Cross River Gorilla
Background • The Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli ) is the most northern and western of all gorilla populations, found i n 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 of the Western Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla ). The other sub-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 rain forest 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 km 2.
• A team of international leaders in great ape research and conservation including the United Nations (via the Great Ape Survival Project ) and the Wildlife Conservation Society are working to lift the threat of imminent Fast Facts 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 Species : Cross River Gorilla where the Cross River Gorilla is found . The rangers carry out patrols and surveillance in and around the park. Status : Critically endangered
Threats : Forest clearing,
degradation and fragmentation, Key Threats bushmeat trade, disease and • Poverty and lack of economic opportunity means that natural resources poverty . are being unsustainably exploited. • Forest clearance for farming and grazing occurs within the protected areas including the support zone s 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 forest s 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.
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 maintena nce of access roads, provision of basic health ca re services, sustainable agricultural opportunities and training , and vocational training for identified hunters to prepare them for alternative employment and livelihood.
Future Goals Despite legal protect ion of key Cross River G orilla 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 eff iciently. 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 poo rly 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 r equired. • Ranger training: Many rangers have not received adequate training. R egular refresher training courses are required to improve levels of performance in the field, to maint ain discipline and boost morale . The training will cover topics such as: patrol movement, legislation, drill, physica l 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 e ducation : Given the large number of people living around and within the range of Cross River Gorillas, 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 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 t he distribution of Cross River Gorilla conservation poste rs in both Nigeria and 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 . 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 C ross River Gorilla) that make their communities valuab 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 of the Cross River Gorilla. Taronga , through a partnership with Ueno Zoo, provides financial support to the Cross River Gorilla Conservation Projec t. Over a period of 5 years the project will be supported by $10,000 per annum, totalling $50,000.
Taronga ’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.