Photograph of Western Lowland Gorilla

A wonderful photograph of a Silverback 'Western Lowland' Gorilla by Sjef Ollers.

GABON

Best Wildlife in Gabon

Mammals
(Western Lowland) Gorilla, African (Forest) Elephant, Hippopotamus (including some which swim in the sea), African (Forest) Buffalo, Red River Hog, Humpback Whale (mostly Jul-Sep), Black Colobus, Crowned and Moustached Guenon, Grey-cheeked and Red-capped Mangabey, and (Greater) Putty-nosed Monkeys, and Sitatunga. Also a chance of Chimpanzee, Mandrill (mostly Jul-Sep, especially early Sep), Killer and Sperm Whales (both mostly Jul-Sep), Leopard, Golden Cat, Giant Pangolin, Sun-tailed Monkey and Bongo, and an outside chance of West African Manatee.

Birds
Long-tailed Hawk, Grey-necked Picathartes, Black-headed and Rosy (at coastal nesting colonies mostly Oct-Nov) Bee-eaters, African River Martin (at coastal nesting colonies mostly Oct-Nov), African Fish Eagle, Goliath Heron, Hamerkop, Grey Parrot, Pel's Fishing Owl and Great Blue Turaco, as well as Pink-backed Pelican, African Darter, African Crowned Eagle, African Finfoot, White-bellied (Barrow's) Bustard, Forbes's Plover, White-headed Lapwing, African Jacana, Grey and Rock Pratincoles, Temminck's Courser, Damara Tern (mostly Apr-Jan), African Skimmer, turacos, Vermiculated Fishing Owl, Cassin's and Sabine's Spinetails, Bare-cheeked and Narina Trogons, kingfishers including Blue-breasted, Chocolate-backed and Giant, bee-eaters including Black and Blue-breasted, Blue-throated Roller, Hoopoe, hornbills including White-crested, barbets, Vanga (Black- and-white Shrike) Flycatcher, Chestnut and Yellow-bellied Wattle-eyes, Chestnut-bellied Helmetshrike, Gorgeous (Four-coloured/Perrin's) Bushshrike, Blue Cuckoo Shrike, African Paradise Flycatcher, White-throated Blue Swallow, Congo Moor Chat, Forest Robin, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, sunbirds, weavers, malimbes and waxbills. Also a chance of Pennant-winged Nightjar (mostly Apr-Aug), Black and Plumed Guineafowls, Congo Serpent Eagle, Olive and Spot-breasted Ibises, White-crested Bittern, White-spotted Flufftail, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Rufous-sided Broadbill and Fiery-breasted Bushshrike.

Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Leatherback Turtle (mostly Nov-Apr) and Tarpon. Also a chance of Dwarf, Long- (Slender-) snouted and Nile Crocodiles.

Best Sites for Wildlife in Gabon

Best Times for Wildlife in Gabon

The best time to visit is July to September, July for most birds and early September for most mammals including the elusive Mandrills in Lope NP although they may be seen anytime between July and September when solitary males seek out females in oestrus. This period is also the best for Humpback Whales off Loango NP but the best time to see flocks of Rosy Bee-eaters and African River Martins at their large and impressive coastal nesting colonies in Loango NP is usually October-November at the beginning of the wet season. Both species can be seen between July and September though, with Rosy Bee-eaters wandering to almost anywhere and African River Martins migrating through places such as the Makokou Area in Northern Ivindo NP during this time. Large mammals and Leatherback Turtles visit the beaches of places such as Loango NP during the wet season, which usually lasts from October to May although it is often dry in December-January.

Recommended Books etc. for Gabon

Mammals of Africa by M Andrews. Collins, due 2011.

The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals by J Kingdon. A & C Black, 2003.

The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals by J Kingdon. A & C Black, 2004.

Birds of Western Africa by N Borrow and R Demey. Helm, 2002.

Birds of Africa south of the Sahara by I Sinclair and P Ryan. C Struik, 2011 (Second Edition).


Kingdon eGuide to African Mammals.

Trip Reports for Gabon

Many trip reports, some for Gabon, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Gabon. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Gabon' below.

Local Guides and Tours in Gabon

The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.


Accommodation in Gabon


Some Organized Tours to Gabon

There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

Tour companies who run organized tours or can arrange custom tours to Gabon include the following.