Democratic Republic of the Congo

As part of the Congo Basin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) contains the world's second largest rainforest.  There are estimated to be roughly 70,000 to 100,000 chimpanzees in the DRC.  Threats to the great apes in the country include hunting for the illegal, commercial bushmeat trade, mining, deforestation and civil strife.  In response to these threats, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is leading a conservation action plan (CAP) in the eastern DRC.  The CAP will target more than 66 million acres, which contain approximately 15,000 chimpanzees and somewhere between 3,000-5,000 gorillas.