PROTECTING THE ISOLATED BUT EXPANDING FOREST ELEPHANT POPULATION IN THE BAT K LANDSCAPE OF GABON AND CONGO

THE SO-CALLED BATK PLATEAU, NAMED AFTER THE LOCAL TK PEOPLE, IS A VAST FOREST-SAVANNA MOSAIC STRETCHING ACROSS SOUTHEAST GABON AND CENTRAL CONGO.

THIS MIXED ECOTONE OF DENSE TROPICAL FORESTS AND OPEN GRASSY PLAINS IS RECOGNIZED AS A DISTINCT TERRESTRIAL ECOREGION, WHICH COVERS AN AREA THE SIZE OF THE US STATE OF COLORADO.

THE LANDSCAPE BOASTS A MIX OF CONGOLIAN FOREST SPECIES SUCH AS GREAT APES AND FOREST ELEPHANTS, AS WELL AS SPECIES OF THE ZAMBEZIAN SAVANNAS SYSTEMS, SUCH AS LIONS, SPOTTED HYAENAS AND VARIOUS SAVANNA UNGULATES.

FOREST ELEPHANTS AND FOREST BUFFALO WERE RECORDED AS BEING PARTICULARLY ABUNDANT IN THIS LANDSCAPE DURING PRE-COLONIAL PERIODS, YET DECADES OF UNCONTROLLED HUNTING DURING AND FOLLOWING THE COLONIAL PERIOD LEFT THIS OPEN LANDSCAPE ALMOST DENUDED OF WILDLIFE, AS EVIDENCED BY THE FIRST SYSTEMATIC FAUNAL SURVEYS IN THE SYSTEM CONDUCTED IN 2001 AND 2003.

SUBSEQUENT SURVEYS IN THE LANDSCAPE REVEALED THAT, DESPITE SOME OF THE LARGER WILDLIFE SPECIES HAVING BECOME RARE OR EVEN LOCALLY EXTINCT (E.G.

AFRICA WILD DOGS), BATK DOES BOAST SEVERAL ENDEMIC OR NEAR-ENDEMIC SPECIES OF PLANTS, BIRDS, AND REPTILES, SOME OF WHICH ARE SEEMINGLY VERY RARE.

MORE RECENT MOLECULAR STUDIES FURTHER REVEALED THAT EVEN FOR OTHERWISE WIDESPREAD SPECIES SUCH AS FOREST ELEPHANTS, THE BATK POPULATION REPRESENTS A SEPARA