OTHER SPECIES

335 bird species, including 32 endemic species, have been recorded in Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Plumptre et al., 2003, 2007), making it a prime birdwatching destination.

Endemic species in the Park include the following endangered species: Grauer's Swamp-warbler (Bradypterus graueri, "Vulnerable"), as well as Albertine Owlet (Glaucidium albertinum, "Near Threatened"), Yellow-crested Helmetshrike (Prionops alberti, "Vulnerable"), the Congo Peafowl (Afropavo congensis, "Near Threatened"), Grauer's Broadbill (Pseudocalyptomena graueri, "Vulnerable"), and Rockefeller's sunbird (Cinnyris rockefelleri, "Vulnerable").

Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) have a varied diet, depending on their environment, their group, and the season. Half of their diet is generally composed of fruit, but they also enjoy leaves, bark, stems, insects, eggs, and vertebrate prey (including monkeys: Basabose, 2002).  

After humans, chimpanzees have the most diverse and complex repertoire of tool use in the animal kingdom. Elsewhere, they can delicately "fish" for termites by inserting small sticks into termite mounds, but they can also use large branches as clubs to break the bark of a tree to get to a beehive and its honey. 

Sociable and curious, chimpanzees exhibit culture (Whiten et al. 2021): for example in West Africa (but not in East Africa), they use stones to crack nuts and sometimes cooperate to hunt small mammals such as antelopes and monkeys. Throughout Africa, they will use tools to “fish” for termites, and in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, they also "fish" for cassava ants in the same way and extract the honey (Basabose, 2002). These behaviors vary from one population to another and can be transmitted culturally between individuals, particularly from parents to their young.

There are approximately 2,500 chimpanzees in Kahuzi-Biega National Park and 687 individuals in the adjacent forests of Oku (Plumptre et al., 2021). Despite their adaptability, these great apes remain vulnerable to increasing human pressure on their habitat.

Among the ungulates present in the Park, duikers are an important group of small to medium-sized antelopes. They roam the forest floor in search of fruits, leaves, shoots, seeds, buds and bark. They also take advantage of fruits that have been dropped from the canopy by monkeys, birds or bats.

Duikers are among the most intensively hunted species in Central Africa for their meat, which is highly prized in both rural and urban areas. The growing demand for wild meat, fueled by rapid urbanization and the Park's proximity to large population centers, is a major threat to their survival.

The Kivu duiker (Cephalophus kivuensis), long considered a subspecies of the black-fronted duiker (Cephalophus nigrifrons), has recently been reevaluated thanks to a genetic study conducted in 2022 on fecal samples collected in KBNP (Bärmann et al., 2022). The results indicate significant genetic differences between the two, suggesting that C. kivuensis may warrant full species status, although further research is needed to confirm this taxonomic revision.

The Park is also home to several species of arboreal or semi-terrestrial primates, including:

• the Ulindi River red colobus (Piliocolobus lulindicus), IUCN threat category "Endangered",
• the Grey-cheeked Mangabey (Lophocebus albigena), "Vulnerable",
• Lhoest's monkey (Allochrocebus lhoesti), "Vulnerable",
• Hamlyn's monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), "Vulnerable",
• Stuhlmann’s Blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni), "Least Concern",
• Dent's monkey (Cercopithecus denti), classified as "Least Concern".

These species play an essential ecological role in seed dispersal and the balance of forest ecosystems.

Other notable species recorded in KBNP forests include the Giant pangolin (Smutsia gigantea, "Endangered"), the Giant Genet (Genetta victoriae, "Least Concern") and the endemic Aquatic Genet (Genetta piscivora, "Near Threatened"). The genet, in particular, holds an important symbolic place in Wambuti culture. In the past, the head of the genet was used as an ornament to make hats (called "Kabungulu", the local name for “genet”) for Wambuti chiefs in the Kabare and Kalehe regions of South Kivu.