Mwagna National Park

Central Africa > Gabon > Mwagna National Park

Summary

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• Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) & western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Mwagna National Park.
• The population sizes are unknown.
• The great ape population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 1160 km².
• Key threats to great apes are hunting and disease outbreaks.
• Conservation activities are not documented.
• The site is part of the TRIDOM (Trinational Dja-Odzala-Minkébé) landscape.

Site characteristics

The site is located in the far east of Gabon, bordering the Republic of Congo. The park is home to forest elephants, hogs, western lowland gorillas, bongo antelopes, and rare endemic bird and plant species (Discover Gabon). The site is part of the TRIDOM (Trinational Dja-Odzala-Minkébé) landscape.

Table 1. Basic site information for Mwagna National Park

Area	1160 km²
Coordinates	0.472048, 13.778030
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

A 2004 survey revealed that the gorilla population in the park was severely impacted by Ebola outbreaks, as the gorillas that were present in 2001 were all gone. During the survey only five very old nests and a termite mound which had been eaten into a long time ago (at least a year and probably more) were recorded. No ape feeding signs were seen (Maisels et al. 2004). Between 2004 and 2012 there was an increase in the encounter rate of nests (Maisels & Akou 2013).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Mwagna 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	2004	0			Mwagna National Park	Index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Maisels et al. 2004	No great apes recorded after the Ebola outbreak.
Gorilla gorilla gorilla & Pan troglodytes troglodytes	2012			0.6	Mwagna National Park	Line transects and index survey (reconnaissance walk)	Maisels & Akou 2013

Threats

A drastic reduction in ape numbers occurred between 2001 and 2004 almost certainly due to Ebola outbreaks (Maisels et al. 2004).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Mwagna 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, bu threat level unknown		A survey in 2004 documented the presence of hunting trails (Maisels et al. 2004). One machete cut was recorded inside the park during a survey in 2012; outside the park, snares and shotgun shells were recorded (Maisels & Akou 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	8.5 Viral/prion-induced diseases	High		Ebola outbreaks in the early 2000s decimated the gorilla population in the park (Maisels & Akou 2013, Bermejo et al. 2006)	2002-2003
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 Mwagna 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	Not reported
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 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

Table 5. Challenges reported for Mwagna National Park

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Mwagna National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

Bermejo, M., Rodríguez-Teijeiro, J. D., Illera, G., Barroso, A., Vilà, C., & Walsh, P. D. (2006). Ebola outbreak killed 5000 gorillas. Science, 314(5805), 1564-1564.
Maisels, F. and Akou, M.E. (2013). Mwagne National Park: Report on survey transects 2012. WWF unpublished report.
Maisels, F., Akou, M.E., Douckaga, M. & Moundounga, A. (2004). Mwagne National Park Trip Report, Nov-Dec 2004 Large Mammals and Human Impact. WCS unpublished report.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 11/07/2023