Maiko National Park is found in the remote regions of north eastern DR Congo in the states of Nord Kivu, Maniema and Orientale. The park is gazetted on total land area of 10,800km². Maiko national park was established in 1970 and it’s among the parks in Congo where the Eastern Lowland gorillas are found
Wildlife
The eastern lowland gorillas, okapi, forest elephants, Congo peacock, chimpanzee, bongo and the Congo Peafowl plus the leopards are among the park’s wildlife. Around 800 gorillas are estimated to live in Maiko National Park making it one of the richest gorilla habitat in Africa. The park is the only national park in DRC Congo with all the three of country’s most important endemic species which includes the Grauer’s gorilla, the Okapi, and the Congo peafowl.
The park is also a stopover and a community centre for a group of people known as the Simba Mai Mai, these are said to have taken refugee around the area after the assassination of the prime minister Patrice Lumumba by then accusing him for have refused to acknowledge the ruling government of Mobutu who was the president by then. These are still staying in the park and they also take a responsibility of protecting it from the encroachers.
