Page 348 - New Medley 5 Semester 1

The savanna grasslands are in the northern and southern parts of the

country.

The tropical rainforests are full of animals, birds, reptiles and insects.

Rhinoceros, elephants and hippopotamus live in swamps and the rivers
have crocodiles and alligators. Lions, leopards, giraffes, zebras and wolves

are found in the grasslands. The poisonous tse-tse fly belongs to this
region. To save the wildlife from hunting for pleasure, the government

has set up wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.

Economic Activities

The Democratic Republic of the Congo

is rich in minerals such as cobalt,
cadmium, copper, zinc, silver, gold,
diamonds and uranium. The minerals

are found mostly in the southern

part of the country. The Europeans,
especially Belgians, exploited the rich
mineral resources. The people are not

skilled in developing these resources.

The thick forests are cut or burnt Rhino in Congo

to clear land for farming which is
an important economic activity. The

main food crops grown are cassava,
rice and maize. Cassava is the staple

food of people. Its roots are dried and
grounded into flour for making bread.

The main cash crops produced are
coffee, cocoa, rubber, tobacco and

oil-palm. Some of them are grown Cassava
on plantations. The cash crops are

exported to Europe and North America. Fishing is done in rivers and
lakes. The methods of farming are primitive.

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