Sep 4, 2012
Zoological Society Conservation Coordinator Dr. Gay Reinartz spoke on the topic “Protecting Bonobos and Elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Bonobos – a rare great ape - and forest elephants are declining because of bushmeat and ivory poaching in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s Bonobo and Congo Biodiversity Initiative (BCBI) conserves bonobos, elephants, and other threatened wildlife in the Salonga National Park in the heart of the Congo Basin. In collaboration with the country’s park authority and other partners, BCBI helps mitigate the bushmeat and ivory trade using a program of park anti-poaching support and guard training, applied ecological research, and community assistance projects.