Fisheries in the Southern Border Zone of Takamanda - Impact ...

138 Sunderland-Groves et al.
from more than 70 years ago (Allen 1932) reported that
gorillas existed on steep, inaccessible slopes in highland
areas. Presumably hunters using guns were not as
common then as now, so the question of why the gorillas
appear to prefer these higher altitude (less hunted) sites
and are unwilling or unable to cross large tracts of
lowland forest awaits resolution.
In Takamanda Forest Reserve, vegetation surveys
(Sunderland et al. this volume) have not revealed a
dramatic difference of known preferred gorilla foods in
the higher altitude sites. One possible determining factor
of fragmentation of at least some of the gorilla groups in
Takamanda could be the existence of major rivers. It
would be nearly impossible for gorillas of the Obonyi I
hills to cross the Makone, Makwere, and Manyu rivers to
reach gorillas in either Takpe or Basho hills. This factor,
coupled with high hunting pressure in the lowland areas,
may have caused the widespread fragmentation of the
gorilla population.
Construction of the road from Mamfe to Akwaya
will cause more fragmentation. To date, the road has
reached the village of Bandolo in Mbulu forest and has
already created an ecological divide between Takamanda
and Mone. If the road is completed, which seems likely,
it will cut directly between Takamanda and Mbulu, and
ape movement between the two forested areas will
certainly cease.
The main threats to gorilla and chimp populations in
most areas of Central Africa are commercial hunting,
followed by ebola haemorrhagic fever in some localities
(Walsh et al. 2003). The primary immediate threats to
gorillas in the Takamanda area appears to be hunting
connected to human activities, especially road
construction. On the more positive side, villagers in
Takamanda Forest Reserve implemented a local ban in
1998 on the shooting of gorillas and chimpanzees, and no
credible reports of gorilla killings have been registered
since the ban went into effect. In 2002, the Cross River
Gorilla Research Project launched an education program
that focuses on conservation of Cross River gorillas.
These initiatives, along with recent anti-poaching
projects of the Cameroon and GTZ/PROFA partnership,
Takamanda: the Biodiversity of an African Rainforest
are having an effect with regard to conservation of
endangered species in Takamanda. Atotal ban on hunting
of all endangered species must be instigated and
monitored to ensure survival of the gorilla population
into the future—especially in light of inevitable further
fragmentation of the population as people move into the
area of the growing road network.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by WWF-Cameroon,
Wildlife Conservation Society, the Margot Marsh
Biodiversity Foundation through Conservation
International, and the Whitley Foundation. We thank the
Cameroon Ministry of Environment and Forests and
Ministry of Scientific Research, as well as the Chiefs,
Traditional Council members, and guides from villages
in Takamanda and Mone forest reserves and Mbulu
forest. Thanks to Dan Slayback for preparing the maps.
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