The wildlife is phenomenal

One of the things about DR Congo you should know is the wildlife. The Congo River Basin has established a global reputation for the diversity of species found inside its woods, from famed forest elephants to the elusive Charaxes butterflies.

The okapi is one of 1,500 indigenous animal species in the Congo. It lives in the isolated Ituri Forest in the country's northeastern region. This woodland giraffe stands 6 feet at the head and 5 feet at the shoulder and is built more like a deer with zebra-like stripes. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve was formed in 1992 to safeguard the remnant animal population as well as the habitat of the Mbuti pygmies, one of the continent's last forest-dwelling peoples. The reserve, which is almost 1.5 times the area of Yellowstone National Park, is located on the Epulu River and is home to 5,000 Okapis, 4,000 elephants, and 2,000 leopards, among many other species. Successive civil conflicts have taken a significant toll on the human and animal populations, but the reserve has been largely free of the armed organizations that created the instability in recent years.