Congo Basin forests span six countries in Africa: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo (6.0792° S and 12.4500° E).
The river is the second largest river in the world aside from the Amazon river found in South America. The Congo River formed approximately 1.5 - 2 million years ago during the Pleistocene period.
Climate
With the Equator running through the country, the Congo Basin climate is warm and humid with two main seasons. One long wet season and a dry season with slightly less rains. It rains about 117 days per year with a total of approximately 1,766mm of rainfall. Usually the rainy season begins in the first half of March and the dry season usually begins in November.
Fauna
The forests of the Congo Basin contains the
greatest number of Mammals, Primates, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish and swallowtail Butterflies in Africa. More than a 1,000 species of Bird can be found here. The
Congo Basin is the only place in the world to shelter all three subspecies of Gorilla which are the
lowland Gorilla, the endemic eastern lowland Gorilla and the endangered
mountain Gorilla. The African forest Elephant can be found in the Congo rainforest. It is smaller than the savanna Elephant and has downward-projecting tusks.
Threats
While the forests of this ecoregion are relatively intact, increasing logging activity and clearing for agriculture threaten them. Ravaged by commercial interests (Ivory, skins, rubber and slaves) for about 100 years, the indigenous people have been deeply affected by these events. Organised hunting of the larger species for bushmeat and ivory and meat, and gorillas for meat and fetishes threatens animal populations in the region.
Flora
The rainforests of the Congo is home to more than 11,000 different species of plants. Over one thousand of these species are unique to the Congo rainforest. In the most dense parts of the rainforest only 1% of the sunlight reaches the ground. Teak trees are common in the rainforest of the Congo. They can grow up to 50 meters (154 feet) high. These trees are in high demand as a source of wood and one of the main reasons for the alarming rate of deforestation in the forest.