image source, BBC/Tony Jolliffe
Secret ‘sky island’ rainforest preserved by new discoveries
Perched on a remote mountaintop and surrounded by mountains, Mabu is known as the “Island of Heaven” and is the largest rainforest in southern Africa. The BBC’s environment correspondent Jonah Fisher traveled to Mabu with a team of scientists who discovered dozens of new species there to convince Mozambique to protect them.
- Author, Jonah Fisher
- role, BBC Environment Correspondent
- report from Mabu forest, northern Mozambique
“Give me a magic spoon,” says Dr. Jimo Daniel with a smile.
It’s hard to imagine anyone enjoying his job more than the 36-year-old Mozambican beetle specialist.
We are crouching around a small hole in the dirt not far from our camp in the center of Mabu Forest. Dr. Daniel’s mission, like almost everyone else on our expedition, is to discover things science has never seen before.
Dung beetles are Dr. Daniel’s specialty, and he giggles as he scoops up his own poop in a large plastic container.
Smells exactly as you would expect. It is impossible to be angry and ignore it.
Dr. Daniel told me that he discovered 15 new species of dung beetles.
“They can smell up to 50 meters from here, so they come as fast as they can,” he says. “It’s lunch.”
Twenty years ago, Mabu was a mystery to all but the locals.
It was “opened” to the outside world in 2004 by Professor Julian Bayliss. A researcher and environmentalist now based in north Wales, he was studying satellite images of northern Mozambique when he came across a previously unknown dark green spot.
The first expedition the following year confirmed that although local people were still hunting in the forest, it was in very good condition and, at 75 square kilometers, Mabu was the largest block of rainforest in southern Africa.
“I was like – oh my God – it was amazing,” recalls Professor Bayliss.
image source, Tim Brammer
image source, BBC/Tony Jolliffe
On the first expeditions to Mabu, one of which he joined in 2009 while working as a BBC reporter in southern Africa, Professor Bayliss quickly found several new species of chameleon, snake and butterfly, leading the “gold” of discoveries.
According to Professor Bayliss, they have discovered at least 25 new species, and not counting these dung beetles, many more need to be officially recognized.
What makes Mabu unique is its geography. A mid-elevation rainforest, it rises above the lowlands of Mozambique, effectively making it a ‘sky island’.
This means that most of the animals and insects that live there cannot meet and reproduce with other populations, which increases the possibility of their isolation into something unique and new to science.
The expedition, joined by the BBC this year at the invitation of Professor Bayliss, is the first time a team of scientists has set foot in the heart of the forest.
Mabu is partly protected by Mozambique’s long history of civil war, the longest of which ended in 1992. It also helped that it was very difficult to get there.
After five hours of driving along dirt roads, all the camping gear, food and equipment is loaded onto the backs and heads of more than sixty porters.
While we and the scientists repaired our shoes and added hydration salts to our water bottles, the porters, many of them wearing just flip-flops, trudged up the steep slopes of Mount Mabu.
image source, Tony Jolliffe
One of the first to discover the new thing was Erica Tovela, a freshwater fish specialist at the Natural History Museum of Mozambique. In the stream that runs through the camp, he catches a type of small catfish that he has never seen before.
“I hope we have a new species for this area,” he says with a smile as he holds up a bag of dead fish. (They are preserved in formaldehyde for further analysis and comparison with other similar species.) “Amazing. This will be the first new species for me.”
The process of definitively identifying a new species can take years. This involves writing a peer-reviewed journal article in which the differences between the new discovery and its closest relatives are noted and accepted by other scientists.
The next step for Ms. Tovela is to analyze the DNA of her fish and publish detailed descriptions and photos. And what could be the name?
“It has to be something mabuensis“, he says. “That’s a nice way of saying we have a specific species from Mabu.”
image source, Tony Jolliffe
Mabu Forest is in good shape, but that doesn’t mean some things haven’t changed.
The large mammals that once inhabited it, such as lions, rhinoceroses, and buffalo, were probably hunted for food during the war. Although not as bad as other forests in South Africa, deforestation has also taken its toll.
Professor Ara Monadjem, a small mammal specialist at Eswatini University, says: “It is very clear that the forests that existed just 15-20 years ago (in South Africa) have now disappeared and been cut down for various reasons.” , who was on the trip.
Deforestation is still limited in Mabu, but local residents continue to hunt. Camera traps show hunters carrying their catch, and we see physical traps made from vehicle springs placed at the edge of terrain through the forest.
But at the same time, species of small mammals are also being discovered. They include horseshoes Rhinolophus mabuensis and dwarf musk, which scientists are in the process of naming and describing.
image source, Ara Monadjem
image source, Julian Bayliss
Not everyone on an expedition is looking for new species. Bird experts Claire Spottiswoode and Callan Cohen have a special mission. Finding evidence that one of Africa’s rarest birds is still alive.
The Namuli Apalis It lives only at high altitudes, and there are fears that a combination of deforestation and warmer temperatures elsewhere is driving the yellow and black birds to extinction.
image source, Ross Gallardi
“Climate change often has consequences that are hard to predict,” explains Callan Cohen. Sometimes warmer temperatures stimulate snake activity, which means nests and hatchlings are more likely to be attacked.
Trying to find a rare bird involves recording and playing it back Namuli Apalis Through the Bluetooth speaker, then wait to see any response.
image source, BBC/Tony Jolliffe
On the day we joined the search, there was no sign or sound, but a few days later the bird experts returned to the camp late at night.
They managed to recordNamuli Apalisin one of the high mountain ranges.
“Honestly, it’s still a little unsettling,” says Dr. Cohen of the sheer effort involved.
image source, Tony Jolliffe
So what happens? For Mabu, at least, the signs look positive.
In an interview with me, Pejule Calenga, director general of Mozambique’s protected areas, says that Mabu should become a community protected area.
This means that no logging or mining is allowed, but local residents whose livelihoods depend on the forest can manage and use it.
“It’s much easier to protect areas where we have unique resources,” he says about the role of scientists in protecting the region.
Professor Bayliss, who has led so many expeditions into Mabu Forest, is cautiously optimistic that if the management plan is well implemented, Mabu will become a conservation success story.
It is already looking for other sites in other parts of Africa that need protection.
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