Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary

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Summary

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• Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary.
• The population size is unknown.
• The gorilla population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 1,300 km².
• The main threats to gorillas in the site is poaching.
• Conservation activities have focused on capacity building and raising conservation awareness.

Site characteristics

Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary is located in southern Cameroon, bordering Gabon. The sanctuary was established in 2001 for the protection of Western lowland gorillas. The site protects 15 other primate species (African Conservation Foundation).

Table 1. Basic site information for Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary

Species	'Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Area	1,300 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 2.333975 , Lon: 12.280413
Type of site	Protected area (Wildlife Sanctuary)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Gorilla gorilla gorilla						Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary	Unknown

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Poaching is the main threat to gorillas in the area (WWF 2005, ACF).	Ongoing (2005)
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2 Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The sanctuary was established by the government of Cameroon, together with the logging company, SOFOPETRA, which initially ran the sanctuary. It was later taken over by Cameroon's Ministry of the Environment and Forestry (MINEF). In 2002, MINEF signed an agreement with the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) to fund a project to promote trans-boundary conservation of the lowland gorilla in Mengame. The Environment Ministry also signed an agreement with the Jane Goodall Institute in 2002 to carry out scientific studies that would provide information for the proper management of the sanctuary. In 2004, MINEF signed another agreement with WWF to provide technical assistance (WWF 2005).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
4 Education & awareness	4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use	The African Conservation Foundation conduct a Capacity Building and Education project (ACF).		Unknown
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site is a protected area.		Ongoing (2023)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
2 Resources and capacity	2.3 General lack of funding	WWF 2005

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Mengame Gorilla Sanctuary

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

WWF. (2005). Anti-poaching patrol saves gorilla in Cameroon. Online: https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?21899/b-Africa-Update-BBRAnti-poaching-patrol-saves-gorilla-in-Cameroon

Page created by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: NA