Searching for Endangered Elephants in the Republic of Congo

Searching for Endangered Elephants in the Republic of Congo

I’m standing waist-deep in a chocolate-hued, jungle-fringed tributary of the Congo River, watching my guide wade further downstream, with his hands cupped to his ears to amplify the sounds of the forest. The only noises I hear are kingfishers trilling, leaves rustling as capuchins race across the treetops and the distant bellowing of a hippo. But we’re stalking critically endangered forest elephants, which are known to be shy, so we have to trea…