A Note on Primate Fauna in Bomassa in northern Congo

Abstract

The People's Republic of Congo, in central Africa, has large and dense forests in parts of the north and south-west. The northern tropical forest, especially the Bomassa area in Sangha province, has been subject to very little scientific inquiry. I carried out a preliminary investigation on the primate fauna in the Bomassa area using the line transect method along 32.6km of elephant trails over 8 days in October 1988. The main survey area was about 85km north-east of Ouesso, the central city of Sangha province.
The vegetation is composed of riverside forest, a grassland-like Marantaceae domain with Gilbertiodendron dewevrei (Caesalpiniaceae) and swamp. These 3 types of vegetation are distributed mosaicly. Some parts are flooded during the rainy season. Five genera consisting of 10 species of primates (Cercocebus galeritus agilis, C. albigena, Cercopithecus cephus, C. nictitans, C. pogonias, C. neglectus, Colobus guereza, C. badius, Pan troglodytes and Gorilla g. gorilla) were identified by direct observation during the census. The presence of Colobus badius was newly recorded in this region. Cercocebus albigena, Cercopithecus nictitans, and C. pogonias are considered to be the most abundant species. This area has never been disturbed by human activity and should provide a useful ecological model for many fields of research and for conservation.