The Wildlife Wonders of Gola
A huge natural world brimming with life of all shapes and sizes; some creatures known the world over, some that live barely anywhere else, and some critically endangered. It's no wonder we've been talking so much about Gola recently - there's a lot at stake, and the money we've been raising alongside Size of Wales will go towards safeguarding nature's home in the rainforest.
Previously, we've looked at the pygmy hippo, a rare and shy creature living in small groups scattered throughout Western Africa. Their situation is something that is echoed across Gola - creatures who are struggling, and who's populations in Gola are vital to ensuring their future.
I've talked before about the sense of wonder I've encountered when learning more about some of the strange and beautiful wildlife of Gola, and when trying to think about the sheer number of species the rainforest supports. It's not possible to talk about them all - there just isn't the room! - but let's take a closer look at a few of the creatures who inhabit the Gola rainforest.
Looking again at the White-necked picathartes, it's easy to see why it has long captivated the minds of Gola's human dwellers. This elegant bird, with its bright-yellow bald head and striking black and white plumage, was once believed to stand guard over ancestral spirits inhabiting the rock formations near picathartes nesting sites; its habit of building nests in dark caves may have helped add to its mysterious reputation.
Popular with birdwatchers and birdwatching tourists, the Picathartes has even appeared on postage stamps in Ghana and Sierra Leone. Worryingly, though, its numbers are dwindling, and its fragmented populations are threatened by habitat destruction. Its estimated that fewer than 10,000 individuals could remain in the wild.
White-necked Picathartes
Another colourful bird found in Gola is the Gola Malimbe, still relatively new to science after being first discovered in the late 1970s by G.D Field. Its bright gold and black plumage makes it easy to recognise, as does its habit of spending time among flocks made up of other noisy rainforest birds. The RSPB's Ian Fisher visited Gola last year on the trail of the Gola malimbe - you can read his account of what he saw here. Again, habitat loss is contributing to the plight of the malimbe - its total population is declining, and the situation is serious enough to warrant its place on the IUCN endangered 'red list' (learn more here)
Gola Malimbe
These are two of the more notable species in Gola, but it's not just birds who've found a home there. Duikers (an animal resembling a small deer) roam the forest floor, and there are a number of different duikers who live side by side; their size and appearance varies massively. On the smaller end of the scale is the zebra duiker, bright orange and streaked with black. Its Gola cousins include the Jentink's, Maxell and Black duikers; all of these are current cause of concern to conservationists, with the Jentink's duiker's numbers amounting to an estimated 2,000.
Left: Zebra Duiker. Right: Black Duiker
Forest elephants, too, have been discovered in Gola - the world's smallest elephant species, at an average of 2.5 metres in height it still manages to be the third largest land mammal on the face of the planet. There's an estimated population of around 300 chimps, too, and the impressive-looking Diana monkey, which lives mostly in the rainforest canopy and rarely descends to the forest floor. If it did, there are still many more creatures it might encounter. The rare, endangered Tai toad (Amietophrynus taiensis), for example, previously thought to live only in the Côte d’Ivoire's Tai National Park, or the African Dwarf Crocodile, which is the world's smallest crocodile at just under 5 foot in length.
I've barely scratched the surface of the life that abounds in Gola. There's 600 butterfly species, 320 or more species of bird, 43 amphibians... the list goes on. With such a vast, vast array of animals relying on their Gola homes, and with so many of those animals endangered or threatened, one thing becomes clear: protecting Gola isn't a project. It's a necessity - and if it's going to be achieved, it needs the help of those willing to donate to the future of a vital, living wildlife world.
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Images: Wikimedia Commons. Malimbe image: Birdlife