Kahuzi Biega National Park was first established in 1970 and spans over a radius of approximately 6000 square kilometers making it one of the largest national parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The national park is the number one destination for lowland gorilla trekking safaris in Congo.
Trekking lowland gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega national park was first done in 1973 and in 1975, the national park was extended from 600 to 6,000 square kilometers.
The national park was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980; and in 1997, it was listed as a World Heritage Site in danger which forced the government of Congo and other conservation organizations to work together towards the conservation of most wildlife animals especially the eastern lowland gorillas.
The park was established to conserve the world’s largest species of gorillas (Grauer’s Gorilla) in 1970, and this destination still remains one of the few areas in the world to spot these primate species. It is also home to two beautiful dormant volcanoes that is Mt. Kahuzi and Biega towering to a height of 3,308m and 2,790m meters above sea level; it’s from these twin mountains that the park derives its name. Kahuzi-Biega national park is also a refuge for endangered wild life species.
Timeline
The park came to its existence in 1970 when it was established by the Belgian photographer and conservationist Adrien Deschryver. The park was given a name Kahuzi Biega after its boundaries of mount Biega and Mount Kahuzi. The first lowland gorilla trekking was done in 1973 in Kahuzi Biega and its among the reasons that it ranks high when it comes to eastern lowland gorilla trekking.
The park is a UNESCO world heritage site, adorned in 1980 because of exceptional eastern lowland gorillas.
The governor general of the Belgian colonial administration formed the forest reserve of mount kahuzi on 27th July 1937 and the reserve was part of the Kahuzi-Biega national park ever since November 1970. Because of its unique terrain of rain forest and diversity of the mammal species, UNESCO World heritage site opened this park under principle(x) after the five years of its expansion to 600 km2.
In 1975 the park was extended from an area of 60000 to 600000 ha,1980 it was just listed as a heritage centre.
In 1997 it was listed on the world heritage sites in danger that concerned the Congo government and other conservation organization to try and conserve the lowland gorillas through campaigns and various park activities.
Gorilla Tourism
Gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega was re-opened in 2010 with only two gorillas families being fully habituated for trekking; the groups include Chimanuka (37 members) and Mankoto (19 members). The park has an approximate total population of 140 lowland gorillas living in the jungles of Kahuzi Biega National Park. Divided into two forest zones which are connected by a narrow corridor, the park has a mountain forest on one side that covers 600 sq. km from an altitude of 1,800 m to 3,300 m and a tropical forest on the other side from an altitude of 600 m and 1,200 m. This makes Kahuzi Biega national park one of the largest conservation reserves aiming to conserve flora and fauna with in the mountainous region of central Africa.