Scientists Find Dozens of New Species in Angola's Highlands

Scientists exploring Angola's remote Lisima plateau have discovered species completely unknown to science, including new dragonflies, grasshoppers, moths and butterflies. The February 2025 expedition confirms what researchers hoped: this isolated highland is one of Africa's richest unexplored ecosystems.

The Angolan Highlands Water Tower sits high in Moxico Province, a vast landscape of woodlands, wetlands and grasslands that most of the world has never heard of. Yet this remote plateau might be one of Africa's most important places.

Rivers born here flow into the Congo, Okavango, Zambezi and Cuanza systems, sustaining life across southern and central Africa. The water that makes Botswana's legendary Okavango Delta possible starts its journey in these little-known highlands, feeding ecosystems and communities thousands of kilometers downstream.

For decades, Angola's civil war, landmines and extreme remoteness kept scientists away. While the Okavango Delta became a conservation icon, the headwaters feeding it remained a biological blank spot on the map.

That silence is finally breaking. The Cassai Life Atlas expedition brought 16 African and international specialists to document life in the upper Cassai catchment, one of the least-studied parts of the highlands. Supported by Fundação Lisima and The HALO Trust, The Wilderness Project organized the groundbreaking survey.

The Ripple Effect

The new species discoveries are just the beginning. Every organism documented helps scientists understand how these highlands function as the water source for millions of people and countless ecosystems downstream.

The research also creates opportunities for conservation planning that protects both the highlands and everything they sustain. When scientists know what lives in a place, communities and governments can make better decisions about preserving it.

Angola's highlands are teaching us an important lesson: even in 2025, our planet still holds secrets worth protecting. Places we've overlooked for decades might be the keys to sustaining life across entire regions.

The expeditions continue, with each survey revealing more about this remarkable ecosystem and its role in southern Africa's future.