Gorilla and Chimpanzee Research in Cameroon

The Central Africa Regional Program at CRES has been studying a very small population of gorillas in Cameroon since 2002, when they were observed for the first time by a scientist in the Ebo Forest. It is now believed that there are no more than 25 to 50 in total, and this low number poses significant questions for the long-term viability of this isolated population. Nevertheless, CRES has instigated wide awareness of the fragility of the population, and all villages surrounding the forest are aware of the situation; it is now a social taboo for these gorillas to be harmed in any way. With sustained, noninvasive monitoring of the population through surveying night nests, collecting hair and fecal samples for genetic analysis, and collecting ecological information on diet and movement patterns, researchers will gradually increase their understanding of this population while keeping disturbance to a minimum.

There are two recognized subspecies of chimpanzees in Central Arica. The western chimpanzee Pan troglodyes troglodytes lives in Gabon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and in Cameroon to the south of the Sanaga River. The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee Pan troglodytes vellerosus lives in Cameroon to the north of the Sanaga River and in the remaining forest fragments in the rain forests of southern Nigeria. The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee is believed to be the most endangered of all chimpanzee subspecies, with an estimates 6,000 individuals remaining, mostly in Cameroon. CRES has been conducting research on these chimpanzees in the Ebo Forest since 2005, and in 2006 it was discovered that these chimpanzees use stone hammers to crack open hard nuts—a trick that was previously thought to be restricted to the chimpanzees of west Africa. Work is continuing to elucidate the ‘tool kits’ that these chimpanzees use and to document the population of chimpanzees in the Ebo Forest and their dietary, nesting, and social habits. CRES is also involved in a nationwide survey of Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee populations, and is instrumental in regional efforts to bring more attention to this little-known chimpanzee subspecies.