Today, Etate is a safe haven for bonobos and elephants that are threatened by poaching. But it wasn’t always this way.
In 1997, current SCI board member Dr. Inogwabini Bila Isia, along with researcher Ellen VanKrunkelsven and park authorities, on behalf of the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM), were among the first researchers to explore the northern region of the Salonga National Park and assess the presence of bonobos and other wildlife. During this expedition, a local community member, Edmond Isomana, showed the group a poaching camp on the banks of the Salonga River. It was called Etate. The group decided that the camp would make a good base for the park guards and a base camp for future research teams. Ever since that day, we have called Etate our basecamp and home away from home.
The original poaching camp destroyed in 1997 by park guards while Edmond looks on.
Etate's location
SCI’s Etate Research Station is located within Salonga National Park (SNP), a landscape distinguished by its mosaic of swamp, land, and rivers. There’s not a lot of dry land near the rivers, making it hard to find a campsite let alone a research site.
Located along the Salonga River, the Etate Research Station occupies a point of higher ground. Etate’s location is isolated - the closest major town is about 50 kms down river. The 500 km boat journey from SCI’s headquarters in Mbandaka to Etate is measured in days making the first sighting of Etate’s port a welcome treat for travelers.
Loaded pirogue with equipment making its way to the Etate river port.
After several days of travel by boat, Etate's port is a welcome sight.
Satellite imagery showing Etate’s location along a hook in the river.
Years later, Edmond would explain that the word Etate refers to a crook in the river that creates a bay (see satellite image above). We know from ancient pottery shards found at the site that Etate was once a busy port. The pottery likely held copal. Copal, an ancient trade commodity, is hardened tree resin or early amber, sold for its value as a fire-starter and plastic-like properties. Etate was also Edmond’s ancestral village.
Edmond didn't just suggest Etate as a location for a permanent basecamp. He helped build it. He led construction of the first thatched houses that helped transform the site into a center for research.
Early days of Etate’s construction, 2004.
Later, we added two elevated wooden houses that were largely pre-fabricated in Kinshasa. In 2014, we shipped the walls, roofs and floors piece by piece to Etate on a flotilla of pirogues. Adding two wooden houses to the Etate basecamp, one for researchers and one for ICCN park guards, brought a sense of permanence to our work and the start of a long-term investment in our conservation efforts in Salonga.
In the wet, marshy terrain of Salonga, the elevated wooden houses were a gamechanger.
We could now house equipment like computers, batteries, office supplies, and research equipment, and support an internet connection.
The research house (top) and the guardhouse (bottom) at Etate.
Etate today
In the years following the destruction of the original hunting camp, Etate was under the protection of park guards who conducted regular patrols in the region. Their presence minimized poaching and allowed wildlife to flourish. Etate has become a natural laboratory in which to study the area’s diverse and plentiful animal populations unaltered by persistent hunting pressure. The Etate zone (~1000 km²) harbors approximately 800 bonobos and up to 100 forest elephants.
Today, Etate supports a fully functional research station that serves as a base for SCI's biomonitoring and research. Etate houses 13 year-round staff which forms the backbone of SCI’s research activities. SCI's permanent presence at Etate has an important protective function. Our team's daily activities—wildlife surveys, camera trap maintenance, trail monitoring—provide constant human presence that deters poachers. We’ve enjoyed hosting other, international organizations and researchers to the Etate site.
Modern research infrastructure provides for real-time data analysis and communication with conservation partners.
The 2025 Etate team: researchers and field technicians maintain a year-round presence in Salonga.
Permanence requires sustained support. Our generous donors help ensure that we can continue to maintain a year-round research presence in Salonga's interior.