Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
West Africa > Nigeria > Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
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Summary
- Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) & Cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) are present in Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary.
- The population sizes are unknown.
- The great ape population trend is unknown.
- Hunting and farm encroachment are major forms of human disturbance in addition to occasional bushfires.
- WCS conducts several conservation activities at the site, including awareness activities and supporting patrols.
Site characteristics
Other sympatric primate species include the endangered white-throated guenon (Cercopithecus erythrogaster), the Nigeria mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona).
Table 1. Basic site information for Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
| Species | Pan troglodytes ellioti, Gorilla gorilla diehli |
| Area | 104 km² |
| Coordinates | Lat: 6.311318928189273 , Lon: 8.990745590209793 |
| Type of site | Protected area (Wildlife Sanctuary) |
| Habitat types | Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, Rocky areas (inland cliffs, mountain peaks) |
| Type of governance | Governance by government |
Types of sites Governance types Habitat types
Ape status
Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Afi Mountain 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorilla gorilla diehli | 2017 | Present | Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary | Reconnaissance walk | Mengnjo & Imong 2017 | Only nest sites/km (0.049) and sightings/km (0.0012) reported | |||||
| Pan troglodytes ellioti | 2017 | Present | Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary | Reconnaissance walk | Mengnjo & Imong 2017 | Only nest sites/km (0.006) and sightings/km (0) reported | |||||
| Gorilla gorilla diehli | 2009 | 25-35 | Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary | Reconnaissance walk | Imong, Wood & Dunn 2010 | ||||||
| Pan troglodytes ellioti | 2009 | Present | Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary | Reconnaissance walk | Imong, Wood & Dunn 2010 | Two small chimpanzee groups present. |
Sampling methods Analytical frameworks
Threats
Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Geological events | 10.3 Avalanches/landslides | Low (up to 30% of population affected) | In July 2012, severe of at least 50 landslides damaged large patches of land at Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary (Berggorilla). | 2012 |
| 2 Agriculture & aquaculture | 2.1.2 Small-holder farming | High (more than 70% of population affected) | At least 1,000 illegal farms (cocoa and bananas) inside the sanctuary destroy available habitat for Cross River gorillas and other key species. Farming outside the sanctuary threatens the viability of the habitat corridor between Afi and Mbe Mountains (WCS website, Mengnjo & Imong, 2017). | 2017-Ongoing (2024) |
| 5 Biological resource use | 5.1.2 Unintentional effects | High (more than 70% of population affected) | Illegal hunting is widespread within the wildlife sanctuary, particularly the setting of wire snares to catch smaller animals such as rock hyrax (WCS website, Mengnjo & Imong, 2017). | 1996-Ongoing (2024) |
| 5 Biological resource use | 5.3 Logging & wood harvesting | High (more than 70% of population affected) | In addition to farming, logging outside the sanctuary threatens the viability of the habitat corridor between Afi and Mbe Mountains (Bukie et al., 2021, WCS website, Mengnjo & Imong, 2017). | 2017-Ongoing (2024) |
Conservation activities
Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
| Category | Specific activity | Description | Implementing organization(s) | Year of activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Counter-wildlife crime | 2.11 Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g., SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of patrols | Gorilla monitoring using CyberTracker/SMART. | Cross River State Forestry Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society | 2011-Ongoing (2024) |
| 2 Counter-wildlife crime | 2.13 Provide sustainable alternative livelihoods; establish fish- or domestic meat farms | WCS trains farmers from Afi in bee keeping and African giant snail rearing as an alternative income source of income. | Cross River State Forestry Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society | Ongoing (2024) |
| 2 Counter-wildlife crime | 2.7 Provide better equipment (e.g., guns) to anti-poaching ranger patrols | WCS provides essential field equipment to ranger patrols. | Cross River State Forestry Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society | Ongoing (2024) |
| 2 Counter-wildlife crime | 2.8 Provide training to anti-poaching ranger patrols | WCS provides training ranger in SMART-based patrolling. | Cross River State Forestry Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society | Ongoing (2024) |
| 4 Education & awareness | 4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use | WCS provides conservation education and raises awareness within the communities surrounding Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary (27 school conservation clubs, field trips, exchange visits). | Wildlife Conservation Society | Ongoing (2024) |
| 4 Education & awareness | 4.2 Involve local community in ape research and conservation management | WCS employs local communities around Afi as ‘gorilla guardians’ to help protect gorillas that exited the sanctuary. | Cross River State Forestry Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society | Ongoing (2024) |
| 4 Education & awareness | 4.5 Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions | WCS outreach program uses radio drama and film shows to spread conservation messages around Afi. | Wildlife Conservation Society | Ongoing (2024) |
| 5 Protection & restoration | 5.2 Legally protect ape habitat | Created by Cross River State Government. | Cross River State Forestry Commission | 2000-Ongoing (2026) |
| 5 Protection & restoration | 5.6 Habitat restoration | Restoration of the degraded Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary in Buanchor, Boki. | Cross River State Forestry Commission, Life Empowerment Foundation | 2021-2022 |
| 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) | WCS employs local communities around Afi as ‘gorilla guardians’ to help protect gorillas that exited the sanctuary. | Cross River State Forestry Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society | Ongoing (2024) |
| 8 Permanent presence | 8.1 Run research project and ensure permanent human presence at site | WCS has supported conservation and research at Afi since 1996. | Cross River State Forestry Commission, Wildlife Conservation Society | 1996-Ongoing (2024) |
| 8 Permanent presence | 8.2 Run tourist projects and ensure permanent human presence at site | Cross River State Forestry Commission | 2000-Ongoing (2024) |
Challenges
Table 5. Challenges reported for Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
| Challenges | Specific challenges | Source | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Site management | 1.1 Need for improved leadership | WCS | 2000-Ongoing (2024) |
| 2 Resources and capacity | 2.4 Lack of continuous/long-term funding | Unah 2020 | Ongoing (2024) |
| 4 Institutional support | 4.1 Lack of law enforcement | Unah 2020 | Ongoing (2024) |
| 4 Institutional support | 4.2 Lack of government support | WCS | 2000-Ongoing (2024) |
Enablers
Table 6. Enablers reported for Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
| Enablers | Specific enablers | Source | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Site management | 1.3 Adaptive management practices | WCS | 2011-Ongoing (2024) |
| 2 Resources and capacity | 2.6 External partnerships that add expertise or resources | Mengnjo & Imong 2017; WCS | 1996-Ongoing (2024) |
| 3 Engaged community | 3.6 Local community engagement and support | WCS | Ongoing (2024) |
Research activities
Cross River State Forestry Commission and Wildlife Conservation Society have been conducting research with various collaborators at the site since 1996. Research collaborators include among others University of Calabar, North Carolina Zoo in the US and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.
Documented behaviours
Table 7. Behaviours documented for Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
| Category | Behavior | Observation type | Prevalence | Observation dates | Source | Habituation | Species | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not reported |
Exposure to climate change impacts
As part of a study on the exposure of African great ape sites to climate change impacts, Kiribou et al. (2024) extracted climate data and data on projected extreme climate impact events for the site. Climatological characteristics were derived from observation-based climate data provided by the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP, www.isimip.org). Parameters were calculated as the average across each 30-year period. For 1981-2010, the EWEMBI dataset from ISIMIP2a was used. For the two future periods (2021-2050 and 2071-2099) ISIMIP2b climate data based on four CMIP5 global climate models were used. For future projections, two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) were used. RCP 2.6 is a scenario with strong mitigation measures in which global temperatures would likely rise below 2C. RCP 6.0 is a scenario with medium emissions in which global temperatures would likely rise up to 3C by 2100. For the number of days with heavy precipitation events, the 98th percentile of all precipitation days (>1mm/d) was calculated for the 1979-2013 reference period as a threshold for a heavy precipitation event. Then, for each year, the number of days above that threshold was derived. The figures on temperature and precipitation anomaly show the deviation from the mean temperature and mean precipitation for the 1979-2013 reference period.
The estimated exposure to future extreme climate impact events (crop failure, drought, river flood, wildfire, tropical cyclone, and heatwave) is based on a published dataset by Lange et al. 2020 derived from ISIMIP2b data. The same global climate models and RCPs as described above were used. Within each 30-year period, the number of years with an extreme event and the average proportion of the site affected were calculated (Kiribou et al. 2024).
Table 8. Estimated past and projected climatological characteristics in Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
| Value | 1981-2010 | 2021-2050, RCP 2.6 | 2021-2050, RCP 6.0 | 2071-2099, RCP 2.6 | 2071-2099, RCP 6.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean temperature [C] | 26.6 | 27.7 | 27.5 | 27.8 | 28.9 |
| Annual precipitation [mm] | 2070 | 2193 | 2214 | 2187 | 2172 |
| Max no. consecutive dry days (per year) | 40.9 | 41.8 | 44.5 | 43 | 48.4 |
| No. days with heavy precipitation (per year) | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 6.6 |
Table 9. Projected exposure of apes to extreme climate impact events in Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
| Type | No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 2.6) | % of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 2.6) | No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 6.0) | % of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 6.0) | No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 2.6) | % of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 2.6) | No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 6.0) | % of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 6.0) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crop failure | 5 | 0.73 | 4.5 | 0.87 | 3 | 1.15 | 9.5 | 1.31 |
| Drought | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Heatwave | 7 | 100 | 7 | 100 | 4 | 100 | 6.5 | 100 |
| River flood | 2 | 5.48 | 2.5 | 6.43 | 2 | 4.39 | 3 | 5.65 |
| Tropical cyclone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wildfire | 30 | 0.61 | 30 | 0.61 | 29 | 0.59 | 29 | 0.62 |
External links
References
Bukie, J. O., Ityavyar, E. M., & Inah, E. I. (2021). Illegal logging: Big trees, abundance, distribution, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary. Journal of Research in Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, 13(3).
Imong, I., Wood, K. L., & Dunn, A. (2010). Monitoring gorillas in Nigeria. Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe. https://www.berggorilla.org/en/home/news-archive/article-view/monitoring-gorillas-in-nigeria/
Mengnjo, C., & Imong, I. (2017). Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary annual report: January–December, 2017. Cross-River State Ministry of Climate Change and Forestry.
Unah, L. (2020, July 13). For the world’s rarest gorillas, a troubled sanctuary. Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/for-the-worlds-rarest-gorillas-a-troubled-sanctuary/
Page created by: Winnie Eckardt Date: 2024-11-28 08:36:00
Page updated by: APES Atlas Team Date: 2025-04-11