Follow the forest elephants’ trail of destruction around the forests of this national park.

The entire forested area to the west of Nsoc makes up the national park, although there is no visible demarcation or signage. The main reason to head down here is to try and find the forest elephants. This park is home to much of the same wildlife that makes nearby Gabon’s forests famous, such as common chimpanzees, gorillas, black colobus, mandrill, forest buffalo and red river hogs. Nearly every local inhabitant has a tale about the pesky elephants (usually a complaint involving eating their crops). If you ask around, you can engage a local guide to help you find them. Alternatively, you can have a go at tracking them yourself. Seeing where they have been is not difficult, as they leave a trail of dung and destruction wherever they go, and any local with a patch of land can tell you where they have been recently. Sneaking close enough to see them is another matter, as they have excellent hearing and sense of smell and use this to avoid human contact.

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