Summary

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Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Mbalmayo Forest Reserve.
The population size is unknown.
The population trend is unknown.
The site has a total area of 97 km².
Major threats include deforestation from agricultural expansion, resulting in habitat loss and fragmentation that fuel both increased chimpanzee-human conflict and poaching.

Site characteristics

Mbalmayo Forest Reserve, located near Yaoundé, Cameroon, is a degraded forest patch that has recently shown evidence of great ape presence, including western lowland gorillas and central chimpanzees. Despite significant deforestation, parts of the forest remain intact, providing habitat for these species (Raman 2025).

Table 1. Basic site information for Mbalmayo Forest Reserve

Species	Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Area	92 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 3.416583 , Lon: 11.487684
Type of site	Protected area (Forest Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest
Type of governance	Governance by government

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Mbalmayo Forest Reserve

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 troglodytes"	2021-2022	Present				Mbalmayo Forest Reserve (92 km²)	Camera trap		Mey et al. 2025
"Gorilla gorilla gorilla"	2021-2022	Present				Mbalmayo Forest Reserve (92 km²)	Camera trap		Mey et al. 2025

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

A study by Mey et al. (2025) apes and humans using the same area of the forest just hours apart, underscoring the potential risk of human-ape conflict (Raman 2025).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Mbalmayo Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Conversion of forest land to agriculture; 30% of the forest was lost to cacao and banana plantations (Mey & Gore 2021).	1987-Ongoing (2018)

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Mbalmayo Forest Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The forest reserve was created in 1947 (Mey & Gore 2021).		1947-Ongoing (2026)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Mbalmayo Forest Reserve

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Raman 2025	Ongoing (2025)
4 Institutional support	4.2 Lack of government support	Raman 2025	Ongoing (2020)

Challenges

Enablers

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Exposure to climate change impacts

External links

MONGABAY, In Cameroon’s forgotten forests, gorillas and chimps hang on

Mbalmayo Forest Conservation, Unveiling the secrets of the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve

References

Raman, S. (2025, May 7). In Cameroon’s forgotten forests, gorillas and chimps hang on. Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2025/05/in-cameroons-forgotten-forests-gorillas-and-chimps-hang-on/
Mey, C. B., & Gore, M. L. (2021). Biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems of the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve. Journal of Forest and Environmental Science, 37(2), 91-103. doi:10.7747/JFES.2021.37.2.91
Mey, C. B., Dewang Dyio, S., Fotie, C. N. S., Etah Kang, J., Ndzana, I., Nguimdo Vouffo, V. R., & Mbolo, M. M. (2025). Preliminary evidence of great apes’ occurrence in peri‐urban and highly degraded forest reserves in Cameroon. African Journal of Ecology, 63(2). doi:10.1111/aje.70022

Page created by: Aime Mizero Date: 2025-05-22