Google Earth Reveals Unmapped Region in Mozambique -A Lost World of Biodiversity

Scientists based at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew stumbled across the existence of Mount Mabu after looking at Google Earth internet maps in 2005, in the hope of finding a site for a conservation project. It was one of the few places on the planet that remained unmapped and unexplored.

British conservationist Julian Bayliss visited the area soon afterwards and saw satellite photos of a large, unexplored forest. In late 2008, an expedition explored the area and discovered a treasure trove of biodiversity below the canopy of trees, which rise 45 meters above the ground, including three new species of butterfly, a previously undiscovered adder snake and new populations of rare birds.

Other species discovered include tropical creepers, giant snakes such as the gaboon viper, and other wildlife seen by the team, including small klipspringer and blue duiker antelope,samango monkeys, elephant shrew.

Mount Mabu was "discovered" in 2005 when expedition leader Jonathan Timberlake's team were looking for a site for a conservation project. Soon afterwards, locally based conservationist Julian Bayliss visited the site and studied satellite photos which showed a forest of about 80 square kilometres.

"It's then we realised this looked [to be] potentially the biggest area of medium-altitude forest I'm aware of in southern Africa," Timberlake told The Guardian. He has spent most of his working life in the region. "Nobody knew about it. The literature I'm aware of doesn't mention the word 'Mabu' anywhere; we have looked through the plant collections of Kew and elsewhere and we don't see the name come up. It might be there under another name, but we're not aware of any collection of plant or animals, or anything else taking place there."

After a few exploratory trips, in October and November this year 28 scientists and support staff from the UK, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Switzerland, with 70 porters, drove to an abandoned tea estate where the road ended and hiked the last few kilometers into the forest to set up camp for four weeks.

Outside the forest the land has been devastated by a civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1992, but inside scientists found the landscape was almost untouched. Ignorance of its existence, poor access and the forest's value as a refuge for villagers during the fighting had combined to protect it, Timberlake explained.

Posted by Casey Kazan.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/21/mount-mabu-mozambique-jonathan-timberlake

Comments

[Barrie O'Leary]

A real Shangri-La! Incredible. But how extremely interesting.

[Barrie O'Leary]

A real Shangri-La! Incredible. But how extremely interesting.

[Dawn]

I wonder how long it will take us to destroy this too? when do we leave well enough alone?
Oh but we are trying to protect it? yeah ok because we have proven to be able to do so sooooo many times we are quite professional about it LOLOL I doubt it and here I am thinking .. "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" suddenly That makes all the more sense to me. I give us 5 yrs concerted effort and corporte World Economy (America isn't ALWAYS to Blame) will have found something there that we just Need to exploite and make money at ...and they will. All the green peace environmentalists in the world won't be able to stop it. We as a spieces Need to just leave Nature alone she will fix herself if we back off and let her.