Wildlife to see in the Republic of the Congo in August

5 spectacles at their peak in the Republic of the Congo in August, and 1 more still going on. Wild animals only: no zoos, no wildlife parks, no hunting. Open Republic of the Congo in August in the interactive calendar for listening times on the day you pick.

At their peak in August

• Odzala-Kokoua: forest elephants and grey parrots at Lango baiRepublic of the Congo · Mountain mammals · peak 1 Jul–15 Sep and 1 Dec–28 FebElephants blowing, splashing and rumbling in the bai's mineral pools a few metres below the deck, families greeting with trumpets and roars, grey parrot flocks whistling in to drink, forest buffalo grunting in the sedge, and a night of frogs, hyrax and distant hyena.
• Conkouati-Douli: humpback whales and leatherback nestingRepublic of the Congo · Marine mammals · peak 1 Aug–15 Oct and 15 Nov–31 JanBlows and breaches from the beach, humpback song on a hydrophone from a drifting pirogue, and at night the digging and heavy breathing of a leatherback on a wild beach with no lights for 50 km; chimpanzees pant-hooting from the lagoon islands at dawn.
• Ngaga: habituated western lowland gorillas in the marantaceae forestRepublic of the Congo · Mountain mammals · peak 15 Jun–15 SepChest-beats, hoots and the crashing of a silverback's display in dense marantaceae, the soft grunting and belching of a feeding family a few metres away, monkeys overhead and a night of tree hyrax and frogs from the camp's raised rooms.
• Lésio-Louna: rewilded gorillas and the Batéké plateauRepublic of the Congo · Mountain mammals · peak 1 Jun–30 SepGorillas calling and feeding on the river islands seen from a pirogue, the wide, wind-swept quiet of the Batéké plateau at dawn with larks and cisticolas, and at night frogs and nightjars along the gallery forests.
• Brazzaville: the Congo river and the Djoué at dawnRepublic of the Congo · Dawn chorus & song · peak 1 Jul–30 SepNot a spectacle but a way in: the Congo river's rapids below the city, kingfishers and herons at the Djoué mouth, weaver colonies in the riverside trees, and the two capitals' noise across the water.

Also going on in August

• Nouabalé-Ndoki: gorillas and elephants at Mbeli BaiRepublic of the Congo · Mountain mammals · peak 15 Dec–28 FebA silverback's chest-beats and a family's contented feeding grunts in the open, from a platform 20 m above one of the Congo Basin's most-watched clearings; elephants splashing at night, sitatunga barking, parrots at dawn, and a rainforest with no engine within a day's walk.

More: Republic of the Congo all year · August along the whole flyway