A virgin rainforest hidden from the world for years discovered in Mozambique

Nduta Waweru June 23, 2018
Mount Lico. Photo: Jeffrey Barbee/Allianceearth.org

Researchers have discovered a virgin rainforest in Mozambique.

The forest, located in Mount Lico, was hidden by the high walls of the volcanic mountain.

Discovered in 2012, the forest has been untouched by the man-made events that shifted climate and vegetation of the region.

This means that it is home to species never discovered before, including butterflies and mice.

A virgin rainforest hidden from the world for years discovered in Mozambique

An unnamed mouse discovered on Mount Lico. Photo: © Jeffrey Barbee/Allianceearth.org

What makes this discovery even more remarkable is that it is the second undisturbed rainforest discovered in Mozambique thanks to Google Earth. The first forest was discovered on Mount Mabu in 2005.

According to the researchers, led by conservation biologist Julian Bayliss, they took two years to plan the expedition that took place in May.

A virgin rainforest hidden from the world for years discovered in Mozambique

Researchers going up the 125-metre high Mount Lico. Photo: © Jeffrey Barbee/Allianceearth.org

Among the things they discovered was a pot that has since been taken by Mozambican archaeologists for dating and to determine a connection with the pottery of the region.

A virgin rainforest hidden from the world for years discovered in Mozambique

Pot discovered in the forest. Photo: © Jeffrey Barbee/Allianceearth.org

The researchers also took samples of the items discovered in the forest for further analysis. According to Vanessa Muranga, a biologist from Mozambique’s Natural History Museum interested in fish sampled from the rivers in the forest: “We will make a DNA test after comparing it with the others in the museum’s collection, then we will know if it is a new species.”

A virgin rainforest hidden from the world for years discovered in Mozambique

Vanessa Muranga is a biologist from Mozambique’s Natural History Museum.

Last Edited by:Nduta Waweru Updated: June 23, 2018

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