Established as a national park 19 years ago, access to the Pongara reserve has been banned for poachers and conservation efforts are bearing fruit. Elephants, buffaloes and even hippos are back.
From our special correspondent in Pongara,
Before the tours must meet the wildlife of Pongara, tourists must follow the mandatory safety instructions. The first meeting is with a group of monkeys.
Ingrid Bignoumb Bi Moussavou, environmental guide in the park, knows them well. “It is a very good little colony. We will be able to continue hiking, it bodes well for a very good day, she assumes.
The hikers move away. Among them Florence, a young geologist working in oil in Port-Gentil. She made this trip to see wildlife in the wild and not locked in zoos.
Buffaloes and elephants
With the binoculars, she sees a group of buffalo in a meadow. But she’s not very happy.
“It was a very beautiful buffalo. It is true that it was very far away, it would have been fantastic if we could see it closer, face to face. She still hopes to see him more clearly “soon, the next few hours!” “
20 minutes later, Florence can admire an elephant eating its meal in a bush. “They are really very specific little elephants from Gabon, amazing to see with their large pastures,” she said.
A little longer, a chimpanzee sits on a tree. His cries echoed in the woods.
Conservative efforts that pay off
“More and more we make observations of animals in general,” says François Boussamba, a connoisseur of Pongara. He is convinced that the animals are back thanks to conservation efforts. “The animals are back. They can be easily observed. Before 2002, you had to go very far to see them. But since 2005, with conservation efforts, we have had animals up to a few meters, and even in villages, he explains.
The return of the animals is big news, but a real headache for the local people. Kevin was born and raised in Pointe-Denis, one of Pongara’s most popular tourist attractions. “In general, it is the elephants and buffaloes, at night, behind the houses, that will feed in the bins. They also break down houses. We have no help … ”he regrets.
Agriculture is now almost impossible, the populations demand to be allowed to participate in the park’s tourist development.
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