Impact of human activities on Cross River gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli habitats in the Mawambi Hills, southwest Cameroon

Abstract

Most forest habitats in Cameroon support villages whose inhabitants are heavily reliant on the forests for their everyday needs. We assessed the socio-economic status and natural resource use of 3 villages bordering Mawambi Hills, an unprotected forest in southwest Cameroon, home to both the Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli and the Endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee Pan troglodytes ellioti. This forest likely hosts one of the largest sub-populations of Cross River gorillas in Cameroon and is vulnerable to human influence given that it lies in close proximity to surrounding villages and is less hilly than other Cross River gorilla habitats. We show that employment opportunities in surrounding villages are rare, and people rely on agriculture and the collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), such as eru Gnetum spp. and bush mango Irvingia spp., for food and income. We also show that areas of heavy human activity coincide spatially with great ape nest sites and raise concerns about the potential impact of human activities on great ape survival at the site. We call for (1) sustainable harvesting and marketing of NTFPs, (2) the introduction of alternative livelihood opportunities (e.g. beekeeping and on-farm production of NTFPs), (3) active wildlife law enforcement to safeguard the persistence of great apes, and (4) the introduction of a community-based forest management programme that will enable communities to secure the rights to use and manage surrounding forest resources legally.

Detection dog efficacy for collecting faecal samples from the critically endangered Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) for genetic censusing

“…While recent research has offered a number of insights into the biology of the Cross River gorilla (e.g. [16][17][18][19][20]), several questions critical to their effective conservation remain unanswered, including a precise estimate of the gorillas' current population size [14]. Without this knowledge it is impossible to effectively assess subpopulation viability, prioritize interventions or measure success of conservation activities over time.…”

Ecological, Historical, Economic, and Political Factors Shaping the Human–Gorilla Interface in the Mone-Oku Forest, Cameroon

“…with steep slopes. The Mone-Oku gorillas' preference to locate nest sites on steep slopes supports the hypothesis that this is a universal behaviour among Cross River gorillas, whereby the relative inaccessibility of the slopes offers the gorillas protection from many human activities, thereby creating safe sleeping sites [37][38][39]42,54]. The lowland elevations in the gorillas' nesting range are largely comprised of old secondary and lowland forest.…”

“…The behaviour of the Cross River gorilla has largely been inferred through indirect ecological methods, such as nest site analysis and feeding signs, based on the ethical decision not to habituate study groups to a researcher's presence as this increases their vulnerability to poaching when population numbers are already critical [31,[35][36][37][38][39][40]. Cross River gorillas have demonstrated flexible responses to the seasonality of their environment through their diverse diet, ranging behaviours, and variable grouping patterns that also highlight the uniqueness of each locality [31,35,36,40].…”

Community Life around Protected Areas in Cameroon: Conservation Story of Erat and the Resettlement Communities around the Korup National Park

“…In Cameroon, employment opportunities in surrounding villages to protected areas are rare and people rely on agriculture and the collection of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) for food and income [42]. While observing that areas of heavy human activity coincide spatially with great ape nest sites, they raised concern about the potential impact of human activities on great ape survival.…”