Deep in the heart of the Congo Basin, amidst the dense rainforests of Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, photographer Will Burrard-Lucas embarked on a mission: to unveil the hidden lives of the forest’s most elusive creatures. Through a year-long camera-trapping project, Burrard-Lucas, with the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society, has captured rare, high-definition images of the park’s remarkable wildlife. His feats include capturing images of the rarely seen African golden cat, and the forest’s apex predator: the enigmatic leopard.
Secrets of the Nouabalé-Ndoki rainforest
“Tropical rainforests don’t give up their secrets easily,” says Emma Stokes, vice president of Field Conservation at WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), which has for 30 years collaborated with the Congolese Government to administer and protect the park and its buffer zone. “You can spend years walking through these forests without seeing much of the extraordinary wildlife that lives there. You only know it’s there by the signs it leaves behind.”
Nouabalé-Ndoki, a pristine wilderness in northern Congo-Brazzaville, is one of the last untouched refuges for many rare species. Its towering trees, murky swamps, and dense undergrowth provide sanctuary for creatures seldom seen: red river hogs, duikers, golden cats, and, of course, the ever-elusive leopard. For Burrard-Lucas, it was the ultimate challenge. “The parks stands as one of the best examples of a pristine forest ecosystem in the Congo Basin. There are no roads within Nouabalé-Ndoki, the trees have never been logged, and the interior still harbours animals that have had little or no contact with people,” he says.
“Wherever you go, you get the sense that wildlife lurks just out of sight, behind the veil of vegetation,” he explains. “One of the animals that I was most keen to photograph was a leopard… The mere possibility of capturing a photograph of such an elusive creature was incredibly exciting.”
Heart of the forest
Burrard-Lucas’ journey to Nouabalé-Ndoki was no easy feat. After a gruelling 12-hour drive from Brazzaville to Ouesso, he continued by boat up the Sangha River to Bomassa, to the park’s headquarters. From there, a 21km trek through waist-deep swamps – guided by expert Bayaka trackers – was required to reach the remote research camps where his Camtraption camera traps would be set. And navigating the forest comes with its own challenges, such as stumbling on elephants that are well-concealed by the forest, and needing to keep an eye out for western lowland gorillas. “Occasionally, as you traipse through the forest, you might surprise a silverback gorilla, and he will explode out of a thicket so suddenly, screaming so loudly, that it makes your hair stand on end and your heart pound out of your chest,” says Burrard-Lucas.
Throughout the project, cameras were set at three research sites, including at Mbeli Baï, Goualougo and Mondika on the Central African Republic border.
Once in place, the camera traps faced their challenges. “Bad-tempered elephants dismantled set-ups, colonies of ants devoured rubber seals, and the intense humidity quickly took its toll on anything that wasn’t meticulously sealed,” Burrard-Lucas recalls. Yet, despite the hardships, the project delivered stunning results.
Capturing the unseen of Nouabalé-Ndoki
The project yielded photos of many rainforest rarities, including water chevrotain, yellow-backed duiker, black-footed mongoose, red river hog, brush-tailed porcupine, Peter’s duiker, African palm civet, giant pangolin, blue duiker, forest buffalo and forest elephants. Among the highlights was a breathtaking shot of an African golden cat – one of Africa’s rarest and most elusive felines. This marked the first time the species had been captured in high definition in the wild in Congo.
But the crowning achievement was a single, electrifying image: a male leopard captured prowling a secluded trail near Mbeli Baï. “It was a large male, captured on a secluded trail near Mbeli Baï… and without a doubt, the most magnificent specimen I have ever photographed,” says Burrard-Lucas.
Local trackers and researchers played a crucial role in identifying the best locations for these camera traps.
“These photos are amazing,” says Seraphin Ngouna, who works on one of the park’s research sites and belongs to a community native to the forest. Ngouna, who maintained the cameras in the field, says, “I’m even happier to know these pictures will be published for other people to see.”
Conservation through imagery
While scientific camera traps are often used to measure wildlife abundance, Burrard-Lucas’ high-definition images do more than this: they connect people to these hidden ecosystems and inspire conservation efforts.
“These photos celebrate unseen wildlife and call for action to protect it,” says Sabine Plattner, owner of Kamba Africa, which partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Nouabalé-Ndoki tourism development program to initiate the project with the photographer. “Through these images, visitors can see what life is like in the forest and the type of animals that inhabit it.”
Amongst some of the finds captured by the camera traps was a chimpanzee mother “fishing for termites” at a termite mound in Goualougo while sitting with her baby (details and pictures of which are yet to be published by WCS). This fishing technique entails chimpanzees placing a stick into the mound and waiting for termites to cling to it before eating them. “The resulting photos of her feeding while her baby watched – the passing on of this specialised technique from one generation to the next – made all the hard work worthwhile.”
From documenting termite-fishing chimpanzees to capturing the raw power of a rainforest storm, the camera-trap project offers a rare window into the wild heart of Africa. “Many of the animals photographed remain poorly studied, yet their survival is already threatened by habitat loss,” says Burrard-Lucas. “Every image is both a celebration of the forest’s richness and a reminder of what is at stake if these ecosystems are not safeguarded.”
Yet, as Burrard-Lucas acknowledges, this is only the beginning.
“Even in a place as rich in wildlife as Nouabalé-Ndoki, some creatures remain almost mythical – ghosts of the forest, rarely glimpsed even by those who know it best,” he reflects. “I guess there’s nothing for it but to return one day and see what additional secrets the rainforest might yield.”
You, too, can enjoy an epic safari to the heart of Congo-Brazzaville’s rainforests. Odzala-Kokoua National Park encompasses rainforest that is more readily accessible. Keen to find lowland gorillas, forest elephants, bongos and much more? Check out our ready-made gorilla safaris to Odzala-Kokoua here.
Further reading
- Western lowland gorillas, forest elephants & more. Odzala-Kokoua NP is another of Congo-Brazzaville’s rainforest kingdoms – for an African safari with a difference.
- Forest elephant numbers are believed to have plummeted 86% in just 31 years yet their role in maintaining forest ecosystems is critical. Read more about forest elephants.
- Research has uncovered population density declines of 90% for forest elephants across Africa in 53 years. Read more here.
- A sojourn in Congo-Brazzaville brings Simon Espley face to face with a paradise of forest elephants, western lowland gorillas & forest baïs. Read about his trip to Odzala-Kokoua NP here.
- You can see more images from Will Burrard-Lucas’s camera-trapping project here.
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