Ntokou-Pikounda National Park

Ntokou-Pikounda National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Republic of the Congo
Coordinates	0°21′N 16°33′E / 0.350°N 16.550°ECoordinates: 0°21′N 16°33′E / 0.350°N 16.550°E
Area	4,572 square kilometres (1,130,000 acres)
Established	28 December 2012

Ntokou-Pikounda National Park is a 4,572-square-kilometre (1,130,000-acre) protected area in the Congo Basin of the Republic of the Congo. The park is known as the "Green Abyss" from J. Michael Fay's MegaTransect. The park was created primarily to protect an estimated population of 15,000 lowland gorillas on 28 December 2012 when the Congolese Ministerial Council and President Denis Sassou Nguesso adopted the Decree Establishing the Ntokou-Pikounda National Park. The park also has an estimated 8,000 forest elephants and 950 chimpanzees. The towns and villages surrounding the park have a combined population of 25,000-30,000 people, and few service exist for tourists.^[1][2][3][4]

References

1. "New Park Protects 15,000 Gorillas". ScienceDaily.com. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
2. Nuwer, Rachel (31 January 2013). "Lowland Gorillas, Protected in a Green Abyss". New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
3. Becker, Kraig (6 February 2013). "New National Park In The Congo Will Protect Lowland Gorillas". Gadling.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
4. Fela, Jen (2013). "Republic of Congo protects gorillas' "green abyss"". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Ecological Society of America. 11 (2): 61. doi:10.1890/1540-9295-11.2.60.