Isiro

History

Isiro was named Paulis after colonel, later diplomat, when it was part of the Belgian Congo. The city was developed in 1934 and reached its peak in 1957. In the troubled days of Congo's independence and its aftermath, operation Black Dragoon brought fighting between Belgian paratroopers and local Simba militias. In 1998, Isiro became the home of a newly created Dominican-operated university called Université de l'Uélé. It is the third city in Orientale province (after Kisangani and Bunia) to welcome a university. In 2015 Isiro became the capital of the Province of Haut-Uele, under governor Jean-Pierre Lola Kisanga 2015-2019. In 2024 Isiro's population rose to over 400.000.

Most-observed species

• blue monkey

  Cercopithecus mitis Wolf, 1822 · Mammalia
  2
• Agile Mangabey

  Cercocebus agilis A.Milne-Edwards, 1886 · Mammalia
  1
• forest hingeback tortoise

  Kinixys erosa (Schweigger, 1812) · Testudines
  1
• Black Kite

  Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  1
• Taro, Cocoyam, Dasheen, Wild taro, Eddo, Elephant's ear

  Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott · Liliopsida
  1
• Peanut

  Arachis hypogaea L. · Magnoliopsida
  1
• African Pied Hornbill

  Lophoceros fasciatus (Shaw, 1812) · Aves
  1