The park sits in the centre of Río Muni, the mainland part of Equatorial Guinea, and is named after Monte Alén — a rounded mountain at its heart. Rivers and streams criss-cross the park, forming small waterfalls and clear pools where animals come to drink. The landscape is hilly and forested, with very few roads or buildings, making it feel truly wild.
Forest elephants are smaller and rounder-eared than the savannah elephants you might see in wildlife documentaries. They are perfectly shaped for moving through dense trees, using their tusks to break open fallen logs for insects to eat and to dig for minerals in the soil. Scientists studying Monte Alén have found that the paths elephants make through the forest become tracks that other animals use too.
Western lowland gorillas also live in the park. Unlike the mountain gorillas of East Africa that sometimes appear in films, these are a slightly smaller, more reddish-brown gorilla found only in a small part of Central Africa. They spend most of their day eating leaves, fruit and stems. Baby gorillas ride on their mothers' backs until they are about three years old.
Monte Alén is part of a much bigger network of protected forests that stretches across Central Africa, connecting with parks in Gabon and Cameroon. Scientists call this connected area one of the most important places for protecting African wildlife, because animals need large areas of linked habitat to thrive. Think of it as a giant nature corridor.