Congo Animals

The Congo rainforest is famous for its wildlife, which include forest elephants, okapi, hippos, leopards, chimpanzees, and bonobos, among many other species.

Congo Basin countries score lower on biodiversity relative to the Amazon and southeast Asia, but they have a greater variety of large-bodied mammals, led by forest elephants.

Bushmeat hunting is widespread in Central African forests. An increasing share of hunting is commercial, meaning animals are being hunted to supply markets in cities and abroad. For example, meat of Central African animals can be found in China and European capitals.

Species counts for Congo Basin countries