Season 1 • Episode 3
LatestCongo has the largest concentration of primates in the world, and the forests are home to all three closest living relatives of humans: chimps, bonobos - pygmy chimps - and gorillas.
Congo is a 2001 BBC nature documentary series for television on the natural history of the Congo River of Central Africa. In three episodes, the series explores the variety of animals and habitats that are to be found along the river’s 4,700 km reach. Congo was produced for the BBC Natural History Unit and the Discovery Channel by Scorer Associates. The series writer/producer was Brian Leith and the executive producer was Neil Nightingale. Series consultants were Michael Fay, Kate Abernethy, Jonathan Kingdon and Lee White. Little filming was possible in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which encompasses the vast majority of the river's watershed. The reason for this is that the Second Congo War was underway during filming. The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's Continents strand and was preceded by Andes to Amazon in 2000 and Wild Africa later that year in 2001.
Cinematography
Stunning river footage shot while actual war raged nearby.
Production
Filmed in active conflict zones—production itself is the story.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Most 'Congo' footage was actually shot in Gabon and Central African Republic because the DRC was too dangerous.
This aired months before 9/11, making it one of the last major BBC docs before the 'blue planet' glossy era took over completely.
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