Mpem & Djim National Park

Central Africa > Cameroon > Mpem & Djim National Park

Français | Português | Español | Bahasa Indonesia | Melayu

Summary

Loading map...

{"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"300px","height":"190px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":5,"defzoom":14,"layers":["OpenStreetMap","OpenTopoMap"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"\u003Cb\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca class=\"mw-selflink selflink\"\u003EMpem \u0026amp; Djim National Park\u003C/a\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003E'Pan troglodytes ellioti\u003Ci\u003E\u003C/i\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Mpem \u0026amp; Djim National Park\n","link":"","lat":5.1746800000000003905142875737510621547698974609375,"lon":11.7519200000000001438138497178442776203155517578125,"icon":""}],"imageoverlays":null}

+−

OpenTopoMap

OpenStreetMap

Leaflet | Map data: © OpenStreetMap, SRTM | Map style: © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA), © OpenStreetMap

• Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) are present in Mpem & Djim National Park.
• The population sizes are unknown.
• The population trend is unknown.

Site characteristics

Established in 2004, Mpem & Djim National Park spans 974.8 km², with its boundaries defined by the loop created by the Mpem and Djim rivers (Fotsing et al. 2024a). The park's animal and plant diversity is diverse. The vegetation consists of open savannah, woodland savannah, and grassland savannah, along with old secondary forests, permanently inundated swamp forests, young mixed secondary forests, mosaic forest-savannah, and gallery forests (Fotsing et al. 2024a, 2024b). Various ethnic groups and followers of different faiths reside in villages surrounding the park. Regardless of ethnic or religious background, most residents rely on subsistence agriculture and livestock farming as their main sources of income; consequently, these cultural and economic differences may influence local perspectives and attitudes toward chimpanzees and their conservation in the park (Fotsing et al. 2024a).

Table 1. Basic site information for Mpem & Djim National Park

Species	'Pan troglodytes ellioti
Area	974.8 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 5.17468 , Lon: 11.75192
Type of site	Protected area (National Park)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/tropical swamp forest, Savanna, Grassland, Wetlands (lakes, rivers, streams, bogs, marshes)
Type of governance	Governance by government

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Threats

The primary threats to chimpanzees in Mpem and Djim National Park include poaching and the expansion of agriculture, which leads to habitat loss. Local residents have reported a significant decline in chimpanzee sightings since 2016, a trend that aligns with observed decreases in chimpanzee abundance within the park. While poaching is considered a major factor, some community members also attribute the decline to agricultural expansion encroaching upon chimpanzee habitats. Notably, there have been no reported conflicts between humans and chimpanzees in this area (Fotsing et al. 2024a).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Mpem & Djim National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	During a survey around the area, a relatively high proportion of respondents (19.3% (N = 46) reported involvement in chimpanzee hunting, eating chimpanzee meat or using of body part in traditional medicine (Fotsing et al. 2024a).	Ongoing (2021)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1.2 Small-holder farming	High (more than 70% of population affected)	The main source of income is subsistence agriculture and livestock farming, reducing the available habitat for chimpanzees (Fotsing et al. 2024a).	Ongoing (2021)

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Mpem & Djim National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular antipoaching patrols	Regular patrols to monitor wildlife and enforce anti-poaching laws.
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The park was established in 2004.		2004-Ongoing (2024)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

References

Fotsing, E. D., Kamkeng, M. M., & Zinner, D. (2024a). Opinions, attitudes and perceptions of local people towards the conservation of Nigeria‐Cameroon chimpanzees in Mpem‐Djim National Park, central Cameroon. People and Nature, 6(2), 865-881.
Fotsing, E. D., Kamkeng, M. M., Marcel Senge, S., & Zinner, D. (2024b). Diversity, habitat and activity patterns of mesocarnivore assemblages in an Afrotropical protected forest savannah mosaic of Central Cameroon. African Journal of Ecology, 62(3), e13283.

Page created by: Steven Joel Basiibye Date: 45638.0