Kakum National Park
West Africa > Ghana > Kakum National Park
Summary
- Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) may be present in Kakum National Park.
- No chimpanzees were recorded in the last survey.
- The chimpanzee population trend is decreasing.
- The site has a total size of 375 km².
- Key threats to chimpanzees are hunting and logging.
- Conservation activities are not documented.
Site characteristics
Kakum National Park is located in southern Ghana. The terrain is generally flat, with a few hills in the southwestern part of the park, rising up to 250 m above sea level (Gatti 2009). The area was demarcated as a forest reserve in the 1930s, thereby protecting the watersheds of Kakum river and other rivers that supply water to Caper Coast and nearby areas (Gatti 2009). The Kakum Conservation Area was legally gazetted in 1992, consisting of Kakum National Park and Assin Attandanso Forest Reserve. It falls under the administrative jurisdiction of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission (Gatti 2009).
Table 1. Basic site information for Kakum National Park
| Area | 375 km² |
| Coordinates | 5.485273, -1.344909 |
| Designation | National Park |
| Habitat types | Subtropical/tropical dry forest, subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest |
IUCN habitat categories Site designations
Ape status
A rapid survey was conducted at the site in 2009; except for calls of a group of Lowe's Mona monkeys, Cercopithecus lowei, no other primate species were detected at the site (Gatti 2009).
Table 2. Ape population estimates in Kakum National Park
| Species | Year | Abundance estimate (95% CI) | Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI) | Encounter rate (nests/km) | Area | Method | Source | Comments | A.P.E.S. database ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2009 | 0 | Kakum National Park | Index survey (reconnaissance walk) | Gatti 2009 | survey effort: 33.38 km |
Threats
Table 3. Threats to apes in Kakum National Park
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Quantified severity | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | Unknown | ||||
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | Unknown | ||||
| 3. Energy production & mining | Unknown | ||||
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | Unknown | ||||
| 5. Biological resource use | 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Medium | 0.120 hunting signs/km recorded in a 2009 survey (Gatti 2009). | Relative to other sites in southwestern Ghana, hunting pressure is lower, likely due to the presence of wildlife guards (Gatti 2009). | Ongoing (2009) |
| 5.3 Logging & wood harvesting | High | Timber exploitation, which came to a stop with the change in management status, but overall the forest is heavily disturbed (Gatti 2009). | 1936-1989 | ||
| 6. Human intrusion & disturbance | Unknown | ||||
| 7. Natural system modifications | Unknown | ||||
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | Unknown | ||||
| 9. Pollution | Unknown | ||||
| 10. Geological Events | Absent | ||||
| 11. Climate change & severe weather | Unknown | ||||
| 12. Other options | Absent |
Conservation activities
Table 4. Conservation activities in Kakum National Park
| Category | Specific activity | Description | Year of activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | Not reported | ||
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | Not reported | ||
| 3. Energy production & mining | Not reported | ||
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | Not reported | ||
| 5. Biological resource use | Not reported | ||
| 6. Human intrusion & disturbance | Not reported | ||
| 7. Natural system modifications | Not reported | ||
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | Not reported | ||
| 9. Pollution | Not reported | ||
| 10. Education & Awareness | Not reported | ||
| 11. Habitat Protection | Not reported | ||
| 12. Species Management | Not reported | ||
| 13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives | Not reported |
Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)
Challenges
Table 5. Challenges reported for Kakum National Park
| Challenge | Source |
|---|---|
| Not reported |
Research activities
Documented behaviours
Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Kakum National Park
| Behavior | Source |
|---|---|
| Not reported |
External links
Kakum National Park - nationalparks.org
References
Gatti, S. (2009). Mammal surveys and capacity building for the Wildlife Wood Project - Ghana. Unpublished report to the WWP-Ghana.
Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 18/03/2022