Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Central Africa > Cameroon > Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Cite as: Akongte, P. (2023) Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. A.P.E.S. Wiki. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from https://wiki.iucnapesportal.org/index.php/Tofala_Hill_Wildlife_Sanctuary

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\"\u003ETofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary\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\u003EGorilla gorilla diehli\u003Ci\u003E\u003C/i\u003E\n\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/div\u003E","title":"Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary\n","link":"","lat":5.66290199999999988023091646027751266956329345703125,"lon":9.9083939999999994796553437481634318828582763671875,"icon":""}],"imageoverlays":null}

Leaflet

• Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) & Cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) are present in Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It has been estimated that only 2-4 gorillas and at least 200 chimpanzees inhabit the site.
• The gorilla population trend is decreasing; the chimpanzee population trend is estimated to be increasing since 2019.
• The site has a total size of 80.87 km².
• Key threats to great apes are poaching, expansion of farmlands and human-wildlife conflicts.
• Conservation activities have focused on anti-poaching patrols, providing alternative sources of income to reduce pressure on forest and wildlife.

Site characteristics

The site is located in the Lebialem Highlands, in southwestern Cameroon. The site lies 40 km away from [Mone River Forest Reserve]. There are steep mountains rising from the western edge of the reserve to the eastern side of the area; elevation varies from 250 m around the villages of Besali and Bechati in the west, to 1,900 m in Fossimondi in the east. The vegetation is mainly tropical rainforest, changing into montane forest above 1,400 m, and above 1,800 m there is anthropogenic grassland (Linnarz 2017).

Table 1. Basic site information for Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Species	'Pan troglodytes ellioti, Gorilla gorilla diehli
Area	80.87 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 5.662902 , Lon: 9.908394
Type of site	Protected area (Wildlife Sanctuary)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pan troglodytes ellioti	2017-2018	Present				Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary	Line transects & recces		Njukang et al. 2019	Survey effort 47 km. 66 arboreal nests and 21 ground nests in the sampled area. 16 nest sites recorded. Direct observation of 6 chimpanzees.
Gorilla gorilla diehli	2014-2016			0.03	2-4	Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary	Reconnaissance walk		Linnarz 2017

Threats

Illegal farming and poaching are major threats inside the forest. In 2014, 42 gun shells were found on 5 expeditions. In 2015 there was a decrease in hunting with rifles with only 20 gun shells found in the same area, but at the same time hunting with snares increased from 40 snares found in 2014 to 55 snare traps in 2015. Most local hunters do not shoot gorillas because of traditional beliefs of the people who are living west of Tofala Hill. However, some hunters from the highlands on the eastern side of the sanctuary do not share that view. In March 2013, a silverback left the site and was killed by an angry crowd of people near a village (Linnarz 2017).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Agricultural encroachment (Linnarz 2017, Njukang et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Hunting, especially with snares (Linnarz 2017, Njukang et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Logging in the low altitude areas of the sanctuary, avoided by gorillas (Njukang et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
5 Biological resource use	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Harvesting of eru (Gnetum africanum) and Njangsa (Ricinodendron heudelotii) (Akongte, P. pers. comm. 2023).	Ongoing (2023)
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
4 Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

The African Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERuDeF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF-Cameroon), have been working to conserve the last great apes populations in the Lebialem Highlands since 2004. This collaboration led to creating the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in 2014 (Haas 2018).

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.14 Employ hunters in the conservation sector to reduce their impact	Employ hunters as rangers (Haas 2018).		Ongoing (2018)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	Monthly surveillance and patrols (Haas 2018).		Ongoing (2018)
4 Education & awareness	4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use	Education and awareness raising through group discussions and questionnaires (Akongte, P. pers. comm. 2023).		2018-2019
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The wildlife sanctuary was established in 2014.		Ongoing (2023)
7 Economic & other incentives	7.1 Provide monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g., REDD, alternative income, employment)	As part of ERuDeFs’ Livelihood and Economic Development Program. Communities have been trained and given start-up capital to begin the production of medicated soap and detergent (ERuDeF).		Unknown

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Due to political conflict, the site has been difficult to assess since 2018 and patrols have been slowed down drastically (Akongte, P. pers. comm. 2023).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Linnarz 2017
2 Resources and capacity	2.3 General lack of funding	Akongte P., pers. comm. 2023
6 Safety and stability	6.3 Civil unrest/war	Akongte P., pers. comm. 2023

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Research activities

The local NGO ERuDeF (Environmental and Rural Development Foundation) and Dschang University conduct research in the area. Surveys between 2014-2016 found that different factors affect the nest site choice of gorillas. Gorillas preferred to build their nests on steep slopes, with an angle of more than 45°. 74 % (22 nests) were built on steep slopes, 23 % (7 nests) were found at moderate slopes (25-45°) and only one nest was made in a flat area (3 %). Steep slopes protect the gorillas from getting surprised by poachers, who mostly hunt during the night. The diet of gorillas at the site consists of terrestrial herbaceous plants (61.5 % of all feeding signs); fruits constituted 22.5 %, and leaves were consumed in 16 % of all feeding cases (Linnarz 2017).

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

Behavior	Source
Ground nests	Njukang et al. 2019

References

Haas, A. (2018, July 17). Large groups of Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees captured on camera trap footage in Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. https://africanconservation.org/large-groups-of-nigeria-cameroon-chimpanzees-captured-on-camera-trap-footage-in-tofala-hill-wildlife-sanctuary/

Linnarz, S. (2017) Survey of the Cross River Gorilla at the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Cameroon. Gorilla Journal no. 54, June 2017. Online: https://www.berggorilla.org/en/gorillas/general/ecology/articles-ecology/survey-of-the-cross-river-gorilla-at-the-tofala-hill-wildlife-sanctuary-in-cameroon/

NJUKANG, A. P., ANGWAFOR, T. E., AKWANJOH, S. R., LEBGA, A. K., & CHUO, M. D. (2019). Effects of anthropogenic activities on chimpanzee nest location in the Tofala hill wildlife sanctuary (THWS), South West Region, Cameroon. International Journal of Forest, Animal and Fisheries Research, 3(1).

Page created by: Peter Akongte Date: NA