Sangha Lodge

03/08/2026

03/08/2026

DZANGA BAI
Yesterday being Sunday, Tam and I took the opportunity to join two of our guests on an expedition to Dzanga Bai.

It turned into a fantastic day in the forest. We enjoyed plenty of elephant sightings, with a peak count of 135 forest elephants in the bai, as well as a troop of beautiful black-and-white colobus monkeys. We were also treated to a really nice group of grey-cheeked mangabeys, always a pleasure to encounter in the forest.

As always, the birding was excellent too. Between the walk in, our time at the bai, and the walk back, we recorded over 50 species of birds, including the rather uncommon Reichenbach’s Sunbird, a species that is always a welcome sight in the park.

Here are a few short clips from the day. The first shows the walk into the bai, followed by two short time-lapse videos that give just a small taste of the incredible activity. They don’t capture everything, but they do give an idea of the constant movement and the sheer intensity of life at Dzanga Bai.

Just another unforgettable day in one of Africa’s greatest wildlife spectacles. Lodge

27/07/2026

🎥 A truly spectacular moment at Dzanga Bai! 🦜

This incredible video was captured last week by one of our wonderful guests, David Graham. Thank you, David, for allowing us to share this special moment.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been fortunate to witness an extraordinary event at Dzanga Bai. African grey parrots have been gathering to feed on a small yellow flower that blooms overnight in the bai. We can never predict when this will happen or how long it will last, making each sighting all the more special.

On this particular morning, David was especially lucky. The flowers had bloomed right in front of the viewing platform, bringing the parrots incredibly close. Other times they’re farther away, or just out of sight, and all you can hear are their unmistakable calls.

Experiences like this are a reminder that nature always has surprises in store, and when everything comes together, the results are simply unforgettable.

Thank you again, David, for sharing this magical experience with us. We hope you enjoy the video as much as we did! 💚

27/07/2026

🎥 A truly spectacular moment at Dzanga Bai! 🦜

This incredible video was captured last week by one of our wonderful guests, David Graham. Thank you, David, for allowing us to share this special moment.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been fortunate to witness an extraordinary event at Dzanga Bai. African grey parrots have been gathering to feed on a small yellow flower that blooms overnight in the bai. We can never predict when this will happen or how long it will last, making each sighting all the more special.

On this particular morning, David was especially lucky. The flowers had bloomed right in front of the viewing platform, bringing the parrots incredibly close. Other times they’re farther away, or just out of sight, and all you can hear are their unmistakable calls.

Experiences like this are a reminder that nature always has surprises in store, and when everything comes together, the results are simply unforgettable.

Thank you again, David, for sharing this magical experience with us. We hope you enjoy the video as much as we did! 💚 World Parrot Trust

16/07/2026

Central African Republic – Through the Eyes of a Cyclist 🚴🌍

We’re delighted to share the latest YouTube episode from Brendan, who is cycling all the way from Nord Kapp, to Cape Town… by the long way around Africa! Along the journey, he’s releasing one video for each country he visits.

This episode features the Central African Republic, and we’re especially honoured that virtually the entire video was filmed during his stay with us at Sangha Lodge.

The film gives a wonderful glimpse into life here in the Dzanga-Sangha rainforest—from the unforgettable experience of visiting Dzanga Bai, to spending time with the Ba’Aka, enjoying the lodge, the food, the people, and the extraordinary wildlife that makes this corner of Africa so special.

If you’ve ever wondered what makes this place so unique, or if you’ve been here before and would like to relive a few memories, we think you’ll enjoy Brendan’s perspective.

Thank you, Brendan, for sharing your journey and for capturing the spirit of Sangha Lodge and the Central African Republic so beautifully.

🎥 Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/c7-Kab8RzN0?si=bdqoiuiJDNdRAhuu

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

09/07/2026

**A very special visitor at Sangha Lodge**

On 6 July, at around lunchtime, one of our staff members, Yaff , called urgently over the radio to say that he had found a pangolin on the trail near Room 7.

Within minutes, everyone rushed out to see what was happening. There, making its way up into the canopy, was a beautiful **black-bellied pangolin**.

It was the first black-bellied pangolin we had seen at Sangha Lodge for quite some time, making this a very special moment for everyone in camp.

By chance, we had seven guests staying with us, and they were all able to enjoy excellent views and take some lovely photographs before we gently moved everyone away to avoid causing too much disturbance.

Later that afternoon, Tam and some of the experienced Ba’Aka pangolin guardians quietly followed the animal from a respectful distance and were eventually able to locate the place where it settled down to sleep.

Over the following two days, 7 and 8 July, an interesting pattern began to emerge. The pangolin returned to the same sleeping place each night and also returned to the same ant nest each day to feed.

The nest contains small *Crematogaster* ants, commonly known as **cocktail ants**.

In the video, you can clearly see the pangolin feeding. You can also see ants carrying their eggs and dropping from the nest as they respond to the attack. At first glance, it almost looks like rain falling through the branches, but it is actually the ants dropping from the nest as they try to escape.

The pangolin appears healthy and relatively young, although it is already a full adult. There is very little visible wear on its scales, suggesting that it is still a young individual. We are not yet sure whether it is male or female.

This morning, a team of Ba’Aka guardians is still following the animal carefully. For as long as it continues to tolerate their presence, and provided that we are confident no disturbance is being caused, we will continue to observe its movements, feeding behaviour, sleeping sites and daily routine.

We do not know how long it will remain around the lodge, but for now, we feel very privileged to have the opportunity to observe a completely wild black-bellied pangolin in its natural environment.

02/06/2026

A big thank you to Joel Gunter for creating this beautiful video of Dzanga Bai — the Village of Elephants — about a year ago.

Every now and again something like this appears and gives me a welcome reminder of why I live here, why we keep going through all the challenges, and why this forest is such a special place.

Dzanga Bai, the elephants, the forest, the BaAka people, and this extraordinary corner of the Central African Republic are not easy to explain in words — but Joel’s video captures a little piece of the magic.

Thank you, Joel, for sharing it so beautifully. Joel Gunter

Last stronghold of the forest elephant Greatest Show on Earth

23/05/2026

A very special bat walk at Sangha Lodge

Over the years, at Sangha Lodge, we have worked with local BaAka women to identify a number of hollow trees in the forest that are known to shelter bats.

From this knowledge, we now have a very specialised forest walk, guided by a group of BaAka women, who take interested guests to these remarkable trees. The walk takes around three hours and usually visits between seven and ten different hollow trees, depending on the day.

For guests with a special interest in bats — admittedly a niche but fascinating field — this can be an extraordinary experience. On a lucky day, it is possible to see up to seven different bat species during the walk.

This past week was especially exciting for us. Within four days, we had two separate groups of tourists specifically interested in visiting this site, giving us the chance to share this unique activity twice in one week.

And, as is so often the case in the rainforest, the forest had a few extra surprises for us too. Alongside the bats, we also found a smokey dormouse in one of the tree holes, and a Lord Derby’s anomalure in another.

The photos here show some of the hollow trees, the BaAka knowledge behind finding them, guests exploring the forest with us, and a few selected bat species seen during recent visits.

It is a wonderful example of how local knowledge, conservation, and specialist wildlife tourism can come together in a meaningful way — with the forest always adding a little something unexpected.

Sangha Lodge — Central African Republic
Forest, wildlife, community knowledge, and conservation. Bat Conservation InternationalKamba African Rainforest Experiences .sanghalodge.com

22/02/2026

Happy world Pangolin Day, my most viewed video of one of our early pangolin rescues being released. tikkihywoodfoundation.cameroonIUCN Pangolin Specialist Group Pangolin Conservation and Research FoundationPangolin.Africa

Great serpentine movements of this amazing animal as it comes out of its protective ball. The most amazing animal in the world!!!.