Boumba-Bek National Park

Central Africa > Cameroon > Boumba-Bek National Park

Summary

• Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Boumba-Bek National Park.
• It has been estimated that 4,470 great apes occur in the site.
• The great ape population trend is stable.
• The site has a total size of 2,389 km².
• Poaching is a key threat to great apes in Boumba-Bek National Park.
• Conservation activities have focused on anti-poaching patrols and community forests.

Site characteristics

Boumba-Bek National Park is located in the southeastern corner of Cameroon, bordering Nki National Park. The site is situated between the rivers Boumba and Bek (BirdLife International 2020). With 254 species recorded, the park was designated an Important Bird Area in 2001 (BirdLife International 2020). The site is known to be very important for forest elephants, central chimpanzees, and western lowland gorillas. The forest has never been logged and is used by small numbers of Baka people (BirdLife International 2020). However, elephant poaching at the site is a major problem and has led to drastic declines in the elephant numbers (N'Goran 2017).

Table 1. Basic site information for Boumba-Bek National Park

Area	2,389 km²
Coordinates	2.986850 N, 14.856464 E
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Bogs, marshes, swamps, fens, peatlands, subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, permanent rivers/streams/creeks (includes waterfalls)

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Although a relative and non-significant increase of the great ape population size was found between 2011 and 2015, the trend may be due to possible protocol errors or effects of conversion parameters (N'Goran et al. 2017).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Boumba-Bek 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
Gorilla gorilla gorilla & Pan troglodytes troglodytes	2011	3,283			Boumba-Bek National Park	Line transects (Distance) and reconnaissance walks	N'Goran 2017
Gorilla gorilla gorilla & Pan troglodytes troglodytes	2015	4,470			Boumba-Bek National Park	Line transects (Distance) and reconnaissance walks	N'Goran 2017
Gorilla gorilla gorilla & Pan troglodytes troglodytes	2012	3,326 (2,530-4,373)	1.60 (1.22-2.10)		Boumba-Bek National Park	Line transects (Distance)	CITES 2012	Survey effort: 105.4 km
Gorilla gorilla gorilla	2012	2459 (1,771-3,416)	1.18 (0.85-1.64)		Boumba-Bek National Park	Line transects (Distance)	CITES 2012	Survey effort: 105.4 km
Pan troglodytes troglodytes	2012	925 (662-1,291)	0.44 (0.32- 0.62)		Boumba-Bek National Park	Line transects (Distance)	CITES 2012	Survey effort: 105.4 km

Threats

Poaching is the main threat to wildlife at the site. Human sign encounter rates were found to be particularly high in the northern part of the park, which is closer to a public road (CITES 2012).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Boumba-Bek 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	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Hunting paths and snares were encountered in a 2012 survey of the park (CITES 2012). Elephants at Boumba-Bek have been more impacted by poaching.	Ongoing (2012)
	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Extraction of bark, honey, or palm wine (CITES 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
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

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

WWF and partners have supported the establishment of 42 community forests around Boumba Bek, Nki and Lobeke National Parks (WWF).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Boumba-Bek 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	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Anti-poaching patrols are conducted (CITES 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
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	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The National Park was established in 2005 (CITES 2012).	Ongoing (2012)
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 Boumba-Bek National Park

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

There are 16 forest clearings (bais) in Boumba-Bek, with four currently monitored by MINFOF/WWF for large mammal activities (Stiles 2011).
Maisels, F., Bechem, M., Blanc, J., Strindberg, S., Boafo, Y., Mahop, J.P., Mengamenya, A., Bariga, N., Luhunu, S., 2012a. Wildlife and Human Impact Survey in Boumba Bek National Park, Cameroon, p. 62. CITES MIKE.
Ecological monitoring of the dynamics of large and medium mammals in the clearings of Boumba Bek National Park: case of the pondo clearing complex

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Boumba-Bek National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

WWF Cameroon

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

CITES. (2012). Monitoring of Illegal Trade in Ivory and Other Elephant Specimens. Wildlife and Human Impact Survey 201, Boumba Bek National Park, Republic of Cameroon. Geneva, Switzerland: CITES.
BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Boumba - Bek. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 31/12/2020.
Stiles, D. (2011). Elephant Meat Trade in Central Africa: Summary report. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 103pp.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 08/01/2021