Chimpanzees
National Geographic: Creature Feature—Mountain Gorillas
National Geographic: Creature Feature—African Elephants
The Bronx Zoo: Congo Gorilla Forest
The Jane Goodall Institute: Chimpanzees
The Oakland Zoo: African Elephant (Note: Excellent pictures and videos, but advanced reading.)

Students can also look again at Fay's field reports (go to the Congo Trek page and click on "Dispatches & Map") to see what he says about his interactions with these animals. Ask students to take notes on the specific behaviors they read about. After they have finished their research, have them write paragraphs answering the question "In what ways might the presence of humans in the rain forest affect these animals' behaviors?" Some sample answers might include gorillas (which are naturally shy) becoming more agitated and vocalizing more frequently in response to human intruders, or elephants becoming more aggressive.

Ask students to share their answers to the question above. Were all the effects students shared negative ones? How might the negative effects of humans on animals in the rain forest be mitigated?

Have students pretend that they have just returned from a trip to Central Africa in which they spent a few weeks trekking along with Fay. They are now back in their hometown and want to share their experiences with everyone. The local news crew has just phoned and asked to interview the students about their experiences. The news team is particularly interested in hearing about how Fay's work will help preserve some important animal species—the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and the elephant. Have students prepare statements addressing the following points:

• Why Fay is conducting this trek.
• How Fay's trek will help these wild animals, and what might happen to the animals if Fay and others don't get involved on their behalf.
• The ways in which Fay serves as a positive role model for others who want to help preserve the "wildness" of rain forest animals.

If you have more time, you can have students write scripts and create images for their news segments.

• Have students choose one of the species studied in this lesson and find out about organizations that have been established to protect this animal. Have them write paragraphs describing the major threats to the species, the locations in which the organization conducts it work, and the actions it is taking to meet its goals.
  
  
• Have students learn more about rain forest animals at the Rainforest Action Network Kids' Corner. Ask them to report on the ways in which human activities might affect some of the species they read about at this site.
  
  
• Have students visit, with a parent or caretaker, the National Geographic magazine feature Africa MegaFlyover to learn about Michael Fay's exploration and efforts to spur conservation of Africa's ecosystems.

National Geographic Magazine: Africa MegaFlyover—Charting the Last Wild Places on Earth
National Geographic: Congo Trek
National Geographic: Creature Feature
Rainforest Action Network Kids Corner
The Bronx Zoo: Congo Gorilla Forest
The Jane Goodall Institute: Chimpanzees
The Oakland Zoo: African Elephant