Cross River National Park

West Africa > Nigeria > Cross River National Park

Summary

Loading map...

{"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"300px","height":"200px","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\"\u003ECross River National Park\u003C/a\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/b\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-parser-output\"\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees \u0026amp; Cross river gorillas\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Cross River National Park\n","link":"","lat":5.5798480000000001410853656125254929065704345703125,"lon":8.7480740000000007938751878100447356700897216796875,"icon":""}],"imageoverlays":null}

• Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) & Cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) are present in Cross River National Park.
• The population sizes are unknown.
• The population trends are unknown.
• The site has a total size of 3,640 km².
• Poaching and illegal logging are the primary threats to great apes in the park.
• Conservation activities have focused on reducing poaching by conducting patrols, removing snares, and providing sustainable alternative livelihoods e.g., snail farming.

Site characteristics

Situated in southeast Nigeria, Cross River National Park (CRNP) was established in 1991. It is divided into two sections: the smaller Okwangwo division (640 sq. km), and the larger Oban division (about 3,000 sq. km) (Dunn et al. 2014, WCS). Gorillas are known to occur in two areas of the Okwangwo division; the former Boshi Extension Forest Reserve (established in 1958 to protect gorillas), and the Okwa Hills in the central region of Okwangwo, bordering Cameroon’s Takamanda National Park to the west (Dunn et al. 2014). Both sections of CRNP are home to several important species including Cross River gorillas and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees, forest elephants, drills, Preuss’s guenons, leopards and the grey-necked rockfowl (Dunn et al. 2014, BirdLife International 2020). Over 350 species have been observed in the park, which is one of the most ornithologically diverse sites in Nigeria and is designated as an Important Bird Area. Oban is contiguous with Korup National Park in Cameroon, and it is an important watershed, draining into the Cross river in the northern part, and Calabar, Kwa, and Korup rivers in the south. A total of 1,303 flowering plants, 141 lichens, and 56 moss species have so far been documented in Oban, making it remarkably rich in floral diversity (BirdLife International 2020). The contiguous Oban-Korup forest is also famous for its rich butterfly diversity (WCS).

Table 1. Basic site information for Cross River National Park

Area	3,640 km²
Coordinates	5.579848, 8.748074
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical//tropical moist montane forest, permanent rivers, subtropical/tropical heavily degraded former forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The largest and most important area for Cross River gorillas is the transboundary area between the Okwangwo Division of CRNP and Takamanda National Park in Cameroon, which has been estimated to support approximately one-third of the known gorilla population (Dunn et al. 2014).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Cross River 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 diehli	2007	25-50			Okwangwo Division	Unknown	Oates et al. 2007
Gorilla gorilla diehli	Unknown	20-25			Cross River National Park–Boshi Extension	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	WCS as cited by Dunn et al. 2014

Threats

Nearly 30,000 people from at least 39 villages live along the edge of the Okwangwo Division of CRNP. The large villages of Okwa 1, Okwa 2 and Okwangwo are situated within the park, and the expansion of village farmland outside of their enclave boundaries threatens to fragment the forest and further isolate two gorilla subpopulations. Poaching in the park is still widespread and its montane forests on the edge of the Obudu Plateau are being affected by fire. There is also some agricultural encroachment by cocoa farmers on the edge of the park at Bashu, Obonyi and Mbuli, and illegal farming in the Boshi Forest (Dunn et al. 2014).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Cross River National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Agricultural concessions for oil palm and pineapple were illegally awarded inside the park boundary (WCS). Farmland expansion within the park (Dunn et al. 2014).	Ongoing (2014)
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Joint patrols between CRNP rangers and WCS staff have destroyed numerous hunting camps and wire snares in the park, but poaching continues. The large numbers of snares in Okwangwo are a significant threat to the gorillas (Dunn et al. 2014).	Ongoing (2014)
5. Biological resource use	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Collection of NTFPs such as bush mango is widespread and leads to the seasonal establishment of camps in the park that are also used by poachers (Dunn et al. 2014).	Ongoing (2014)
5. Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		Illegal logging has been described as a main threat. Timber is often floated out of the park along major rivers (WCS; Adetola & Adetoro 2014).	Ongoing (2014)
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

Table 4. Conservation activities in Cross River 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	5.15. Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g. SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement patrols	From 2009 on, monitoring using CyberTracker to record data on wildlife, threats and law enforcement action (Dunn et al. 2014). In 2016, SMART replaced CyberTracker to continue monitoring the park (WCS).	Ongoing (2016)
	5.9. Regularly de-activate/remove ground snares	Dunn et al. 2014	Ongoing (2014)
	5.11. Provide training to anti-poaching ranger patrols	WCS supports ranger training (WCS).	Unknown
	5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Patrolling of the park and joint transboundary patrols of the Okwangwo division together with Takamanda National Park rangers (Dunn et al. 2014)	Ongoing (2014)
	5.17. Provide sustainable alternative livelihoods; establish fish- or domestic meat farms	WCS has trained 25 hunters from around Okwangwo in bee keeping and the rearing of African giant snails in an attempt to provide them with an alternative source of income (WCS).	Unknown
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	10.5. Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions	Mobile film shows for raising conservation awareness ([1]).	Unknown
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site is a national park.	Ongoing (2023)
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

The expectations of local people were very high when the park was created and many people feel that the park has failed to provide promised development; in consequence, the levels of support for conservation are low, particularly in the enclaves (Dunn et al. 2014).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Cross River National Park

Challenge	Source
Lack of financial means	Adetola & Adetoro 2014
Lack of technical means	Adetola & Adetoro 2014
Lack of trust and support from local communities	Adetola & Adetoro 2014, Dunn et al. 2014
Lack of a management plan and committee	Dunn et al. 2014

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Cross River National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

WCS Cross River National Park, Oban Division
WCS Cross River National Park, Okwango Division

References

Adetola, B.O. & Adetoro, A.O. (2014). Threats to biodiversity conservation in Cross River National Park, Nigeria. International Journal of Conservation Science, 5(4), 547-552.
BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Cross River National Park (Oban Division). Retrieved from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/11/2020.
Dunn, A., Bergl, R., Byler, D., Eben-Ebai, S., Etiendem, D. N., Fotso, R., ... & Williamson, E. A. (2014). Revised regional action plan for the conservation of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) 2014–2019. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and Wildlife Conservation Society.
Oates JF, Sunderland-Groves J, Bergl R, Dunn A, Nicholas A, Takang E, Omeni F, Imong I, Fotso R, Nkembi L & Williamson EA. (2007). Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli). Oates J F, Sunderland-Groves Jacqueline, Bergl Richard, Dunn Andrew, Nicholas Aaron, Takang Ebai, Omeni Fidelis, Imong Inaoyom, Fotso Roger, Nkembi Louis, Williamson Liz (ed.). IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and Conservation International.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 28/09/2023