Okapi National Park is located in the northeast of Congo lying near the borders of Uganda and Sudan. It covers an area of 14,000 square kilometers including approximately one fifth of the area of the forest. The three main rivers flowing through the reserve are Epulu, Ituri and Nepoko. The reserve was established with the help Okapi Conservation Project in 1992.
The flora diversity of the park includes four major types of forests namely Mbau forest, Mixed forest, Swamp forest and Secondary forest. It also includes Ituri forest that has the highest number of duiker species in Africa, black legged mongoose, Sitatunga antelope, bongo antelope and Zaire clawless otter. The park has 329 species of birds some of them are Black spinetail, Bate’s, Night Jar, Black guineafowl, Nahan’s francolin. In 1997, the reserve was declared under the list of world heritage sites in danger due to activities such as deforestation and hunting in order to sell bush meat. Gold mining has been another problem that has become a hindrance in the preservation of the park. Lack of funding due to poor economic conditions of the country is also the reason that the park is under endangered list.
Image Source : OkapiConservation.Org