Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary

Central Africa > Cameroon > Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary

Summary

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• Cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) are present in Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary.
• Two groups occur in the site; the total population size is unknown.
• The gorilla population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 19.44 km².
• Key threats to gorillas are livestock farming, conversion of land for agriculture, and hunting.
• Conservation activities have focused on anti-poaching patrols and research activities.

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  © Sunderland-Groves
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  © Sunderland-Groves

Site characteristics

Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary was created in April 2008, in the Kagwene mountain range in northwestern Cameroon (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009). The vegetation is a submontane forest-grassland mosaic, and the terrain is rocky, reaching an elevation of up to 2,037 m above sea level (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009).

Table 1. Basic site information for Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary

Area	19.44 km²
Coordinates	6.1333, 9.7000
Designation	Gorilla Sanctuary
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, grassland, Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

During a survey between 2003 and 2005, a total of 569 fresh night-nest sites containing 7,032 individual nests, including 7 solitary nests, were recorded (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009). The mean night nest group size was 12.4. The survey results, coupled with a genetic study that identified 15 individuals (Bergl & Vigilant 2007), indicate the presence of an additional group at the site, outside of the core group of 13 (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009). A 2012-2013 survey recorded 249 fresh night nest sites, comprising 1,877 individual nests in Kagwene (Ikfuingei 2013). The mean count of nests of weaned individuals was 7.54 per nest site with a range from 2-12. The majority of nest sites were recorded in the northwest and centre of the sanctuary (Ikfuingei 2013).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary

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 diehli	2003-2005			Present	Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009
Gorilla gorilla diehli	2012-2013			Present	Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Ikfuingei 2013	survey effort: 1005.19 km in 268 days

Threats

Livestock farming and herding, agricultural activities and hunting are the main human pressures within the sanctuary (Ikfuingei 2013). Domestic animals (cattle, goats, sheep and horses) are common on the grassland patches within the sanctuary (Ikfuingei 2013). Wire snares have been recorded mainly around the Kenchi-Alumfa section of the sanctuary, coinciding with the core area for gorillas (Ikfuingei 2013).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & urban areas	Present, but threat severity unknown		Eight farming communities and ca. 2,600 people live around the base of the mountain (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009).	Ongoing (2009)
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High	During a 2012-2013 survey, the encounter rate of farming was 0.027/km (Ikfuingei 2013).	Active farms with annual crops have been recorded on the Kenchi section of the sanctuary (Ikfuingei 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
	2.3 Livestock farming & ranching	High	During a 2012-2013 survey, the presence of domestic stock had an encounter rate of 0.35/km (Ikfuingei 2013).	Cattle herding on grassland patches within the sanctuary (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009, Ikfuingei 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Wire snares targeting other wildlife species in the sanctuary (Ikfuingei 2013). A local belief that gorillas are in fact humans has significantly protected them (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009).	Ongoing (2013)
	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present, but threat severity unknown		Traditionally, local communities enter the forest to gather non timber forest products (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009).	Ongoing (2009)
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

!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 |In 2009, two MINFOF Ecoguards were appointed. The entire sanctuary is patrolled by MINFOF Eco-guards (Ikfuingei 2013). |Ongoing (2013) |- | |5.9. Regularly de-activate/remove ground snares |Since early 2006 a greater effort has been made in patrolling and removing snares at the site (Ikfuingei 2013). |Ongoing (2013) |- |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 |13.3. Run research project and ensure permanent human presence at site |The Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary is the site of a permanent WCS Research Camp (Ikfuingei 2013). |Ongoing (2013) |- |} Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

A study on gorilla nesting behaviour discovered that Kagwene gorillas are reusing nests sites (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009). Furthermore, 55% of night nests were constructed on the ground and 45% in trees. Significantly more arboreal nests were constructed in the wet season (69%), vs. the dry season (19%). Nest site reuse was common (35%), but not related to season (Sunderland-Groves & Mboh 2009). In 2012-2013, analyses of fresh and recent gorilla feeding found on trails showed that the most commonly eaten plant parts were pith (78.94%), fruits (7.11%) leaves (6.59%) and bark (6.47%) (Ikfuingei 2013). Gorillas feed on bark throughout the year (Ikfuingei 2013).

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

Bergl, R. A., & Vigilant, L. (2007). Genetic analysis reveals population structure and recent migration within the highly fragmented range of the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli). Molecular Ecology, 16(3), 501-516. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03159.x
Ikfuingei, R. (2013). Annual Report of Cross River Gorilla Ecological Monitoring at the Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary, Cameroon Progress Report for July 2012 – June 2013. An unpublished report submitted to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Cameroon Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife. Edits; Andrew Fowler.
Sunderland-Groves, J. L., Ekinde, A., & Mboh, H. (2009). Nesting behavior of Gorilla gorilla diehli at Kagwene Mountain, Cameroon: implications for assessing group size and density. International Journal of Primatology, 30(2), 253-266. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10764-009-9340-7

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 04/04/2022