Summary

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Central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are present in Zamakoe Forest Reserve.
The population size is unknown.
The population trend is unknown.
The size of site is unknown.
The primary threats include urban and agricultural expansion, leading to habitat destruction and fragmentation, which in turn contribute to increased chimpanzee-human conflict, and poaching.

Site characteristics

Zamakoe Forest Reserve, located just north of Mbalmayo, Cameroon, is a degraded forest area where recent evidence has shown the presence of central chimpanzees. Community reports and camera trap footage have confirmed their activity within the reserve (Raman 2025).

Table 1. Basic site information for Zamakoe Forest Reserve

Species	Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Area
Coordinates	Lat: 3.566500 , Lon: 11.532375
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 Zamakoe 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				Zamakoe Forest Reserve	Camera trap		Mey et al. 2025
"Gorilla gorilla gorilla"	2021-2022	Present				Zamakoe Forest Reserve	Camera trap		Mey et al. 2025

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

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

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Zamakoe Forest Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1 Residential & commercial development	1.1 Residential areas	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Chimpanzees were observed just 150 meters from human settlements, indicating a high risk of encounters (Raman 2025; Mey et al. 2025).	Ongoing (2022)
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Transformation of forested areas into agricultural land (Raman 2025).	Ongoing (2025)

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Zamakoe Forest Reserve

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

Conservation activities

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Zamakoe 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

References

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. https://doi.org/10.7747/JFES.2021.37.2.91

Mey Boudoug, J. C., 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). https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.70022

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/

Page created by: Aime Mizero Date: 2025-05-23