
Release & Protect

We release bonobos back into the wild and protect them for the long haul. But we don't stop there.
Ekolo ya Bonobo
At Ekolo ya Bonobo Community Reserve, we protect bonobos and their rainforest home, work within local communities to lessen poverty by providing jobs, health care and education, and raise awareness about bonobos and their plight.

A World First
This is Etumbe. She was orphaned by the illegal bushmeat trade. Unlike most bonobo orphans, Etumbe was sold to a biomedical laboratory instead of a pet dealer. She was sentenced to live in a cage for the rest of her life.
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But Etumbe escaped that fate because our founder, Claudine André, worked for years to free her. When Etumbe finally arrived at Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, she delighted in simple pleasures -- climbing a tree for an afternoon nap or cracking open palm nuts in the sun. Most of all, she was happy to be with other bonobos, and, eventually, to cradle her own baby in her arms.
Gentle and loving, Etumbe became a leader in her group. Then, after years of planning, in 2009 Etumbe became the matriarch of the first group of bonobos to ever be returned to the wild.

Land of the Bonobos

Ekolo ya Bonobo means "Land of the Bonobos' in Lingala, the predominant language of the DR Congo.
Here, we have released bonobos - twice!
Now, around 30 bonobos live at Ekolo ya Bonobo Community Reserve. This 120,000-acre reserve in Équateur Province, DRC, is a protected rainforest – a safe place where bonobos and many other animals and plants flourish.
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Ekolo Reserve borders a river that joins the aquatic transport network in Congo. Bonobos come out of the forest and can be seen on raised viewing platforms at the shore.
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Each year, thousands of people come by canoe and motorboat to see them. For most, it is the first time they have seen a bonobo in their natural habitat. The people of Basankusu have become ‘bonobo guardians’ who protect the bonobos in their new wilderness home.

Where in the world is Ekolo ya Bonobo?
DR Congo on the world map

Equateur Province in DR Congo


We are committed to hiring local community members in all project activities, and we work within communities to make all decisions that affect local people.
Protection
As long as the bushmeat trade and illegal wildlife trafficking exist in the DRC, poachers pose a threat to the bonobos of Ekolo ya Bonobo.
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But we have a team of dedicated ecoguards to patrol the reserve daily. They enforce laws that prohibit hunting endangered bonobos and other wildlife.
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Ecoguards also monitor the activities of the bonobos at Ekolo. They keep a careful watch over the bonobos lovingly raised at Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary.