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Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

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Summary

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Bonobo (Pan paniscus) are present in Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve.
In 2010, it was estimated that approximately 1,000 individuals occur in the site.
The bonobo population trend is increasing.
The site has a total size of 3,625 km².
Bonobos are mainly threatened by poaching.
Conservation activities have focused on regular anti-poaching patrols and habituating bonobos for the purpose of eco-tourism and research.

Site characteristics

Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve (Réserve de Faune de Lomako-Yokokala, RFLY) was designated as Faunal Reserve in 2006. In addition to bonobos, other species found at the site include the endemic Congo peacock (Pierard et al. 1999), golden cat, giant pangolin (Omasombo et al. 2005), and forest elephants (Maputla et al. 2020). The reserve, situated in the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape, is bordered by the Lomako and Yokokala Rivers in the north and south, respectively. RFLY is a Category IV protected area (IUCN) and a Key Biodiversity Area (BirdLife International 2020).

Table 1. Basic site information for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Species	Pan paniscus
Area	3,625 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 0.994 , Lon: 21.168
Type of site	Protected area (Faunal Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical dry forest, Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/tropical swamp forest
Type of governance	Governance by government

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

The Lomako is renowned for research on bonobos that started in the 1970s (Badrian & Badrian 1977). In the late 1980's and early 1990's, the creation of a Lomako Protected area was proposed despite little knowledge on the status of bonobos in the larger area (Dupain et al. 2000, Dupain & Van Elsacker 2002), but political turmoil halted this initiative. Nevertheless, bonobo research projects continued (Susman 1984, Fruth & Hohman 1993, Dupain et al. 1996). The Central African Regional Program for Environment identified the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape centered around the Lomako forest (see State of the Forest 2006) and allowed for the creation of the Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve (3625 km²) in 2006. The total bonobo population was estimated at about 910 (95% CI: 497-1668) in 2010 (A. Vosper 2010). More recent surveys and anecdotal observations indicate that the bonobo population is growing and expanding throughout the protected area, probably comprising several thousand individuals (Sakamaki pers. obs. 2024).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Species	Year	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments
Pan paniscus	2004	0.1-0.7	362.5-2,537.5	Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve	Line transects		Omasombo et al. 2005	81 beds/km2 in the L-plot, and 12 beds/km2 in the Y-plot
Pan paniscus	2010	0.25 (0.12-0.51)	910 (497-1,668)	Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve	Line transects		Vosper 2010
Pan paniscus	2012	0.26 (0.13-0.52)	959 (484-1,903)	Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve	Line transects & recces	Distance sampling with adopted decay time	Lushimba 2012

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

Hunting has been, and still is, the prime threat to bonobos in the Lomako forest (Thompson-Handler et al. 1995, Dupain & Van Elsacker 2002, Dupain 2003). Since its creation in 2006, RFLY has been managed by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN). The status of all biodiversity in the protected area has been improving, with amongst others also forest elephants coming back. Thanks to long term investments and relationships with the local communities, the threats to the protected area are currently very limited. The major threat today would be the termination of support to the management of the RFLY (Sakamaki pers. obs. 2024).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1.1 Shifting agriculture	Present (unknown severity)	Slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by the Kitawalists. A small local community of Kitawalists (followers of a religious sect who have been living in the Lomako forest since the 1960s) lives in the eastern sector of Bompondé, and depends on natural resources (Nkono 2021).	1960-Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	Hunting has been, and still is, the prime threat to bonobos in the Lomako forest (Thompson-Handler et al. 1995, Dupain & Van Elsacker 2002, Dupain 2003). Commercial poaching (Dupain et al. 2005, Fruth et al. 2016). Hunting pressure has been especially strong in the northern part of the reserve (Dupain et al. 2000).	1995-Ongoing (2021)
5 Biological resource use	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present (unknown severity)	The southern part of the reserve suffers from exploitation of forest products as alternatives to the declining coffee, rubber, and palm oil businesses (Dupain et al. 2000).	2000-Ongoing (2021)

Threats

Conservation activities

The site is managed by Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) with support from the ARCUS foundation through the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) (Arcus Foundation 2020). Due to performance-based management, with a focus on efficient law enforcement and community outreach, RFLY is witnessing increasing numbers across all fauna. The Antwerp Zoo Foundation (AZF) of the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp signed a memorandum of understanding with the DRC National Office of Tourism and ICCN in 2019 and 2020, respectively, to prepare the Lomako for the tourism and scientific research that focus on bonobos. Considering the challenges faced by the RFLY, and in order to assure further support for effective management of the protected area, AZF also signed a co-management agreement with the ICCN, and provides both financial and technical support (Sakamaki pers. obs. 2024). To safeguard the site's biodoversity, biological and ecological studies have been conducted. Anti-poaching missions using the integrated SMART/CyberTracker software continue to be conducted, and a community-based program to strengthen the resilience of poor communities through funding for income-generating activities has been established (Nkono 2021).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
6 Species management	6.1 Habituate primates to human presence to reduce stress from tourists/researchers	Habituation of bonobos at the Ndele and Iyema sites in the Lomako Reserve began in 1974 by Alison and Noel Badrian (Badrian & Badrian 1977) and in 1995 by the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (Dupain & van Elsacker 2002), respectively. Following a period of interruption during the wars, intermittent efforts to habituate bonobos for both tourism and scientific research have continued since the establishment of the RFLY in 2006 (Sakamaki, Mashini & Dupain 2020). At present, the Antwerp Zoo Foundation conducts daily monitoring of one well-habituated bonobo group (the Tolende Group, comprising 30 individuals), and occasionally monitors neighbouring groups (Sakamaki, pers. comm. 2025).	African Wildlife Foundation, Antwerp Zoo Foundation	1995, 2006-Ongoing (2025)
4 Education & awareness	4.2 Involve local community in ape research and conservation management	Habituation efforts of bonobos with field assistants from local communities (Sakamaki & Dupain pers. comm. 2025).	African Wildlife Foundation, Antwerp Zoo Foundation	2021-Ongoing (2025)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) manages the patrols of rangers.		Ongoing (2021)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Management of RFLY by ICCN has been financially supported by conservation NGOs. If financial support from outside would stop, ranger patrol of ICCN would also stop. In addition, communities living in the periphery of this protected area are increasingly unhappy with the lack of benefits for their well-being despite promises made at the creation of the RFLY (Sakamaki pers. obs. 2024).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
2 Resources and capacity	2.3 General lack of funding	Dupain pers. comm.
2 Resources and capacity	2.1 Lack of capacity/training	Sakamaki T. pers. comm. 2025	Ongoing (2025)
2 Resources and capacity	2.2 Lack of staff	Sakamaki T. pers. comm. 2025	Ongoing (2025)
2 Resources and capacity	2.4 Lack of continuous/long-term funding	Sakamaki T. pers. comm. 2025	Ongoing (2025)

Challenges

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity	2.6 External partnerships that add expertise or resources	Sakamaki T. pers. comm. 2025	Ongoing (2025)
2 Resources and capacity	2.2 Sufficient funding	Sakamaki T. pers. comm. 2025	Ongoing (2025)
3 Engaged community	3.6 Local community engagement and support	Sakamaki T. pers. comm. 2025	Ongoing (2025)
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Enablers

Research activities

Lomako forest has been known as a long-term study site for bonobos since 1974 (Badrian & Badrian 1977, White 1996), with teams from a number of universities and institutes (Stony Brook University, Max Planck Institute, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp University, etc.) attempting to set up long-term research sites (Dupain & Van Elsacker 2002). Since the creation of the RFLY in 2006, intermittent efforts to habituate bonobos for tourism and scientific research continued at the first site, Ndele, and the second one, Iyema. In 2019-2020, most bonobos in one group (named Tolende group) at Iyema site were well habituated to the presence of observers, allowing for behavioral studies (Sakamaki et al. 2020).

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Category	Behavior	Observation type	Prevalence	Observation dates	Source	Habituation	Species	Comment
	Hunting and meat eating				Wakefield et al. 2019
	Leaf swallowing				Dupain et al. 2002

Behaviours

Exposure to climate change impacts

As part of a study on the exposure of African great ape sites to climate change impacts, Kiribou et al. subm. extracted climate data and data on projected extreme climate impact events for the site. Climatological characteristics were derived from observation-based climate data provided by the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP, www.isimip.org). Parameters were calculated as the average across each 30-year period. For 1981-2010, the EWEMBI dataset from ISIMIP2a was used. For the two future periods (2021-2050 and 2071-2099) ISIMIP2b climate data based on four CMIP5 global climate models were used. For future projections, two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) were used. RCP 2.6 is a scenario with strong mitigation measures in which global temperatures would likely rise below 2C. RCP 6.0 is a scenario with medium emissions in which global temperatures would likely rise up to 3C by 2100. For the number of days with heavy precipitation events, the 98th percentile of all precipitation days (>1mm/d) was calculated for the 1979-2013 reference period as a threshold for a heavy precipitation event. Then, for each year, the number of days above that threshold was derived. The figures on temperature and precipitation anomaly show the deviation from the mean temperature and mean precipitation for the 1979-2013 reference period.

The estimated exposure to future extreme climate impact events (crop failure, drought, river flood, wildfire, tropical cyclone, and heatwave) is based on a published dataset by Lange et al. 2020 derived from ISIMIP2b data. The same global climate models and RCPs as described above were used. Within each 30-year period, the number of years with an extreme event and the average proportion of the site affected were calculated (see Kiribou et al. subm. for details).

Table 8. Estimated past and projected climatological characteristics in Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Value	1981-2010	2021-2050, RCP 2.6	2021-2050, RCP 6.0	2071-2099, RCP 2.6	2071-2099, RCP 6.0
Mean temperature [C]	25.4	26.5	26.5	26.8	27.8
Annual precipitation [mm]	2016	2025	2019	1983	2041
Max no. consecutive dry days (per year)	4.8	9.1	8.3	8.4	9.6
No. days with heavy precipitation (per year)	7.3	10.3	11	11.1	11.8

Table 9. Projected exposure of apes to extreme climate impact events in Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve

Type	No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 2.6)	% of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 2.6)	No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 6.0)	% of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 6.0)	No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 2.6)	% of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 2.6)	No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 6.0)	% of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 6.0)
Crop failure	8.5	0.04	6.5	0.02	7	0.03	23.5	0.02
Drought	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Heatwave	4	100	2	50	6.5	100	11	100
River flood	0	0	0.5	0.06	0.5	0.95	2.75	1.01
Tropical cyclone	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wildfire	30	0.22	30	0.22	29	0.21	29	0.24

External links

A Brief History and Context of Bonobo Conservation in Lomako

References

Arcus Foundation. (2020, February 14). A Rare View of the Forgotten Ape: Documenting Bonobos in Their Natural Habitat. Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://www.arcusfoundation.org/blog/great-apes/a-rare-view-of-the-forgotten-ape-documenting-bonobos-in-their-natural-habitat/
Badrian A, Badrian N. (1977). Pygmy chimpanzees. Oryx, 14, 463–468. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0030605300014502
Dupain, J., Van Krunkelsven, E., Van Elsacker, L., & Verheyen, R. F. (2000). Current status of the bonobo (Pan paniscus) in the proposed Lomako Reserve (Democratic Republic of Congo). Biological Conservation, 94, 265–272.
Dupain, J., Van Elsacker, L. (2002). Status of the Proposed Lomako Forest Bonobo Reserve: A Case Study of the Bushmeat Trade. In: Galdikas, B.M.F., Briggs, N.E., Sheeran, L.K., Shapiro, G.L., Goodall, J. (eds) All Apes Great and Small. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47461-1_25
Dupain J, Van Elsacker L, Nell C, Garcia P, Ponce F, Huffman MA. (2002). New evidence for leaf swallowing and Oesophagostomum infection in bonobos (Pan paniscus). International Journal of Primatology, 23, 1053-1062.
Dupain, J. (2003). The proposed Lomako Forest Reserve of the Democratic Republic of Congo: urgent action needed. Oryx. Vol. 37(4), 3-4.
Fruth, B., Hickey, J.R., André, C., Furuichi, T., Hart, J., Hart, T., Kuehl, H., Maisels, F., Nackoney, J., Reinartz, G., Sop, T., Thompson, J. & Williamson, E.A. (2016). Pan paniscus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T15932A102331567. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T15932A17964305.en
Lushimba, Abdelhalim. (2012). Large mammals and human activities in Lomako-Yokokala Faunal Reserve (DRC).
Maputla N, Lushimba A, Kasa P, Facheux C, Muruthi P. (2020). First record of a breeding forest elephant herd in the Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo. Afr J Ecol, 58, 537–539. https ://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12725
NKONO, J. 2021 Evalution de la dynamiques des population des grand et moyen mammiferes dans la reseve de faune domako-Yokokala_Rapport_Inventaire_Faunique_RFLY_2021
Omasombo,V., Bokelo,D. & Dupain, J. (2005). Current Status of Bonobos and Other Large Mammals in the Proposed Forest Reserve of Lomako-Yokokala, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Pan Africa News, 12(2), 14-17.
Pierard,M., Dupain,J. & Van Elsacker,L. (1999). The Congo Peacock Afropavo congensis in the Lomako Forest, Equateur Province. Afropavo, 5.
Sakamakai T., Mashini C., & Dupain J. (2020). Development of bonobo tourism in the Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve, DRC. Pan Africa News xx: xx–xx.
Thompson-Handler,N., Malenky, R. K., and Reinartz, G.E. (1995). Action plan for Pan paniscus: report on free-ranging populations and Proposals for their Preservation. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Zoological society of Milwaukee County.
Vosper, A. (2010). Large mammal survey in the Faunal reserve of Lomako-Yokokala, African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) 32p.
Wakefield ML, Hickmott AJ, Brand CM, Takaoka IY, Meador LM, Waller MT, White FJ. (2019). New observations of meat eating and sharing in wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Iyema, Lomako Forest Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Folia Primatol, 90, 179–189.
White FJ. (1996). Pan paniscus 1973 to 1996: Twenty-three years of field research. Evolutionary Anthropology, 5, 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1002(SICI)1520-6505(1996)5:1%3C11::AID-EVAN5%3E3.0.CO;2-Z

Page created by: Jef Dupain & Tetsuya Sakamaki Date: 2021-10-25

Page updated by: Jef Dupain & Tetsuya Sakamaki Date: 2024-12-01

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