Efforts to discover wildlife in the Gola Forest
The Gola Forest is the largest remaining area of Upper Guinea tropical forest in Sierra Leone and is recognized as one of the 34 global biodiversity priority conservation hotspots - a fact that Sierra Leone is proud of. The Gola Forest supports rare and unique wildlife such as the Gola malimbe, Jentink’s duiker, pygmy hippo, western chimpanzee, olive colobus, forest elephant and the rufous fishing owl. The Gola Forest is also an ‘Important Bird Area’ and is one of the best remaining fragments of the Upper Guinea forest in West Africa.
Field worker - by Guy Shorrock/RSPB
Research by the Gola Forest Programme is conducted to monitor the biodiversity of the Gola Forest and to understand the ecological requirements of species under threat of extinction. Results from both avenues of research are intended to inform Park managers of threats to the forest and animals so that management can respond accordingly.
The Research Department aims to comprehensively assess the biodiversity of the Gola Forest and establish a monitoring system for park management, to carry out research of the ecological requirements of key species (those that are endemic, endangered or vulnerable) and to develop effective programmes to monitor the health of these populations.
Following a baseline survey, conducted between 2005 and 2007, the project has continued to survey key species and key ecological processes. This includes a survey of western chimpanzees, funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service Great Apes Program, a survey of pygmy hippos, remote camera trap surveys for mammals and birds, and the habituation and corresponding ecological study of Diana monkeys. Other studies conducted include:
- Small mammal surveys (mice, rats, shrews): Dr. Pius Anadu
- Rapid botanical assessment: Dr. William Hawthorne, Oxford University
- Bat survey: Natalie Weber and Dr. Jakob Fahr, Ulm University, Germany
- Bat epidemiology: Drs. Fabian Leendertz and Kathrin Nomak, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
- Fish survey: Dr. Ian Payne, Marine Resources and Fisheries Consultants
- Butterfly assessment: Safian Szabolcs
Research is also focussed on some of the iconic bird species such as white-necked picathartes nests and rufous fishing owl surveys.
Our longer term studies include a tree phenology study, crop-raiding by wild animals in forest and non-forest edge communities, and studies into ecosystem services: water quality and stream characteristics in and around the Gola Forest
Jentink's Duiker, Africa's rarest forest Duiker-B.Huffman/ultimateungulate
Some key achievements
We have thus far recorded 296 species of birds, 49 species of mammals, and 771 species of plants. Additionally we have documented Leopard, Jentink’s Duiker, Pygmy Hippo, Zebra Duiker, Bongo, White-breasted Guineafowl, Water Chevrotain, and Yellow-backed Duiker, species difficult to record during traditional surveys and have greatly expanded our knowledge on the range of Pygmy Hippos in and around the Gola Forest.
