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Cross River Gorilla
Background
•
The Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)
diehli is the most northern and
western of all gorilla populations, found in
i the boarder of Nigeria and
Cameroon in West Central Africa.
•
The Cross River Gorilla is critically endangered with a population of less
than 200. Cross River Gorilla is a sub-species
sub
of the Western Gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla). The other sub-species
species, the Western Lowland Gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla gorilla), is cared for at Taronga, with a population
estimated to be 82,000 and declining.
•
The Cross River National Park, the only tropical rainforest
rain
national park
in Nigeria, is situated in the extreme south eastern corner of the region.
Home to the Cross River Gorilla, the park covers approximately 4,000
km2.
•
A team of international leaders in great ape research and conservation
including the United Nations (via the Great Ape Survival Project)
Project and the
Wildlife Conservation Society are working to lift the threat of imminent
extinction faced by the Cross River Gorilla and other great apes. This
includes the employment of park rangers to protect the park in the areas
where the Cross River Gorilla is found.. The rangers carry out patrols and
surveillance in and around the park.
Key Threats
•
Poverty and lack of economic opportunity means that natural resources
are being unsustainably exploited.
•
Forest clearance for farming and grazing occurs within the protected
areas including the support zoness on the edge of the park.
•
Forest degradation by logging results in habitat destruction and changes
in vegetation.
•
Forest fragmentation is caused by clearance and the construction of
roads separating habitats and leaving small, isolated patches of forests
forest
inhibiting the movements and survival of wildlife.
•
Bush meat trade is the unsustainable hunting of often endangered
wildlife for subsistence or commercial purposes.
•
Infectious diseases such as the Ebola virus are transmitted between
humans and wildlife as humans progress further into the forests.
Fast Facts
Species
pecies: Cross River Gorilla
Status
tatus: Critically endangered
Threats
hreats: Forest clearing,
degradation and fragmentation,
bushmeat trade, disease and
poverty
poverty.
Cross River Gorilla
Current Projects
•
To recognise that some local communities depend on the rainforest for their survival and that new laws have impacted
their access to the areas now designated as protected parks,, the park management initiated and developed a concept
known as "Support Zone Development Programme". Under this scheme, consultations are made with support zone
communities and assistance for development is provided to them. Some of the assistance programs include creation and
maintenance
nce of access roads, provision of basic health care
care services, sustainable agricultural opportunities and training,
training
and vocational training for identified hunters to prepare them for alternative employment and livelihood.
Future Goals
Despite legal protection
ion of key Cross River Gorilla
G
habitats in areas such as Cross River National Park, protection on the
ground is often less than effective. Rangers are poorly trained and lack basic equipment to function in the field efficiently.
eff
The following activities are being implemented to improve levels of protection:
•
•
•
Construction of one ranger post: Cross River National Park has suffered from a lack of funding in recent years and much
of the basic park infrastructure is inadequate and poorly
poorly maintained. At many ranger posts, park rangers must rent
accommodation from the local community and under such circumstances it is difficult to protect the park effectively.
Additional ranger posts are urgently required.
equired.
Ranger training: Many rangers have not received adequate training. Regular
Regular refresher training courses are required to
improve levels of performance in the field, to maintain
maint discipline and boost morale.. The training will cover topics such as:
patrol movement, legislation, drill, physical
physical fitness, patrol planning, report writing, weapons handling and safety,
discipline, field navigation, intelligence gathering, ambush techniques, community liaison, conservation education and
wildlife identification.
Raise levels of awareness and reduce levels of hunting through conservation education
ducation: Given the large number of
people living around and within the range of Cross River Gorillas,
orillas, raising awareness about the value of conservation in
general and the uniqueness of these gorillas in particular must be a major component of a long-term
long
conservation
program. Education and awareness efforts already undertaken at a number of sites in Nigeria and Cameroon have
contributed to a significant reduction of gorilla hunting. These initiatives include regular radio broadcasts in the Bokyi
language in Cross River State, Nigeria, the establishment of an “outreach” program in Cameroon, and the
t distribution of
Cross River Gorilla conservation posters
rs in both Nigeria and Cameroon.
Cameroon The plan is to launch a two-year Rare Pride
campaign.. Rare Pride is an established organisation that designs community based solutions to conservation challenges.
challenges
The organisation has a proven model for changing awareness, attitudes and behaviors towards conservation at a local
level. The campaign inspires local people to take pride in the natural assets (such as the Cross
C
River Gorilla) that make
their communities valuable
le and take action to protect them. The program is designed to monitor long term impact at key
sites and measure outcomes at the end of the campaign.
Taronga’s Involvement
In 2008 Taronga formed an alliance with the Great Ape Survival Project (GRASP) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
to support the conservation
onservation of the Cross River Gorilla. Taronga,, through a partnership with Ueno Zoo, provides financial
support to the Cross River Gorilla Conservation Project.
Project. Over a period of 5 years the project will be supported by $10,000
per annum, totalling $50,000.
Taronga’s
’s vision is to ‘secure a shared future for wildlife and people.’ Taronga supports conservation projects for threatened
wildlife in Australia and around the world.