So what if the prose is bad?

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AfadsBad, bad science, DYK, eastern chimpanzee, en.wiki wtf, Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, Mitumba Mountain, Volcano, Wikicup

A mountain gorilla in the Kahuzi-Biega Reserve, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let’s see what’s queued up for DYK. A good one, a very important park, low-hanging fruit, and deserving of what Wikipedia once intended to be.

Kahuzi-Biéga National Park

Geography

“The park covers an area of 6,000 kilometres (3,728.23 mi) in the Mitumba Mountain range of the Albertine Rift in the Great Rift Valley^[1] A corridor of 7.4 km width lies between these two areas.^[2]The eastern part of the park is the smaller mountainous region measuring 600 square kilometres (230 sq mi) in size; the larger part measures 5,400 square kilometres (2,100 sq mi) and consists mainly of low land stretching from Bukavu to Kisangani, drained by the Luka and Lugulu rivers which flow into the Lualaba River.^[1] The park is situated 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the west of Bukavu inSouth Kivu Province. The park’s name derives from the two dormant volcanoes within its limits–the Kahuzi volcano (3,308 metres (10,853 ft)) and the Beiga volcano.(2,790 metres (9,150 ft))^[2]

The park receives an average annual precipitation of 1,800 millimetres (71 in). The maximum temperature recorded in the area is 18 °C (64 °F) while the minimum is 10.4 °C (50.7 °F).^[3]“

It covers “an area of 6,000 kilometres?” Square kilometers, actually. But, could be just a typo, and I think most readers will misread it correctly.

“The park covers an area of 6,000 kilometres (3,728.23 mi) in the Mitumba Mountain range of the Albertine Rift in the Great Rift Valley^[1] A corridor of 7.4 km width lies between these two areas.^[2]“

But, according to source [1], the entire park is not in the Mitumba Mountain range; only the eastern montane portion of the park is there.

“The 75,000 ha eastern sector is entirely montane. The massif is part of the Mitumba Mountain range, the western mountains of the Great Rift Valley.”

“The lowland sector in the Zairean central basin covers the watersheds of the tributaries of the Luka and Lugulu rivers.”

Even the intro to the en.Wikipedia article says that the park is “set in both mountainous and lowland terrain, …”

That may help to explain what two areas the corridor lies between, because the other choices appear to be between, well there are no two areas.

Editors need to read their own articles. Just read them.

“The park covers an area of 6,000 kilometres [the mountains of the rift]. A corridor of 7.4 km width lies between these two areas.[2]“

There are not two areas; this is nonsense. Here is what source [2] says, “”The park covers 6,000 sq km and is composed of two parts joined by a 7.5 km wide corridor.”

It also appears from these sources that only the smaller, eastern portion of the park is in the Mitumba Mountain range, while the greater part of the park is in the Zaïre basin, more low-hanging fruit, and information entirely missing from this little article, probably because of the lack of a redirect due to lack of basic knowledge among editors.

After getting the lay of the land, we learn that there are two parts, the location of the park in relation to the nearest city and within what DRC province, then the source of the park’s name, precipitation and temperature, a virtual hodge podge of disorganized information.

Why not tell me where, geographically, the park is, tell us that it is near a town called Bukavu in a DCR province, then describe the two parts, use that to lead into the parks name, then into the volcanics of the region, then the climate. Or anything but a disorganized vomit of information. Also, why does source 2 say it was made a UNESCO site in 1981 and the article say 1980?

Onto the flora and fauna!

Flora

“Rain forest (Guineo-Congolian) is the dominant vegetation type in the low lying flat land of the park. Also noted are transitional zone of rainforest and Afro-montane vegetation which has profusion of trees heather.^[3] The vegetation varies from rainforests in the lower areas to mountain and bamboo forests. Above an altitude of 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) on the summits of the volcanoes is sub-alpine vegetation, consisting of heather and the endemic Senecio kahuzicus.^[1] Swamps and bogs are found in the park, and marshland and riparian forests are noted at all altitudes.^[1]“

Let’s assume it is all true, and let’s rewrite it so we can read it.

“The larger, lowland area of the park is dominated by the rain forest (Guineo-Congolian) vegetation typical of tropical Africa. There is a transition zone of mixed rain forest and Afro-montane vegetation between the lowlands and where the montane vegetation begins. Tree heathers dominate this transition zone. Both montane and bamboo forests grow at higher elevations. Sub-alpine vegetation of heather and the endemic Senecio kahuzicus grows above 2,600 meters near the summits of the volcanoes. Riparian forest and marshlands occur near watercourses at all elevations in the park, and there are also rare swamps and bogs.”

Here we move up in elevation covering the most typical vegetation types then name the exceptions. Not great, my writing, but you can read it and follow it and understand it.

Fauna

“Among the 136 species of mammals identified in the park, the eastern lowland gorilla is the most prominent. Other primates include the eastern chimpanzee, Cercopithecinae, Colobinae. Some of the mammals include the bush elephant, bush buffalo, hylochere and bongo, Aquatic civet, eastern needle-clawed galago, Maclaud’s horseshoe bat, Ruwenzori least otter shrew, owl-faced monkey, and Alexander’s bush squirrel.[1]”

All over the place with the mammals, elephant, buffalo, hog, antelope, civet, primate, bat, shrew, primate, squirrel. Why not include all the primates in, “other primates?”

And what about those primates, we have a species, and I assume “eastern chimpanzee,” a subspecies, and two subfamilies? Which one of these things is not like the other? Other primates do not include “the Cercopithecinae,” but rather many species from this subfamily. This was just another atrocious copy and paste. Please, en.Wikipedia, learn to plagiarize accurately! Source says, “Other primates include eastern chimpanzee, and numerous Cercopithecinae and Colobinae.” Unfortunately the combination of plagiarism, lack of basic biology, unwillingness to read the source while stealing from it, and the source italicizing the subfamilies may have contributed to the error. However, take a basic biology course, and you would have recognized these were subfamilies. Then, instead of plagiarizing without understanding, you might have changed “numerous” to “many.”

And, what is it with en.Wikipedia Did You Know racers being too lazy to click on their own links?

Then, we have a disorganized list of endangered species, bird, mouse, bird, hippo, hog, elephant, shrew, bird, chimp, cat, baboon, bird, bird, bat, buffalo, antelope. Why not list the forest mammals, other mammals, any endemic species, then the birds?

Why not include readable prose? Oh, it’s not part of the promotion of a DYK. You can copy and past, you can make stuff up, and that won’t matter, but, there’s also no need to write as if you expected someone to read it.