Back Into the Wild

Since becoming the site of the world's first and only successful bonobo release, Ekolo ya Bonobo has transformed into a 120,000 acre community forest reserve where both wild bonobos and released bonobos live free and protected from poachers.

And now we are about to reintroduce the largest group yet. 14 bonobos quarantined on Totaka Island will soon be released back into the wild at Ekolo ya Bonobo Community Reserve!

Successful reintroduction of bonobos to the wild is a complex and challenging process that relies on the involvement of the local people, communities, and authorities.

Get the whole scoop on Ekolo in this great video produced by MongaBay News.
"The bonobo is a guardian of the forest. If we don't act, we risk a future without bonobos."
The DR Congo is home to the second largest rainforest in the world, the Congo Basin. It is also one of the least protected forests. Bushmeat trafficking and deforestation are the main threats faced by bonobos and many other species.

With forest habitat in decline, community forest reserves like Ekolo ya Bonobo are critical for ensuring that wild animals have a safe place to live. In addition to bonobos, the DRC is home to leopards, pangolins, crocodiles, gray parrots and many other rare and endangered species.

Communities around Ekolo ya Bonobo know and respect bonobos, but poaching continues to be a major problem for bonobo conservation in the DRC. To deter illegal activity, the Ekolo ya Bonobo Community Reserve is engaging local communities in the development and implementation of conservation and management strategies that both respect their ecological heritage and improve the livelihoods of the communities living in and around these forests.

Be a bonobo and share!