Aerial Surveys of Wildlife and Human Activity Across the Bouba N'djida

Home , Bohor reedbuck, East Sudanian savanna, Faro (department), North Region (Cameroon), Waza National Park, Western hartebeest

Aerial Surveys of Wildlife and Human Activity Across the Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura - Benoue - Faro Landscape Northern Cameroon and Southwestern Chad April - May 2015

Paul Elkan, Roger Fotso, Chris Hamley, Soqui Mendiguetti, Paul Bour, Vailia Nguertou Alexandre, Iyah Ndjidda Emmanuel, Mbamba Jean Paul, Emmanuel Vounserbo, Etienne Bemadjim, Hensel Fopa Kueteyem and Kenmoe Georges Aime

Wildlife Conservation Society Ministry of Forests and Wildlife (MINFOF) L'Ecole de Faune de Garoua Funded by the Great Elephant Census Paul G. Allen Foundation and WCS

SUMMARY

 The Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura - Benoue - Faro Landscape is located in north Cameroon and extends into southwest Chad. It consists of Bouba N’djida, Sena Oura, Benoue and Faro National Parks, in addition to 25 safari hunting zones. Along with Zakouma NP in Chad and Waza NP in the Far North of Cameroon, the landscape represents one of the most important areas for savanna elephant conservation remaining in Central Africa.

 Aerial wildlife surveys in the landscape were first undertaken in 1977 by Van Lavieren and Esser (1979) focusing only on Bouba N’djida NP. They documented a population of 232 elephants in the park. After a long period with no systematic aerial surveys across the area, Omondi et al (2008) produced a minimum count of 525 elephants for the entire landscape. This included 450 that were counted in Bouba N’djida NP and its adjacent safari hunting zones. The survey also documented a high richness and abundance of other large mammals in the Bouba N’djida NP area, and to the southeast of Faro NP.

 In the period since 2010, a number of large-scale elephant poaching incidents have taken place in Bouba N’djida NP. These were documented to have involved groups of well- armed horsemen, suspected to be Sudanese and/or Chadian, who crossed into Cameroon from Chad or the Central African Republic (CAR). Initial ground-based assessments concluded that between 250 and 300 elephants had been massacred.

 A baseline aerial survey was undertaken in April-May 2015 to gather comprehensive information on the population status and spatial distribution of elephants, other large mammals and human activity across Bouba N’djida, Sena Oura, Benoue and Faro NPs and adjacent safari hunting zones. This updated understanding will contribute to Africa-wide efforts, through the Pan-African Aerial Survey of Elephants (PAEAS), to assess savanna elephant populations and inform targeted conservation actions at national, regional and continental levels.

 Following standardized and systematic methodology, strip-based sampling and reconnaissance flights were used to accurately count wildlife, elephant carcasses and human activity. This involved a rigorous capacity building and observer selection phase in which Cameroon nationals were trained in aerial survey methodology. A total of 5,412 km were flown across 180 transects over a combined survey area of 21,742 km2. Total on- transect flying time was 32.86 hours and the average search effort across 11 strata was 1.21 min/km2. The average sample fraction across the survey area was 7.90%.

2  Across the survey area only 7 elephant groups (total of 102 individuals) were observed during the entire survey (all reconnaissance and transect flying). This included one group in Bouba N’djida NP and 6 other groups. Only 12 elephants were observed on-transect (with 9 in-strip), this low count did not permit a population estimate. A minimum count of 102 was documented. For Bouba N’djida NP, total observed elephant numbers were just 2% of the 450 observed in 2008 (Omondi et al 2008).

 The minimum count for elephant carcasses in all age categories both inside and outside the survey strata was 253. This included 27 recent (between 1 month and a year old), 207 old (over a year old) and 19 very old (over 2 years old) carcasses. A total of 83 elephant carcasses were observed on-transect. This included 2 recent carcasses, and 81 old and very old carcasses. Ground missions to elephant kill sites, verified a total of 150 carcasses, which included 38 recent and 112 old carcasses.

 The highest concentrations of wildlife were observed in the Bouba N’djida NP area and the safari hunting zones east of Faro NP. The top four population estimates across all strata were Buffon’s kob (10,350), Bohor reedbuck (6,058), western hartebeest (4,124) and roan antelope (3,098). Bouba N’djida NP (particularly the southern sector the Park) had a considerably higher richness and overall abundance of wildlife than both Benoue NP and Faro NP.

 Giant eland had a total population estimate of 2,562. Significant numbers of giant eland were observed in the southern section of Bouba N’djida NP with groups also located in safari hunting zone 16 and Faro NP. The giant eland of this area are of national importance to Cameroon and represent a significant core area for the global population of the eastern sub-species.

 Compared to 2008, the extent and intensity of human activity has increased considerably. Of number one concern is the transboundary poaching threat posed to elephants by heavily armed horsemen from Chad and/or Sudan. Reports of these poachers in Bouba N’djida NP area in January-February 2015 prior to the surveys, as well as observations of recent elephant carcasses in this survey, highlight the persistence of this threat.

 Numerous gold mines were observed in the northwest of Bouba N’djida NP and the west and east of Benoue NP. These mines are causing widespread land degradation and are presenting significant threats to wildlife populations and human health. Heavy metal pollution associated with the on-site processing of gold has the potential to impact both the local ecology and the water quality of Lagdo Reservoir. This reservoir is a significant source of food and irrigation for the human population in the region.

3  The total cattle population estimate for all strata was 526,233 and for sheep and goats it was 28,789. The cattle count in this survey was 348% higher than that of 2008 in which 25,264 were observed. Southeast and northeast Benoue NP, northern Bouba N’djida NP and southwest Faro NP were hotspots of pastoralism pressure. It is suspected that the conflict crises in Nigeria and CAR and transhumance from these countries into Cameroon is the primary driver of this livestock increase.

 Due to security constraints associated with the Boko Haram conflict, planned aerial surveys to assess the population status of elephants in Waza NP could not be completed. With Boko Haram related violence extending up to the border of Waza NP, there are major concerns for the security of this population and there is potential for elephant poaching and ivory trafficking to help fuel their insurgency.

 The Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura - Benoue - Faro Landscape faces a complex conservation crisis that has local, national and international dimensions. This is demonstrated through the results of this survey which show a major decline in elephant populations and ongoing wildlife threat across the landscape and in particular inside national parks. Elephants and other large mammals do however remain in viable numbers in pockets of habitat and there is high potential for their recovery if the right conservation actions are undertaken.

 Future wildlife survival across the landscape will require a multi-faceted strategy that leads to substantial improvements in protected area management, border security, anti- trafficking and community operations. The protected area approach should be focused on firstly securing existing wildlife and then scaling up to ensure the rehabilitation and recovery of areas currently experiencing unsustainable human use. This should include a targeted and well-resourced elephant security component that comprehensively addresses the transboundary incursions of heavily armed poachers. Inter-agency cooperation (including military, wildlife, police, local authorities, AFRICOM and other international security agencies…) should be developed. Securing elephants across the landscape and establishing effective protected area management systems will contribute to the security of both wildlife and people throughout the area and contribute to stabilization and conflict mitigation.

4 RECCOMMENDATIONS

The following targeted recommendations have been selected based on consideration of successful national park operations elsewhere in Africa and the specific context in Cameroon:

Overall recommendations and security measures  Develop inter-agency conservation-security partnership cooperation (including military, wildlife, police, local authorities, AFRICOM and other international security agencies…) to share information, detect and address poaching and trafficking threats, deter poaching and trafficking threats, secure remote areas and project sound governance.  Develop and implement a national elephant conservation and management strategy for Cameroon.  Develop transboundary elephant protection cooperation between Chad-Cameroon- Nigera (particularly on Cameroon-Chad and Cameroon – Nigeria key areas) targeting security of transboundary and border elephant populations.  Establish strong legal protections for elephant corridors and dispersal areas.  Ensure full implementation by the judiciary and prisons of new/recently established laws on wildlife trafficking.  Investigate and prosecute officials suspected to be involved in corrupt activities relating to wildlife crime and misappropriation of national park funds.  Establish strong national park management systems across the Bouba N’djida – Sena Oura – Benoue - Faro Landscape based on need.  Deploy satellite/GPS collars on all the remaining groups of elephants in the landscape and combine with mobilization of full time aerial surveillance to detect threats and orient rapid reaction law enforcement interventions to protect elephants.  Ensure the deployment of capable, committed and experienced national park conservators for Bouba N’djida – Sena Oura, Benoue and Faro NPs.  Develop a robust management partnership for Bouba N’djida NP with international expert partners.  Deploy a well-resourced joint border monitoring unit (involving park ecoguards and military) to patrol the Cameroon-Chad border between Djemadjou and Baïkoua.  Seek intelligence gathering and training support from international peacekeeping missions to assist park ecoguards and the joint border monitoring unit.  Enforce the closure of all illegal mining operations in and around Bouba N’djida and Benoue NPs.  Establish a system for allocating lands outside of protected areas for use by pastoralists and enforce the removal of livestock from key wildlife areas.

5 Bouba N’djida, Benoue and Faro NP management LAW ENFORCEMENT  Conduct an assessment of each park’s human resource, finance and logistics capabilities and outline a plan to increase capacity and performance based on management goals.  Establish a robust anti-poaching program that includes effective patrol operations, intelligence-led planning, expansion of infrastructure and transparent arrest and prosecution procedures.  Conduct coordinated anti-trafficking operations across the landscape to interdict and prevent wildlife trafficking (including intelligence gathering, investigations and checkpoints).  Ensure that law enforcement and operations teams are appropriately equipped to perform their duties (including the provision of salaries, HF radios, uniforms, rations, vehicles and fuel, arms and ammunition, GPS units, housing and camping equipment).  Establish a well-resourced aerial support unit to undertake regular surveillance flights over key habitats allowing for targeted law enforcement operations.  Ensure strong landscape-level collaboration between each national park management unit on enforcement operations and information sharing.  Develop robust protected area management partnerships. RESEARCH AND MONITORING  Develop robust law enforcement monitoring (LEM) systems to support patrol planning and prosecution processes, including the integration of aerial surveillance data.  Establish a real-time elephant monitoring system by collaring all groups to track elephant movements and target anti-poaching operations.  Develop a spatial database of all transhumance routes and monitor livestock movements.  Conduct repeated SRF surveys at least every 2 years following the methods and data presentation used here to monitor long-term changes in wildlife and human activity. COMMUNITY APPROACHES  Establish a landscape scale conservation committee involving all stakeholders (park management, enforcement agencies, safari hunting zone managers, cotton farmers and communities) to solve conservation issues and enhance collaboration.  Engage with local communities to build awareness of national park rules and wildlife, and explore options for collaboration on law enforcement.  Conduct research on who is engaging in illegal wildlife and gold mining activities and why.  Conduct research on wildlife product (inc. ivory and bushmeat) value chains.  Conduct research on the geographic sources and movement dynamics of pastoralists.  Establish strong initiatives aimed at enhancing the social and economic value of the parks to local communities.  Explore options for developing a landscape scale community land use management plan.

Safari hunting zone management  Establish partnerships between key safari hunting zones and conservation agencies to support sustainable wildlife management and landscape scale conservation.  Ensure that laws relating to wildlife management and protected species are fully adhered to across safari hunting zones.  Implement measures to ensure hunting safaris do not enter national parks.  Collaborate with national park conservators in anti-poaching operations including the provision of information on illegal activity and livestock movements.  Facilitate the deployment and operationalization of elephant security and monitoring systems.

Waza NP management  When the security situation improves, conduct an aerial survey of elephants, other wildlife and human activity across Waza NP.  Collaborate with military agencies to evaluate options for implementing targeted elephant security measures in and around Waza NP (including the Kalamaloue NP corridor).  Research and investigate potential links between militants and elephant poaching and ivory trafficking and share that information with appropriate security agencies for intervention.

7 CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 14 2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...... 15 3 AREA OVERVIEW ...... 15 3.1 LOCATION ...... 15 3.2 PROTECTED AREAS AND LEGAL STATUS ...... 16 3.3 ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT ...... 17 3.4 KNOWN WILDLIFE STATUS ...... 18 3.5 KNOWN HUMAN ACITIVITY STATUS ...... 18 4 METHODOLOGY ...... 20 4.1 OBSERVER SELECTION AND TRAINING...... 20 4.2 SURVEY DESIGN ...... 20 4.3 EQUIPMENT ...... 22 4.4 IN-FLIGHT DATA CAPTURE ...... 22 4.5 CALIBRATION ...... 22 4.6 SURVEY FLIGHTS AND DATA ENTRY ...... 23 4.7 CARCASS VERIFICATION ...... 23 4.8 DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS ...... 24 5 SURVEY RESULTS ...... 25 5.1 CALIBRATION ...... 25 5.2 SURVEY AREA PRECIPITATION ...... 26 5.3 ALL BOUBA-BENOUE-FARO STRATA ...... 27 5.3.1 Survey parameters and effort ...... 27 5.3.2 Elephants ...... 28 5.3.3 Wildlife and livestock ...... 31 5.3.4 Human activity ...... 42 5.4 BOUBA ZONE AND SENA OURA ...... 45 5.4.1 Elephants ...... 45 5.4.2 Wildlife and livestock ...... 50 5.4.3 Human activity ...... 63 5.5 BENOUE ZONE ...... 68 5.5.1 Elephants ...... 68 5.5.2 Wildlife and livestock ...... 70 5.5.3 Human activity ...... 81 5.6 FARO ZONE ...... 85 5.6.1 Elephants ...... 85 5.6.2 Wildlife and livestock ...... 87 5.6.3 Human activity ...... 98 5.7 SAFARI HUNTING ZONES ...... 102 6 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...... 104 6.1 SURVEY METHODS ...... 104 6.2 STATUS OF ELEPHANTS ...... 105 6.3 STATUS OF OTHER LARGE MAMMALS ...... 105 6.4 STATUS OF WILDLIFE THREATS ...... 106 6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS...... 107 7 REFERENCES ...... 112 8 APPENDICES ...... 114 8.1 APPENDIX 1. Jolly 2 method ...... 114 8.2 APPENDIX 2. Survey team ...... 115 8.3 APPENDIX 3. Census parameter summary ...... 116 8.4 APPENDIX 4. Transect sessions ...... 117 8.5 APPENDIX 5. Height above ground level ...... 119 8.6 APPENDIX 6. Ground speed ...... 120 8.7 APPENDIX 7. Calibration ...... 121 8.8 APPENDIX 8. Species observed ...... 122 8.9 APPENDIX 9. Observer pairs ...... 123 8.10 APPENDIX 10. Description of file names and formats ...... 125 8.11 APPENDIX 11. Transect start/end points ...... 126

9 TABLES Table 1. Designation information for the four national parks at the focus of this survey...... 17 Table 2. Elephant carcass ratios for all strata combined ...... 28 Table 3. Wildlife observations and total population estimates for all strata ...... 31 Table 4. Incidence of human activity across all strata for 5 main indicator categories ...... 42 Table 5. Total elephant carcass observations for the Bouba Zone...... 45 Table 6. Elephant carcass ratios for Bouba N’djida National Park ...... 46 Table 7. Elephant carcass ratios for Bouba East and West ...... 46 Table 8. Elephant carcass population estimates for the Bouba Zone ...... 46 Table 9. Total wildlife and livestock population estimates for all Bouba Zone strata ...... 51 Table 10. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Bouba N’djida National Park...... 51 Table 11. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Bouba East...... 52 Table 12. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Bouba West...... 52 Table 13. Wildlife observations for Sena Oura NP...... 53 Table 14. Incidence of human activity across the Bouba Zone ...... 64 Table 15. Total elephant carcass observations for the Benoue Zone...... 68 Table 16. Elephant carcass ratios for Benoue National Park...... 68 Table 17. Elephant carcass ratios for Benoue SW, NE and SE...... 69 Table 18. Total wildlife and livestock population estimates for all Benoue Zone strata...... 71 Table 19. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Benoue National Park...... 71 Table 20. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Benoue South West...... 72 Table 21. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Benoue South East...... 72 Table 22. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Benoue North East...... 73 Table 23. Incidence of human activity across the Benoue Zone ...... 82 Table 24. Total elephant carcass observations for the Faro Zone...... 85 Table 25. Elephant carcass ratios for the Faro Zone ...... 85 Table 26. Total wildlife and livestock population estimates for all Faro Zone strata...... 88 Table 27. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for the western block of Faro National Park ...... 88 Table 28. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for the eastern block of national park ...... 89 Table 29. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Faro Southeast...... 89 Table 30. Incidence of human activity across the Faro Zone ...... 99 Table 31. On-transect wildlife observations for safari hunting zones ...... 103 Table 32. Names and institutional associations for each member of the air team ...... 115 Table 33. Sampling information for all survey strata ...... 116 Table 34. Information on session dates, duration and transects flown ...... 117 Table 35. Information on session dates, duration and transects flown, continued ...... 118 Table 36. Mean HGL for each aircraft across each strata ...... 119 Table 37. Calibration flight height readings and corresponding marker counts for N242TC ...... 121 Table 38. Calibration flight height readings and corresponding marker counts for N22044 ...... 121 Table 39. Species observed through all flights across the North Region strata ...... 122 Table 40. Chi-square tests for observer wildlife counts for N242TC ...... 123 Table 41. Chi-square tests for observer wildlife counts for N22044 ...... 123 Table 42. Chi-square tests for observer wildlife encounters for N242TC ...... 124 Table 43. Chi-square tests for observer wildlife encounters for N22044 ...... 124 Table 44. List of digital copies of data uploaded to PAEAS data portal ...... 125 Table 45. Transect start/end points and lengths ...... 126

FIGURES Figure 1. Map of the protected area and hunting zones subject to the aerial survey ...... 16 Figure 2. Spatial arrangement of survey strata with sampling units...... 21 Figure 3. Scatter plots and regressions of height above ground level (HGL) / observed strip-width ...... 25 Figure 4. Area averaged daily precipitation rate over the survey area ...... 26 Figure 5. Survey flight tracklogs for the survey area...... 27 Figure 6. Distribution of recent, old and very old elephant carcasses across the survey area...... 29 Figure 7. Bull elephant group in the west of the landscape ...... 30 Figure 8. Family elephant group in the west of the landscape ...... 30 Figure 9. Distribution of all wildlife ...... 32 Figure 10. Distribution of giant eland ...... 32 Figure 11. Distribution of giraffe ...... 33 Figure 12. Distribution of buffalo ...... 33 Figure 13. Distribution of hippopotamus ...... 34 Figure 14. Distribution of reedbuck ...... 34 Figure 15. Distribution of Buffon's kob ...... 35 Figure 16. Distribution of western hartebeest ...... 35 Figure 17. Distribution of roan antelope ...... 36 Figure 18. Distribution of waterbuck ...... 36 Figure 19. Distribution of topi ...... 37 Figure 20. Distribution of bushbuck ...... 37 Figure 21. Distribution of oribi ...... 38 Figure 22. Distribution of Grimm's duiker ...... 38 Figure 23. Distribution of red-flanked duiker ...... 39 Figure 24. Distribution of warthog ...... 39 Figure 25. Distribution of baboon ...... 40 Figure 26. Distribution of cattle ...... 40 Figure 27. Distribution of sheep and goats ...... 41 Figure 28. Distribution of cattle, sheep and goats ...... 41 Figure 29. Distribution of access ...... 43 Figure 30. Distribution of cultivation (agriculture) ...... 43 Figure 31. Distribution of gold mines ...... 44 Figure 32. Distribution of settlements and camps ...... 44 Figure 33. Photo of 3 recent (category 2) elephant carcasses in Bouba N’djida NP ...... 47 Figure 34. Photo of 4 old (category 3) elephant carcasses in Bouba N’djida NP ...... 47 Figure 35. Distribution of minimum count (air verified) elephant carcasses across the Bouba Zone ...... 48 Figure 36. Spatial density of minimum count (air verified) elephant carcasses across the Bouba Zone ... 48 Figure 37. Distribution of ground verified elephant carcasses across the Bouba Zone ...... 49 Figure 38. Spatial density of ground verified elephant carcasses across the Bouba Zone ...... 49 Figure 39. Buffon's kob density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 54 Figure 40. Giant eland density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 54

11 Figure 41. Reedbuck density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 55 Figure 42. Giraffe density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 55 Figure 43. Roan antelope density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 56 Figure 44. Western hartebeest density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 56 Figure 45. Waterbuck density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 57 Figure 46. Bushbuck density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 57 Figure 47. Topi density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 58 Figure 48. Grimm's duiker density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 58 Figure 49. Red-flanked duiker density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 59 Figure 50. Oribi density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 59 Figure 51. Baboon density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 60 Figure 52. Buffalo density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 60 Figure 53. Warthog density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 61 Figure 54. Cattle density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 61 Figure 55. Sheep and goat density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 62 Figure 56. Photo of gold mine in north east Bouba N’djida NP ...... 65 Figure 57. Photo of gold mine with dammed stream in north east Bouba N’djida NP...... 65 Figure 58. Access route density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 66 Figure 59. Cultivation density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 66 Figure 60. Gold mining density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 67 Figure 61. Settlement and camps density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone ...... 67 Figure 62. Elephant carcasses across the Benoue Zone ...... 69 Figure 63. Buffon’s kob density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 74 Figure 64. Reedbuck density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 74 Figure 65. Giraffe density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 75 Figure 66. Roan antelope density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 75 Figure 67. Western hartebeest density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 76 Figure 68. Grimm’s duiker density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 76 Figure 69. Red-flanked duiker density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 77 Figure 70. Oribi density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 77 Figure 71. Baboon density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 78 Figure 72. Buffalo density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 78 Figure 73. Warthog density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 79 Figure 74. Cattle density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 79 Figure 75. Sheep and goat density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 80 Figure 76. Access route density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 83 Figure 77. Cultivation (agriculture) density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 83 Figure 78. Gold mining density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 84 Figure 79. Settlements and camps density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone ...... 84 Figure 80. Elephant carcasses across the Faro Zone ...... 86 Figure 81. Buffon's kob density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 90 Figure 82. Giant eland density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 90 Figure 83. Reedbuck density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 91 Figure 84. Giraffe density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 91

12 Figure 85. Roan antelope density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 92 Figure 86. Western hartebeest density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 92 Figure 87. Waterbuck density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 93 Figure 88. Bushbuck density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 93 Figure 89. Grimm’s duiker density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 94 Figure 90. Red-flanked duiker density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 94 Figure 91. Baboon density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 95 Figure 92. Buffalo density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 95 Figure 93. Hippopotamus density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 96 Figure 94. Warthog density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 96 Figure 95.Cattle density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 97 Figure 96. Sheep and goat density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 97 Figure 97. Access route density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 100 Figure 98. Cultivation (agriculture) density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 100 Figure 99. Settlement and camp density (per km2) across the Faro Zone ...... 101 Figure 100. Spatial wildlife protection priority map for the landscape with human activity density ...... 108 Figure 101. HGL histogram for both aircraft across all strata ...... 119 Figure 102. Mean ground speed for each aircraft across each strata ...... 120 Figure 103. Ground speed histogram for both aircraft across all strata ...... 120

13 1 INTRODUCTION

The aerial survey presented in this report represents the start of a new phase in the assessment and management of biodiversity and its threats across the landscape incorporating Bouba N’djida, Benoue and Faro National Parks (NPs) in northern Cameroon and Sena Oura in neighbouring Chad. Historical aerial surveys across this area have demonstrated the existence of an important elephant population and various other large mammal species such as giant eland, giraffe and buffalo (Omondi et al 2008). In the period since 2008, elephant poaching pressure has increased dramatically and this was demonstrated in the widely reported massacre of hundreds of elephants in Bouba N’djida National Park (NP) in 2012 at the hands of well-armed foreign poachers (Nouredine 2012). This situation has been driven by the absence of an effective conservation presence across the north of Cameroon over recent years and further exacerbated by regional conflict dynamics. In the context of evolving threats and the long-duration since the latest wildlife survey across the landscape, there is a strong need to develop an up-to-date understanding of conservation priorities for this area. The overall goal of this baseline aerial survey was to gather comprehensive information on the population status and spatial distribution of elephants, other large mammals and human activity across the Bouba N’djida-Sena Oura, Benoue and Faro NPs and adjacent safari hunting zones at the landscape scale to inform management interventions. This information will facilitate an assessment of the impacts of a rapidly changing human geography and allow for the identification of species and area targets in need of improved protection. It will also support efforts to update and refine elephant population estimates for the entire Sudano-Sahelian range and catalyze targeted law enforcement and robust protected area management programs to secure the remaining elephant populations. The aerial surveys that form the basis of this report were conducted between 29th April and 7th May 2015 by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in cooperation with the Government of Cameroon with funding from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation through the Great Elephant Census (GEC). They represent the first aerial surveys using sample count methodology in the Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura – Benoue - Faro Landscape since 1977. This report is intended to provide an informative summary to government, protected area managers and other key stakeholders. Due to insecurity associated with the Boko Haram conflict in northeast Nigeria and the Far North of Cameroon, aerial surveys planned for Waza NP in 2015, a key elephant zone, were not conducted.

2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aerial survey across Bouba N’djida-Sena Oura, Benoue and Faro National Parks and adjacent safari hunting zones was designed to achieve the following 4 objectives: 1. Assess the population size and spatial distribution of elephants and other large mammals 2. Assess the incidence and spatial distribution of human activity 3. Collect comprehensive aerial and ground-verified data on the abundance, distribution and age of elephant carcasses 4. Identify conservation priorities and provide strategic recommendations for strengthened conservation activity across the landscape

3 AREA OVERVIEW

3.1 LOCATION

The Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura – Benoue - Faro Landscape (including all national parks and safari hunting zones) has an area of around 29,000 km2 and is bordered to the east by Chad and the west by Nigeria. The Bouba N’djida, Benoue and Faro NPs are located in the North Region of Cameroon (see Figure 1). With its northern boundary on the border with southwestern Chad, Bouba N’djida NP forms a contiguous transboundary protected area with Sena Oura NP (which is in Chad’s Mayo-Kebbi Ouest region). The area lies between 7.5 and 9.0 degrees north and 12.2 and 15.1 degrees east.

Figure 1. Map of the protected area and safari hunting zones subject to the aerial survey.

3.2 PROTECTED AREAS AND LEGAL STATUS

Together, Bouba N’djida (2,129 km2), Benoue (1,993 km2) and Faro (3,520 km2) NPs cover approximately 7,642 km2. Sena Oura across the border in Chad has an area of 813 km2 (see Table 1). In Cameroon, national parks are considered “state forests” as “areas protected for wildlife”, the regulation of which falls under Law No. 78/23 (29th December 1978) and Law No. 94/01 (20th January 1994)1 and supplemented by Ordinance No. 99/001 (31st August 1999). The three Cameroonian national parks are surrounded by a grouping of 25 safari hunting areas, or “zones d'intérêt cynégétique” (ZIC) and 5 community managed hunting areas or “zones d'intérêt cynégétique co-gestion communautaire” (ZIC-GC), which cover a combined area of 23,644 km2 and range in size from 122 to 1,719 km2.

1 Available online at http://www.unodc.org/res/cld/document/law-no--94-01-of-20-january-1994-to-lay-down-forestry-- wildlife-and-fisheries-regulations-en_html/Law_No._94-01_on_Forestry_Wildlife_and_Fisheries_EN.pdf

16 Year PA name Designation Decree number Area (GIS) designated Arrêté n°120/SEDR du 05 2 Bouba N’djida National Park 1968 décembre 1968 2,129 km

Arrêté n°120/SEDR du 05 2 Benoue National Park 1968 décembre 1968 1,993 km

Décret N°80/243 du 08 Faro National Park 1980 3,520 km2 juillet 1980 Sena Oura (Chad) National Park 2010 Loi n° 11/PR/20102 813 km2 Table 1. Designation information for the four national parks at the focus of this survey.

3.3 ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT

The Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura – Benoue - Faro Landscape sits within the western block of the East Sudanian savanna ecoregion, which is bordered to the south by the Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic and to the north by the Sahelian Acacia savanna. The area is defined by its fairly homogeneous savanna woodland that comprises mainly deciduous trees with an understory of grasses, shrubs and herbs (Burgess et al 2004). Topographically the survey area is variable with an average elevation of 711m that ranges from a low of 206m to a high of 1,234m. North of community hunting zone V-B (outside the survey area) is ‘Hosséré Vokré’ with an elevation of 2,049m and south of the survey area are the Adamawa Highlands in which ‘Tchabal Ngandaba’ has an elevation of 1,898m. The Faro, Benoue and Godi are the main rivers (referred to as ‘Mayo’ in Fulfuldé, the language of the Fulani) draining the area and these are fed by numerous temporary streams which desiccate during the dry season leaving small pools. Average annual rainfall across the survey area is 1,166mm with the higher elevation areas in the south west receiving on average 230 mm more rain than the north east (Hijmans et al 2005). Average annual temperature is 25.2°C, with higher elevation areas being on average 2.7°C cooler (Hijmans et al 2005). The area experiences on average 6 dry months per year with the dry season typically falling between November and May. Most years, the cold-dry and dusty Harmattan trade winds affect the area between December and February.

2 Available online at http://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/cha109774.pdf

17 3.4 KNOWN WILDLIFE STATUS

The first aerial wildlife survey in the Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura – Benoue - Faro Landscape was conducted by Van Lavieren and Esser (1979) in 1977. This survey used systematic reconnaissance flights (SRF) to sample Bouba N’djida NP over 3 days from late May to early June. A range of large mammals were documented, including western black rhinoceros, elephant, giraffe, giant eland, buffalo, western hartebeest and roan antelope. A population analysis gave total estimates of 53 rhinoceros, 232 elephant, 169 giraffe and 974 giant eland. Northern areas of the park had noticeably lower densities of wildlife compared to the central and southern areas. Between 29th April and 2nd May 2008, a minimum aerial count of wildlife was conducted across the entire landscape by Omondi et al. This survey counted a total of 525 elephants of which 232 were observed in Bouba N’djida NP and 218 in its adjacent hunting zones (119 in hunting area 23, 99 in hunting area 11). Elephants were also counted southeast of Benoue NP (5 in hunting zone 2) and south of the Faro River (69 in hunting zone 16). A total of 11 elephant carcasses were also observed. In general, Bouba N’djida NP and its adjacent hunting areas contained the highest richness and abundance of large mammals. The area south east of Faro NP (hunting zones 18bis, 18 and 16) and Benoue NP itself also contained important wildlife concentrations. Prior to the 2008 survey, Foguekem et al (2010) undertook a minimum aerial count of wildlife across Waza NP in February 2007. This survey located a total of 469 elephants, which included 246 inside the protected area plus 250 moving northeast in the corridor zone between Kalamaloue NP. To confirm the presence or absence of the western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes), Lagrot et al (2007) conducted reconnaissance patrols at 26 sites across the Bouba-Benoue-Faro area in 2006. This survey failed to establish the presence of the rhinoceros and subsequently it was classified “extinct” by the IUCN in 2011. A regional analysis of elephant populations across the Sudano-Sahelian range of Central Africa (including northern Cameroon, southern Chad and northern CAR) showed that, between 1980 and 2010, they experienced a statistically significant decline of 76% (from 6,419 individuals to 1,570) (Bouche et al 2011). Along with Zakouma NP in Chad and Waza NP in the Far North of Cameroon, the Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura – Benoue - Faro Landscape represents one of the most crucial areas for savanna elephant conservation remaining in Central Africa.

3.5 KNOWN HUMAN ACITIVITY STATUS

Situated within a sub-region prone to instability, northern Cameroon, with its extensive international borders, has become increasingly susceptible to the challenges posed by non-state armed groups and population displacement (Vircoulon 2015). This has been most profoundly

18 demonstrated in the period since 2010, when groups of well-armed horsemen, suspected to be Sudanese and/or Chadian, entered Bouba N’djida NP on horseback via Chad or Central African Republic (Vira and Ewing 2014; Antonínová et al. 2015). They were implicated in the poaching of between 250 and 300 elephants (Nouredine 2012). In response to this escalation of large-scale elephant poaching, the Cameroonian government deployed its military’s Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) to the area. This aimed to combat the incursion of heavily armed poachers coming into Cameroon from the Chad/CAR border area. The BIR have been operating in Bouba N’djida NP up to the present. In December 2014, there were again reports of elephant poachers in the park and in January 2015 the BIR encountered armed horsemen in safari hunting zone 23 (to the east of Bouba N’djida NP) (P Bour 2015 pers. comm.). Two elephant kill sites were subsequently located with a total of 10 fresh (category 1) elephant carcasses (8 with their tusks missing), indicating continued poaching pressure. Human population across the administrative divisions of Faro and Mayo-Rey as of 2005 was estimated at 444,678 (375,201 in Mayo-Rey and 69,477 in Faro) with an overall density of 9.2 people per km2 (INS 2005). With refugees moving into the North Region due to civil conflicts in both CAR and Nigeria (UNOCHA 2015) the population of this area is now likely much higher. In the 2008 survey (Omondi et al 2008) of the landscape, the dominant human activities observed were livestock, agriculture and poaching. Poaching camps were mostly inside or in close proximity to the national parks. There were no observations of gold mining activity anywhere in the landscape. The cattle population of the landscape was observed by Omondi et al (2008) to be primarily distributed outside of the national parks, with concentrations around Benoue (west, north and east) and Bouba N’djida (northeast and northwest). Movement of large numbers of pastoralists from western CAR into Cameroon and Chad, has driven the emergence of a new livestock geography (ICG 2014) and it is suspected that the cattle population of the landscape has increased significantly over recent years. Relative impacts of bushmeat and safari hunting activities on wildlife populations across the landscape have not been assessed. Some safari hunting zones have a year-round management presence. The influx of pastoralists in to the landscape may have driven higher rates of poaching for meat, particularly of medium to large sized antelopes. There have also been reports of hunters travelling from the town of Ngaoundéré (~210 km southwest of Bouba N’djida NP by road) to commercially poach wildlife for bushmeat.

19 4 METHODOLOGY

4.1 OBSERVER SELECTION AND TRAINING

Survey implementation was designed to ensure full participation of Cameroonian nationals from institutions involved in conservation and wildlife training in the north of the country. Rear-seat observers (RSOs) were selected from a pool of 16 candidates working for either the Garoua wildlife school (L'Ecole des Spécialistes de la Faune de Garoua or “EFG) or the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife (MINFOF). FSOs were selected from the WCS Cameroon Program in-country staff. All candidates attended an introductory lecture aimed at building an understanding of aerial survey planning and implementation. This provided an overview of the principles and analytical techniques related to aerial surveys and a detailed explanation of field methods. This was then followed by a rigorous process in which each candidate’s eye sight and species identification and counting abilities were tested and ranked. From the initial pool of 16, eight individuals were selected to proceed to the Bouba N’djida NP field site for further training and testing of observation abilities through practice flights. This phase involved ground training in equipment setup and management, and data entry. It provided an in-depth introduction to aircraft safety and the use of survey cameras, voice recorders and data recorders. A full explanation and demonstration of calibration and streamer setup was given. Observers were also taught how to transfer photographs and voice recordings to the survey computers, conduct photo-corrections and enter observations into Excel worksheets. A total of 8 separate training and testing survey flights were conducted over 4 days between 23rd and 27th April. The training flights involved transect flying following PAEAS survey standards as well as recce flights. A final selection of 4 RSOs, including an community guard based in Bouba N’djida NP, was made based on species ID and counting performance and motivation throughout this period (as per the PAEAS guidelines). Each RSO experienced a minimum of 3 practice flights. The final positioning of streamers and the calibration was then completed with these observers following the guidelines outlined in Frederick et al (2010). Of the 4 remaining individuals, 2 remained in Bouba N’djida NP to assist with ground operations and elephant carcass verification activities. One ground assistant was trained in the use of the MIKE elephant carcass investigation guidelines and an adapted carcasses data collection sheet.

4.2 SURVEY DESIGN

The survey area was selected based on the boundaries of the 2008 survey (Omondi et al 2008), topography, protected areas (including safari hunting zones) and the suspected presence of key

20 wildlife populations (based on information from local sources). To facilitate the estimation of wildlife populations in national parks and their adjacent blocks of safari hunting zones separately, the area was divided into 11 strata. These were placed across the landscape from Sena Oura in Chad west across the Bouba N’djida, Benoue and Faro Zones to the Nigeria border (see Figure 2). A strip based, SRF sampling design was implemented in each of the stratum following the PAEAS Aerial Survey Standards and Guidelines (2014). Transects were placed perpendicular to drainage systems. In three national park survey strata (Sena Oura, Bouba N’djida and Benoue), transects were systematically placed every 2.5km along the baseline, providing a sample coverage of an estimated 12%. For Faro NP and strata covering safari hunting zones outside the other three national parks, transects were placed every 5km, providing a sample coverage of an estimated 6%. Observations were made within the sample strip by two rear seat observers (RSOs), situated on the left and right sides of the plane. The sample strip on each side of the aircraft was defined by a viewing frame consisting of two parallel streamers attached to the airframe. These were set to sample a 150 meter strip on the ground on each side of the aircraft at the nominal flight height of 300 feet. The setup was tested and calibrated in flight for variations in strip width for each of the observers. Target speed was 90 nm/hour.

Figure 2. Spatial arrangement of survey strata with sampling units.

21 4.3 EQUIPMENT

The survey was flown using 2 WCS survey planes (a Cessna 206, registration N242TC, and Cessna 182, registration N22044) based from the Bouba N’djida airstrip (N 8.62319, E 14.61734). No other airstrips were available closer to Faro NP. On the N22044, height above ground level (HGL) was recorded using an Integrated Laser Module (ILM) mounted to the right wing and automatically recorded using an Anti-Log RS232 Serial Data Logger (Anti-Cyclone Systems Ltd). Due to technical issues with the ILM unit on the N242TC, which started during the training flights, the on-board radar altimeter (TRA-3000/TRI-40, FreeFlight Systems) was used and readings manually recorded by the FSO at frequent intervals. The accuracy of the radar altimeter was checked at the start of every flight with a handheld laser rangefinder (TruPulse 300B, Laser Technology Inc.).

4.4 IN-FLIGHT DATA CAPTURE

The survey adopted the “call-out” method in which each RSO was tasked with communicating observations to the FSO for recording on a datasheet or in a field notebook. The RSOs made species observations and counts of any mammal (medium to large bodied), large bird, human activity or landscape feature observed either in or outside of the sample strip. Wildlife observed but not accurately documented at the species level were categorised at the lowest taxonomic rank possible. Observations were recorded on digital voice recorders (Sony ICD-UX533) held by the RSOs to provide a back-up in case the FSO missed observations during high abundance periods. A cockpit voice recorder was also setup in the FSO position. This was also supplemented by two digital SLR cameras (Canon 7D) with 20mm wide-angle lenses mounted to each rear window and calibrated to capture the same scene viewed by the RSOs. Under clear weather conditions, the cameras were set to shutter speed priority (Tv) at 1/1,250th of a second, an ISO of 400, manual focus and infinity zoom. Under darker conditions, the shutter speed was reduced to 1/800th of a second. The cameras were fitted with remote triggers and observers were tasked with capturing photographs when observing any wildlife or human activity. The position of the cameras was verified prior to each survey flight. Waypoints were recorded by the FSO for each observation (or group of observations) in addition to a tracklog set to collect positions at a 1 second interval using a handheld GPS (Garmin 60CSx).

4.5 CALIBRATION

To test the streamer set-up, a strip-width calibration exercise was conducted for each aircraft. This evaluated how well the streamers were set on the aircraft to record observations within the

22 300m target strip-width. Calibration flights were conducted from the Bouba N’djida NP airstrip with the final observer team. A series of white boards spaced 20m apart were laid along the airstrip and passes flown perpendicular to the airstrip at various heights between 250 and 500 feet. Observers then counted all boards appearing within the strip and took photographs for validation post-flight. Marker counts were immediately entered into a computer by the FSO in- flight to ensure that any passes with unexpected numbers were re-flown. The target regression coefficient was an R2 value (slope) of 0.85 and a y intercept of ±20 meters (as per Frederick et al 2010).

4.6 SURVEY FLIGHTS AND DATA ENTRY

A total of 16 flights (8 per aircraft) were completed between 29th April and 7th May, with one rest day on 2nd May. All survey flights were conducted between 0600 and 1130 hrs local time, with on-transect flying finishing before 1000 hrs on all occasions. No survey flights were flown in the afternoon due to high air temperatures. Transects were flown with interleaved flight lines heading in the same cardinal direction, this was to ensure that each aircraft covered every strata with equal coverage. On completion of the flights, two ground-based data management specialists coordinated the observer team to transfer observation data, voice recordings, photographs, GPS data and Anti- Log data files to the survey computers. FSOs entered all observations into an Excel worksheet and joined these with corresponding GPS waypoint coordinates. The RSOs validated all wildlife counts using the photographs. The RSOs also worked with the FSOs to transcribe from the voice recordings for any periods in which observation call-outs were suspected to have been missed.

4.7 CARCASS VERIFICATION

Elephant carcass data were collected through three sources: practice flights, survey flights and ground missions to kill sites in and around Bouba N’djida NP identified from the air. To create a master database of aerial carcass observations, data from the practice and survey flights were merged and any repeat observations removed. Ground missions consisted of a team of park ecoguards accompanied by one Garoua wildlife school lecturer who was responsible for data collection and entry. The ground missions were aimed at conducting accurate counts of carcasses at recent or large kill sites. Elephant carcass classification followed the MIKE Aerial Survey Standards (2012): Carcass 1: Fresh (<1 month). Still has flesh giving the body a rounded appearance. Vultures probably present and ground still moist from body fluids.

23 Carcass 2: Recent (<1 year). Rot patch and skin still present. Skeleton not scattered. Carcass 3: Old (>1 year). Clean bones, skin usually absent and vegetation regrown in rot patch. Carcass 4: Very old (up to 10 years). Bones scattered and turning grey.

4.8 DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS

Following data entry by the observers, all wildlife and human activity observations were added to a single master Excel database for further verification and cleaning. This involved checking all observations to ensure they were consistently described with complete counts and information on RSO side and strip location (in/out). Information on stratum and transect for each observation were validated post-survey in GIS. HGL and GPS data recorded on the Anti-Log units were downloaded using the TeraTerm terminal emulator and joined together in Excel. This dataset was then labelled for all strata and transects in GIS. Spatial analyses and mapping was conducted in ArcGIS 10.2 to produce distribution maps with absolute counts of wildlife and human threats. Counts were classified within species groups to produce graduated symbols that allowed for raw abundance to be visualised. To describe occupancy patterns of human activity, a vector grid overlay of either 2.5 x 2.5 km or 5 x 5km (depending on the transect spacing) was produced for each survey stratum. The chosen grid size ensured all individual grid squares were intersected at least once by a transect. For each grid square, occupancy (present or absent) was calculated for every human activity observation grouping. This grid was also used to produce absolute species density maps for each stratum by dividing the total number of in-strip observations in each cell by the area of the strip in that cell (as per Frederick et al 2010). For elephant carcasses and human activities kernel density maps were produced. Population estimates were calculated for all species and elephant carcass observations. The spatial units for the analyses were set at both the level of individual stratum and for groups of strata associated with each national park (Bouba N’djida, Benoue and Faro). This analysis was conducted using the Jolly 2 method for unequal sampling units (Jolly 1969) (see Appendix 1 for equations). For each species, outputs from the analysis included standard error, percent relative precision or “PRP” (which is the 95% confidence interval / population estimate) and density calculations. To obtain an index of elephant mortality the elephant carcass ratio (dead/dead + live) (Douglas- Hamilton and Burril 1991) was applied to both recent and all carcass categories. The calculation produces a percentage of carcasses relative to the number of live elephant counted and indicates the rate of population decline.

24 5 SURVEY RESULTS

5.1 CALIBRATION

The relationships between height above ground level (HGL) and observed strip-width for both aircraft are given in Figure 3. Following guidelines outlined in Frederick et al (2010), goodness of fit (R2) was between 0.85 and 0.88 and intercept within +/- 30 for all observers. Aircraft N242TC

Left - RSO (N242TC) Right - RSO (N242TC) 300 300

200 200

100 100

y = 0.5376x - 2.7397 ObservedStripwidth (m) y = 0.5368x - 20.015 ObservedStripwidth (m) R² = 0.8509 R² = 0.856 0 0 0 200 400 600 0 200 400 600 Measured Height (ft) Measured Height (ft)

Aircraft N22044

Left - RSO (N22044) Right - RSO (N22044) 300 300

200 200

100 100

y = 0.5065x - 5.4409 ObservedStripwidth (m) ObservedStripwidth (m) y = 0.5582x - 26.695 R² = 0.8771 R² = 0.8643 0 0 0 200 400 600 0 200 400 600 Measured Height (ft) Measured Height (ft) Figure 3. Scatter plots and regressions of height above ground level (HGL) against observed strip-width for both aircraft. 25 5.2 SURVEY AREA PRECIPITATION

The survey was conducted after a period of extended low precipitation conditions (Figure 4). With the occurrence of a limited number of isolated and short rainfall events during the survey, conditions were overall reflective of the dry season.

Figure 4. Area averaged daily precipitation rate over the survey area between 1st January and 30th June 2015. Section within the green bars represents the survey period. (Source: NASA TRMM Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis, giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov).

26 5.3 ALL BOUBA-BENOUE-FARO STRATA

5.3.1 Survey parameters and effort

Information on survey parameters and effort is available in Appendices 2 to 6. In summary, a total of 5,412 km were flown across 180 transects over a combined survey area of 21,742 km2. Total on-transect flying time was 32.86 hours and the average search effort across all 11 strata was 1.21 min/km2. The average sample fraction across the survey area was 7.90%. The strata were flown from east to west, starting with Sena Oura and ending with Faro. Figure 5 below shows the flight tracklogs for both aircraft across the North Region survey area.

Figure 5. Survey flight tracklogs for the survey area.

27 5.3.2 Elephants

5.3.2.1 Live elephant summary

Through a combination of methods including on-transect SRF, off-transect SRF and recce flying a total of 102 elephants were observed. This count included a group of 4 individuals in Bouba N’djida NP and 6 other groups totalling 98 individuals, all of which were located in the central- western region of the landscape.

5.3.2.2 Elephant carcass summary

Across all strata and age categories, a total of 83 elephant carcasses were observed on-transect (giving an overall carcass ratio of 87%) (Table 2 and Figure 6). This included 2 recent carcasses, and 81 old and very old carcasses. The minimum count for carcasses in all age categories both inside and outside the survey strata was 253. This included 27 recent, 207 old and 19 very old carcasses. No fresh (less than a month old) carcasses were observed during any flights. The total number of ground verified carcasses was 150, which included 38 recent and 112 old carcasses.

ALL STRATA - ELEPHANT CARCASS RATIOS All carcasses Recent carcasses Carcass Recent Year Method Total live (cat 1 -4) (cat 1 -2) ratio carcass ratio 2008 Minimum count 405 10 0 2.41% 0.00% 2015 SRF (on) 12 83 2 87.37% 14.29% Minimum count* 102 253 27 71.27% 20.93% Ground verified (Bouba) - 150 38 - - Table 2. Elephant carcass ratios for all strata combined (* minimum elephant carcass count from SRF on-transect, SRF off- transect and recce flights, cleaned for double counts).

Figure 6. Distribution of recent, old and very old elephant carcasses across the survey area.

Figure 7. Bull elephant group in the landscape.

Figure 8. Family elephant group in the landscape.

30 5.3.3 Wildlife and livestock

The highest concentrations of wildlife were in Bouba N’djida NP and the safari hunting zones east of Faro NP (Table 3 and Figures 9 to 28). The highest population estimates across all strata were for Buffon’s kob (10,350), Bohor reedbuck (6,058), western hartebeest (4,124) and roan antelope (3,098). Together, these four species had PRPs (Percent Relative Precision) of between 39 and 53 %. Giant eland had a total population estimate of 2,562, with a PRP of 74%. Significant numbers of giant eland were observed in the southern section of Bouba N’djida NP with groups also located in safari hunting zone 16 and Faro NP. Less abundant but equally important species observed included buffalo, giraffe and hippopotamus. Hippopotamus were only observed on the Faro and Benoue rivers. Cattle were the most abundant mammal observed with large concentrations in all four national parks, particularly Benoue and Sena Oura. The total cattle population estimate for all strata was 526,233 (with a PRP of 29%) and for sheep and goats it was 28,789 (with a PRP of 45%). Lower wildlife abundances were closely associated higher cattle abundances.

ALL STRATA (BOUBA N’DJIDA, BENOUE AND FARO ZONES) Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 146 68 1,921 472 1,038 54% 0.09 Bohor reedbuck 570 46 6,058 1,087 2,391 39% 0.29 Buffalo 151 34 1,697 814 1,791 106% 0.08 Buffon's kob 785 121 10,350 1,949 4,287 41% 0.50 Bushbuck 39 1 603 131 288 48% 0.03 Elephant 9 3 86 131 288 337% 0.00 Giant eland 240 18 2,562 856 1,883 74% 0.12 Giraffe 24 6 260 106 234 90% 0.01 Grimm's duiker 100 5 1,036 162 356 34% 0.05 Hippopotamus 134 20 - - - - - Oribi 37 3 482 191 421 87% 0.02 Red-flanked duiker 67 3 775 112 247 32% 0.04 Roan Antelope 244 72 3,098 747 1,643 53% 0.15 Topi/Damalisque 14 0 151 77 170 112% 0.01 Warthog 83 6 1,072 245 540 50% 0.05 Waterbuck 173 37 2,051 540 1,188 58% 0.10 Western hartebeest 363 179 4,124 893 1,964 48% 0.20 Cattle 38,701 49,101 526,233 68,695 151,128 29% 25.55 Sheep and goats 2,065 1,033 28,789 5,855 12,882 45% 1.40 Table 3. Wildlife observations and total population estimates for all strata (excluding Sena Oura strata).

Figure 9. Distribution of all wildlife.

Figure 10. Distribution of giant eland.

Figure 11. Distribution of giraffe.

Figure 12. Distribution of buffalo.

Figure 13. Distribution of hippopotamus.

Figure 14. Distribution of reedbuck.

Figure 15. Distribution of Buffon's kob.

Figure 16. Distribution of western hartebeest.

Figure 17. Distribution of roan antelope.

Figure 18. Distribution of waterbuck.

Figure 19. Distribution of topi.

Figure 20. Distribution of bushbuck.

Figure 21. Distribution of oribi.

Figure 22. Distribution of Grimm's duiker.

Figure 23. Distribution of red-flanked duiker.

Figure 24. Distribution of warthog.

Figure 25. Distribution of baboon.

Figure 26. Distribution of cattle.

Figure 27. Distribution of sheep and goats.

Figure 28. Distribution of cattle, sheep and goats (includes data from Figures 26 and 27)

41 5.3.4 Human activity

Human activity was observed in all national parks and Benoue had that highest concentrations relative to the other parks (Table 4 and Figures 29 to 32). Dominant activities included cultivation (agriculture), dirt roads, transhumance tracks and cattle camps. There were 50 on-transect observations of gold mines. These were primarily along the Mayo Vaimba to where it meets the Mayo Godi in the west of Bouba N’djida NP, and in the northeast and southeast of Benoue NP along the Benoue River. Numerous mining settlements were associated with all gold mining activities. Agricultural cultivation was largely restricted to areas outside of national parks apart from Sena Oura, which had extensive human use. There were 2 observations of charcoal activity across the landscape.

HUMAN ACTIVITY (ALL STRATA) Incidence % of 5km x 5km % 2.5km x 2.5km human activity grids with Activity grids with confirmed observed on- confirmed occurrence (n=787)* transect occurrence (n=694) ACCESS Dirt (bush) road 147 3.81% 16.86% Footpath 99 5.21% 8.36% Motorbike track 30 2.54% 1.44% Paved road 10 1.14% 0.14% Transhumance track 132 9.28% 8.50% AGRICULTURE / CLEARING Charcoal 2 0.00% 0.29% Cleared land 14 0.00% 2.02% Cultivation 181 2.92% 22.77% FISHING Fishers 13 0.76% 1.01% MINES Gold (artisanal) 50 4.57% 2.02% SETTLEMENTS / CAMPS Cattle camp (active) 67 2.67% 6.63% Cattle camp (old) 33 1.02% 3.60% Poaching camp (active) 5 0.38% 0.29% Poaching camp (old) 20 1.91% 0.72% Village 61 0.89% 7.78% Total / overall 870 37.61% 82.79% Average 57.60 2.47% 5.49% Table 4. Incidence of human activity across all strata for 5 main indicator categories (*represents Bouba N’djida and Benoue NPs).

Figure 29. Distribution of access (dirt roads, footpaths, motorbike tracks, paved roads and transhumance tracks).

Figure 30. Distribution of cultivation (agriculture).

Figure 31. Distribution of gold mines.

Figure 32. Distribution of settlements and camps.

44 5.4 BOUBA ZONE AND SENA OURA

5.4.1 Elephants

5.4.1.1 Elephant carcass ratios and ground verification

Across the Bouba Zone a total of 79 elephant carcasses were observed on-transect. This included 2 recent carcasses, and 77 old and very old carcasses (Table 5 and Figures 35 to 38). In Bouba N’djida NP itself, a total of 61 carcasses were observed on-transect with a carcass ratio of 95% (Tables 6 and 7). Across the Bouba Zone a minimum count of 239 carcasses was confirmed. Of this, 214 were observed in Bouba N’djida NP itself, of which 27 were recent and 187 old or very old. In addition, the areas to the east and west of Bouba N’djida NP had a minimum count of 25 carcasses, all of which were recent. Carcasses were concentrated predominantly in the south central area of the park and 60% (151) of those verified from the air were located within 20km of the main park headquarters. Examples of recent and old carcasses observed are presented in the photographs in Figures 33 and 34 below. Ground verification of aerial observations located 181 carcasses, 38 of which were recent. These missions confirmed high poaching intensity, identifying 5 specific locations with aggregations of carcasses with between 12 and 29 individuals. Systematic checks of carcasses on the ground demonstrated that all were illegally killed by gunshot. At one kill site, a Dragunov sniper rifle magazine with 10 rounds (calibre 7.62) was found next to the carcasses.

BOUBA ZONE ELEPHANT CARCASS SUMMARY Total individuals Total individuals Minimum count in-strip outside strip Cat 1 0 0 0 Cat 2 2 0 27 Cat 3 61 12 196 Cat 4 5 0 16 TOTAL 68 12 239 Table 5. Total elephant carcass observations in/out strip and from all methods (minimum count) for the Bouba Zone.

45 BOUBA N’DJIDA NP - ELEPHANT CARCASS RATIOS All carcasses Recent carcasses Carcass Recent Year Method (cat 1 -4) (cat 1 -2) ratio carcass ratio 2008 Minimum count 6 0 2.52% 0 2015 SRF (on) 61 2 95.31% 40.00% Minimum count* 214 27 98.17% 87.10% Ground verified 143 38 - - Table 6. Elephant carcass ratios for Bouba N’djida National Park (* total of all elephant carcasses from both SRF on-transect, SRF off-transect and recce flights, cleaned for double counts).

BOUBA EAST/WEST - ELEPHANT CARCASS RATIOS All carcasses Recent carcasses Carcass Recent Year Method (cat 1 -4) (cat 1 -2) ratio carcass ratio 2008 Minimum count 2 0 1.98% 0.00% 2015 SRF (on) 18 0 100.00% 0.00% Minimum count* 25 0 100.00% 0.00% Ground verified 7 0 - - Table 7. Elephant carcass ratios for Bouba East and West (* total of all elephant carcass from both SRF on-transect, SRF off- transect and recce flights, cleaned for double counts).

5.4.1.2 Elephant carcass population estimates

From a count of 47 recent elephant carcasses observed in-strip in Bouba N’djida NP, a population estimate of 391 was calculated with a PRP of 58% (Table 8).

Indvls 95% Density est Est SE PRP obsvd CL +/- (per km2) BOUBA N'DJIDA NATIONAL PARK Cat 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Cat 2 2 17 16 34 205% 0.01 Cat 3 47 391 103 227 58% 0.17 Cat 4 3 25 13 28 110% 0.01 BOUBA EAST Cat 1 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Cat 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cat 3 7 119 86 189 160% 0.04 Cat 4 2 34 33 72 212% 0.01 BOUBA WEST Cat 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Cat 2 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Cat 3 7 114 101 222 195% 0.03 Cat 4 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Table 8. Elephant carcass population estimates for the Bouba Zone.

Figure 33. 3 recent (category 2) elephant carcasses in Bouba N’djida NP.

Figure 34. 4 old (category 3) elephant carcasses in Bouba N’djida NP.

Figure 35. Distribution of minimum count (air verified) elephant carcasses across the Bouba Zone

Figure 36. Spatial density of minimum count (air verified) elephant carcasses across the Bouba Zone

Figure 37. Distribution of ground verified elephant carcasses across the Bouba Zone

Figure 38. Spatial density of ground verified elephant carcasses across the Bouba Zone

49 5.4.2 Wildlife and livestock

Across the three Cameroonian strata, the highest population estimates were for Bohor reedbuck (5,787), Buffon’s kob (2,516), western hartebeest (2,565) and roan antelope (2,001) (Tables 9 to 12 and Figures 39 to 55). Together, these four species had a PRP (Percent Relative Precision) of between 41 and 74 %. Giant eland were estimated to number 1,466 individuals across the Bouba Zone. Bouba N’djida NP had the highest richness and concentration of wildlife across the three survey strata. In the park, Bohor reedbuck, western hartebeest, giant eland, Buffon’s kob and roan antelope were the most abundant species. These larger antelopes were found to mostly concentrate in the southern section of the park and southwards into safari hunting zones 20 and 12. The giant eland population of Bouba N’djida NP was estimated to number up to 1,247 individuals at a density of 0.53 per km2. Across the Bouba Zone, 13 topi were observed on-transect, this included 9 in Bouba N’djida NP and 4 in Bouba East. A number of groups of giraffe and buffalo were observed in an area approximately 10km south of the park HQ. Nine giraffe were also observed 30km south of Bouba N’djida NP boundary in safari hunting zones 20 and 12. Sena Oura NP lacked many of the larger bodied species such as Buffon’s kob, western hartebeest, buffalo and giraffe (Table 13). Key species observed in the park included giant eland (12), roan antelope (5), Bohor reedbuck (6) and waterbuck (4). More generalist species such as Grimm’s duiker and baboon were also present. A total of 19,161 cattle and 1,184 sheep and goats were observed across the Bouba Zone. Hotspots of livestock activity included the entire northern sector of Bouba N’djida NP and Sena Oura NP. Areas with a higher abundance of livestock, especially cattle, had lower encounters of wildlife. Bouba East and west had cattle population estimates of 72,317 (with a PRP of 85%) and 38,929 (with a PRP of 70%) respectively.

50 BOUBA ZONE (ALL STRATA) Indvls Indvls 95% Density est Species Est SE PRP in out CL +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 38 2 527 300 661 125% 0.06 Bohor reedbuck 545 45 5,787 1,083 2,382 41% 0.69 Buffalo 75 0 658 680 1,495 227% 0.08 Buffon's kob 213 45 2,516 702 1,545 61% 0.30 Bushbuck 29 1 441 117 258 59% 0.05 Giant eland 163 17 1,466 387 850 58% 0.17 Giraffe 17 6 189 94 206 109% 0.02 Grimm's duiker 58 1 729 142 312 43% 0.09 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 23 0 306 166 364 119% 0.04 Red-flanked duiker 20 0 272 65 143 53% 0.03 Roan Antelope 168 52 2,001 672 1,479 74% 0.24 Topi/Damalisque 13 0 143 77 169 118% 0.02 Warthog 30 3 364 153 336 92% 0.04 Waterbuck 164 37 2,003 538 1,183 59% 0.24 Western hartebeest 239 44 2,565 738 1,624 63% 0.30 Cattle 9,580 9,579 135,559 31,657 69,646 51% 16.06 Sheep and goats 728 381 9,353 3,534 7,775 83% 1.11 Table 9. Total wildlife and livestock population estimates for all Bouba Zone strata (excluding Sena Oura).

BOUBA N'DJIDA NATIONAL PARK Indvls Indvls 95% Density est Species Est SE PRP in out CL +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 12 2 100 41 91 91% 0.04 Bohor reedbuck 394 37 3,275 677 1488 45% 1.40 Buffalo 71 0 590 372 819 139% 0.25 Buffon's kob 121 14 1,006 348 765 76% 0.43 Bushbuck 5 0 42 22 48 115% 0.02 Giant eland 150 11 1,247 349 767 62% 0.53 Giraffe 11 3 91 53 116 126% 0.04 Grimm's duiker 28 0 233 39 85 37% 0.10 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 9 0 75 31 67 90% 0.03 Red-flanked duiker 7 0 58 23 50 85% 0.02 Roan Antelope 96 22 798 208 458 57% 0.34 Topi/Damalisque 9 0 75 42 92 123% 0.03 Warthog 16 1 133 75 164 124% 0.06 Waterbuck 87 28 723 180 396 55% 0.31 Western hartebeest 170 22 1,413 419 922 65% 0.60 Cattle 2,925 2,370 24,314 8241 18131 75% 10.36 Sheep and goats 331 56 2,751 1,540 3,387 123 1.17 Table 10. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Bouba N’djida National Park.

51 BOUBA EAST Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 5 0 85 55 121 143% 0.03 Bohor reedbuck 76 0 1,287 614 1351 105% 0.49 Buffalo 4 0 68 65 144 212% 0.03 Buffon's kob 13 5 220 138 304 138% 0.08 Bushbuck 12 0 203 71 155 76% 0.08 Giant eland 12 0 203 166 365 180% 0.08 Giraffe 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Grimm's duiker 11 0 186 55 120 65% 0.07 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 4 0 68 50 111 163% 0.03 Red-flanked duiker 2 0 34 22 48 143% 0.01 Roan Antelope 46 6 779 590 1297 167% 0.29 Topi/Damalisque 4 0 68 64 142 209% 0.03 Warthog 4 0 68 53 116 172% 0.03 Waterbuck 38 5 643 384 845 131% 0.24 Western hartebeest 42 0 711 479 1054 148% 0.27 Cattle 4,271 2,592 72,317 27,917 61417 85% 27.35 Sheep and goats 198 260 3,353 2,344 5156 154% 1.27 Table 11. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Bouba East.

BOUBA WEST Indvls Indvls 95% Density est Species Est SE PRP in out CL +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 21 0 343 292 643 188% 0.10 Bohor reedbuck 75 8 1,225 581 1,278 104% 0.35 Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Buffon's kob 79 26 1,290 594 1,307 101% 0.37 Bushbuck 12 1 196 91 200 102% 0.06 Giant eland 1 6 16 20 43 264% 0.00 Giraffe 6 3 98 78 171 174% 0.03 Grimm's duiker 19 1 310 125 275 89% 0.09 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 10 0 163 155 341 209% 0.05 Red-flanked duiker 11 0 180 57 125 70% 0.05 Roan Antelope 26 24 425 246 542 128% 0.12 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 10 2 163 122 269 165% 0.05 Waterbuck 39 4 637 369 811 127% 0.18 Western hartebeest 27 22 441 374 823 187% 0.13 Cattle 2,384 4,617 38,929 12,446 27,381 70% 11.28 Sheep and goats 199 65 3,250 2,151 4,732 146% 0.94 Table 12. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Bouba West.

52 SENA OURA NATIONAL PARK Indvls Indvls 95% Density est Species Est SE PRP in out CL +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 2 0 15 17 37 41% 0.01 Bohor reedbuck 5 1 38 21 47 81% 0.03 Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Buffon's kob 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Bushbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Giant eland 12 0 91 96 212 43% 0.08 Giraffe 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Grimm's duiker 18 2 137 46 100 137% 0.12 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Red-flanked duiker 1 0 8 8 17 44% 0.01 Roan Antelope 5 0 38 35 77 50% 0.03 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Waterbuck 4 0 30 34 74 41% 0.03 Western hartebeest 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Cattle 3,036 2,450 23,099 7,228 15,902 145% 20.19 Sheep and goats 104 138 791 554 1,218 65% 0.69 Table 13. In and out strip wildlife observations for Sena Oura NP.

Figure 39. Buffon's kob density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 40. Giant eland density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 41. Reedbuck density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 42. Giraffe density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 43. Roan antelope density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 44. Western hartebeest density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 45. Waterbuck density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 46. Bushbuck density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 47. Topi density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 48. Grimm's duiker density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 49. Red-flanked duiker density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 50. Oribi density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 51. Baboon density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 52. Buffalo density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 53. Warthog density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 54. Cattle density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 55. Sheep and goat density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

62 5.4.3 Human activity

A range of human activities were observed across the Bouba Zone, those of high prevalence included cattle camps, poaching camps, agriculture, villages and transhumance tracks (Table 1414 and Figures 54 to 57). In Bouba N’djida NP, 2 active (including 1 off-transect) and 12 non- active poaching camps were observed, these were distributed across the park with notable numbers in the south. The incidence of cultivation in areas outside of Bouba N’djida NP was high, in particular to the east of the park and in Sena Oura NP. A series of gold mines were observed along the western boundary of Bouba N’djida NP running along the Mayo Vaimba. The degree of environmental impact associated with these mines was very high. The miners are using surface mining techniques to extract the gold and this includes the damming of streams and pit digging. Some of these pits are large (see photographs in Figures 56 and 57 and the map in Figure 60) while in some areas, high numbers of small pits have been dug. The gold is being processed on site potentially with mercury or cyanide in small ponds. These gold mines are causing deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution and introducing additional human activities such as settlements. One settlement had around 40 houses made from grass and mud-brick including some with tin roofs. Heavy machinery capable of transporting significant volumes of earth was also present.

63 BOUBA WEST BOUBA N’DJIDA NP BOUBA EAST SENA OURA NP % 5km x % 2.5km x % 5km x Incidence % 5km x Incidence Incidence Incidence 5km grids 2.5km 5km grids human 5km grids human human human with grids with with activity with Activity activity activity activity confirmed confirmed confirmed observed confirmed observed observed observed occurrence occurrence occurrence on- occurrence on-transect on-transect on-transect (n=638) (n=380) (n=466) transect (n=70) ACCESS Dirt (bush) road 1 0.69% 4 1.05% 0 0.00% 10 4.86% Footpath 6 4.14% 11 2.89% 10 9.35% 12 5.95% Motorbike track 1 0.69% 11 2.11% 3 1.87% 27 12.43% Paved road 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Transhumance track 18 9.66% 22 5.53% 5 3.74% 35 14.59% AGRICULTURE / CLEARING Charcoal 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Cleared land 2 1.38% 0 0.00% 11 9.35% 5 2.70% Cultivation 25 13.10% 10 2.11% 71 30.84% 81 27.57% FISHING Fishers 0 0.00% 2 0.26% 0 0.00% 1 0.54% MINES Gold (artisanal) 4 2.07% 9 1.84% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% SETTLEMENTS / CAMPS Cattle camp (active) 13 8.28% 6 1.32% 11 6.54% 1 0.54% Cattle camp (old) 8 2.76% 1 0.26% 1 0.93% 0 0.00% Poaching camp (active) 0 0.00% 1 0.26% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Poaching camp (old) 2 1.38% 12 3.16% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Village 11 6.90% 1 0.26% 21 14.95% 28 12.97% Total / overall 91 34.48% 90 19.47% 133 48.60% 202 59.46% Average 6 3.40% 6 1.40% 9 5.17% 12.50 4.32% Table 14. Incidence of human activity across the Bouba Zone for 5 main indicator categories.

Figure 56. Gold mine in north east Bouba N’djida NP. Note the water pump and small ponds.

Figure 57. Gold mine with dammed stream in north east Bouba N’djida NP.

Figure 58. Access route density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 59. Cultivation density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 60. Gold mining density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

Figure 61. Settlement and camps density (per km2) across the Bouba Zone.

67 5.5 BENOUE ZONE

5.5.1 Elephants

5.5.1.1 Elephant carcass ratios

Across the Benoue Zone, 4 elephant carcasses were observed on-transect (Tables 15 to 17, and Figure 62). This included 2 recent and 2 very old carcasses. The recent carcasses were observed in the safari hunting zones to the southeast of Benoue NP and the very old carcasses were in the southeast of the park itself, close to the Benoue River. In the absence of any live elephant observations, the on-transect carcass ratios for Benoue were 100%.

BENOUE ZONE ELEPHANT CARCASS SUMMARY Total individuals Total individuals Minimum count in-strip outside strip Cat 1 0 0 0 Cat 2 0 0 0 Cat 3 2 0 8 Cat 4 2 0 2 TOTAL 4 0 10 Table 15. Total elephant carcass observations in/out strip and from all methods (minimum count) for the Benoue Zone.

BENOUE NP - ELEPHANT CARCASS RATIOS All carcasses Recent carcasses Carcass Recent Year Method (cat 1 -4) (cat 1 -2) ratio carcass ratio 2008 Minimum count 0 0 0.00% 0.00% 2015 SRF (on) 2 0 100.00% 0.00% Minimum count* 3 0 100.00% 0.00% Ground verified - - - - Table 16. Elephant carcass ratios for Benoue National Park (* total of all elephant carcasses from both SRF on-transect, SRF off-transect and recce flights, cleaned for double counts).

68 BENOUE SW/NE/SE - ELEPHANT CARCASS RATIOS All carcasses Recent carcasses Carcass Recent Year Method (cat 1 -4) (cat 1 -2) ratio carcass ratio 2008 Minimum count 2 0 28.57% 0.00% 2015 SRF (on) 2 0 100.00% 0.00% Minimum count* 7 0 100.00% 0.00% Ground verified - - - - Table 17. Elephant carcass ratios for Benoue SW, NE and SE (* total of all elephant carcasses from both SRF on-transect, SRF off-transect and recce flights, cleaned for double counts).

Figure 62. Elephant carcasses across the Benoue Zone.

69 5.5.2 Wildlife and livestock

Across all strata, the highest population estimates were for Buffon’s kob (3,042), baboon (604), western hartebeest (511) and giant eland (467). Together, these four species had a PRP (Percent Relative Precision) of between 91 and 212 % (Tables 18 to 22 and Figures 63 to 75). Benoue NP possessed a stark absence of key wildlife species such as Bohor reedbuck, buffalo and giant eland. In comparison to Bouba N’djida NP, the abundance of roan antelope, Buffon’s kob, western hartebeest and giraffe was particularly low. Hippopotamus were observed on-transect in two groups of 15 and 5 along the Benoue River (there was also an off-transect observation of a group of 40 hippopotamus). A total of 41,563 cattle and 1,100 sheep and goats were observed on-transect across the Benoue Zone. The southwest of Benoue NP and the area to the north of the park were hotspots of livestock activity. Benoue NP had cattle population that was estimated to number 75,994 individuals (with a PRP of 65%), when including surrounding safari hunting zones this figure increased to 180,689 individuals (with a PRP of 63%).

70 BENOUE (ALL STRATA) Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 54 0 604 209 459 76% 0.09 Bohor reedbuck 5 0 61 44 96 158% 0.01 Buffalo 30 0 427 260 571 134% 0.06 Buffon's kob 211 36 3,042 1,262 2,777 91% 0.45 Bushbuck 2 0 26 19 41 157% 0.00 Giant eland 27 0 467 450 991 212% 0.07 Giraffe 4 0 42 22 48 116% 0.01 Grimm's duiker 11 4 133 44 97 73% 0.02 Hippopotamus 0 20 - - - - - Oribi 6 0 78 53 117 151% 0.01 Red-flanked duiker 32 2 317 70 154 49% 0.05 Roan Antelope 12 13 206 97 212 103% 0.03 Topi/Damalisque 1 0 9 8 18 210% 0.00 Warthog 22 3 313 115 253 81% 0.05 Waterbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Western hartebeest 46 16 511 244 538 105% 0.08 Cattle 15,079 23,672 230,382 53,106 116,833 51% 34.28 Sheep and goats 551 274 10,378 3,827 8,419 81% 1.54 Table 18. Total wildlife and livestock population estimates for all Benoue Zone strata.

BENOUE NATIONAL PARK Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 38 0 336 158 347 103% 0.14 Bohor reedbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Buffon's kob 39 0 345 97 214 62% 0.14 Bushbuck 1 0 9 9 19 214% 0.00 Giant eland 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Giraffe 2 0 18 12 26 145% 0.01 Grimm's duiker 6 1 53 20 45 84% 0.02 Hippopotamus 0 20 - - - - - Oribi 3 0 27 19 42 157% 0.01 Red-flanked duiker 26 2 230 48 106 46% 0.09 Roan Antelope 3 5 27 26 57 214% 0.01 Topi/Damalisque 1 0 9 9 19 214% 0.00 Warthog 6 0 53 44 97 183% 0.02 Waterbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Western hartebeest 31 8 274 185 407 148% 0.11 Cattle 7,750 10,173 75,994 22,439 49,366 65% 31.09 Sheep and goats 194 77 1,715 1,014 2,230 130% 0.70 Table 19. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Benoue National Park.

71 BENOUE SOUTH WEST Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 16 0 277 145 318 115% 0.15 Bohor reedbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Buffalo 12 0 208 207 456 220% 0.11 Buffon's kob 119 34 2,060 1,226 2,698 131% 1.12 Bushbuck 1 0 17 17 37 211% 0.01 Giant eland 27 0 467 450 991 212% 0.25 Giraffe 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Grimm's duiker 4 0 69 38 83 120% 0.04 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 3 0 52 50 110 212% 0.03 Red-flanked duiker 4 0 69 51 112 162% 0.04 Roan Antelope 7 8 121 78 172 142% 0.07 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 13 3 225 101 222 99% 0.12 Waterbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Western hartebeest 12 5 208 165 362 174% 0.11 Cattle 2,870 7,028 49,693 10,648 23,426 47% 27.04 Sheep and goats 60 170 1,039 1,016 2,234 215% 0.57 Table 20. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Benoue South West.

BENOUE SOUTH EAST Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Bohor reedbuck 5 0 61 44 96 158% 0.11 Buffalo 18 0 220 156 344 157% 0.40 Buffon's kob 53 1 646 283 623 96% 1.19 Bushbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Giant eland 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Giraffe 2 0 24 19 42 171% 0.04 Grimm's duiker 1 3 12 12 26 217% 0.02 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Red-flanked duiker 2 0 24 17 37 153% 0.04 Roan Antelope 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 3 0 37 36 80 218% 0.07 Waterbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Western hartebeest 3 3 37 36 80 218% 0.07 Cattle 1,394 2,306 17,003 9,542 20,993 123% 31.26 Sheep and goats 60 0 732 506 1,113 152% 1.35 Table 21. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Benoue South East.

72 BENOUE NORTH EAST Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Bohor reedbuck 0 0 21 18 39 190 0.01 Buffalo 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Buffon's kob 0 1 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Bushbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Giant eland 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Giraffe 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Grimm's duiker 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Red-flanked duiker 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Roan Antelope 2 0 59 51 112 191 0.03 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Waterbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Western hartebeest 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Cattle 3,065 4,165 89,732 46,507 102,315 114 47.38 Sheep and goats 237 27 6,938 3,524 7,752 112 3.66 Table 22. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Benoue North East.

Figure 63. Buffon’s kob density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 64. Reedbuck density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 65. Giraffe density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 66. Roan antelope density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 67. Western hartebeest density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 68. Grimm’s duiker density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 69. Red-flanked duiker density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 70. Oribi density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 71. Baboon density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 72. Buffalo density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 73. Warthog density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 74. Cattle density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

Figure 75. Sheep and goat density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone.

80 5.5.3 Human activity

The Benoue Zone was dominated by a range of human activities, notably gold mining, pastoralism and agricultural cultivation (Table 23 and Figures 76 to 79). As with Bouba N’djida NP, a number of gold mines were located inside Benoue NP itself. These were primarily concentrated along the Benoue River in two hotspots in the northeast and southeast of the park. There was also some mining activity to the west of the park in safari hunting zones 1 and 4. A proportion of this mining activity includes digging of exploratory pits. The area around the village of Nigba on the south east boundary of Benoue NP was heavily settled by people and had a correspondingly high intensity of livestock presence. Other areas with high levels of human use included the grasslands north and northeast of Benoue NP, south of the Lagdo Reservoir. Patterns of cultivation to the west of Benoue NP closely followed the route of the Ngaoundéré to Garoua paved road, which follows the western boundary of the park.

81 BENOUE NATIONAL PARK BENOUE SOUTH WEST BENOUE SOUTH EAST BENOUE NORTH EAST % 5km x % 5km x Incidence % 5km x Incidence % 5km x Incidence Incidence 5km grids 5km grids human 5km grids human 5km grids human human with with activity with activity with Activity activity activity confirmed confirmed observed confirmed observed confirmed observed observed occurrence occurrence on- occurrence on- occurrence on-transect on-transect (n=407) (n=93) transect (n=26) transect (n=81) ACCESS Dirt (bush) road 26 5.16% 26 18.28% 13 34.62% 2 2.47% Footpath 30 7.13% 4 4.30% 8 23.08% 6 7.41% Motorbike track 9 1.97% 0 0.00% 2 7.69% 0 0.00% Paved road 9 2.21% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 1.23% Transhumance track 51 11.06% 7 7.53% 2 7.69% 0 0.00% AGRICULTURE / CLEARING Charcoal 0 0.00% 2 1.08% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Cleared land 0 0.00% 1 1.08% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Cultivation 13 2.95% 15 15.05% 8 23.08% 24 14.81% FISHING Fishers 4 0.98% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 7 7.41% MINES Gold (artisanal) 27 4.67% 8 5.38% 0 0.00% 2 2.47% SETTLEMENTS / CAMPS Cattle camp (active) 15 3.69% 6 5.38% 2 3.85% 1 1.23% Cattle camp (old) 7 1.47% 4 4.30% 2 7.69% 4 0.00% Poaching camp (active) 2 0.49% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Poaching camp (old) 3 0.98% 2 2.15% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Village 6 1.47% 4 4.30% 1 3.85% 8 9.88% Total / overall 202 30.71% 79 39.78% 38 76.92% 57 35.80% Average 11 2.33% 4 3.62% 2 5.87% 4 3.13% Table 23. Incidence of human activity across the Benoue Zone for 5 main indicator categories.

Figure 76. Access route density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone

Figure 77. Cultivation (agriculture) density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone

Figure 78. Gold mining density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone

Figure 79. Settlements and camps density (per km2) across the Benoue Zone

84 5.6 FARO ZONE

5.6.1 Elephants

5.6.1.1 Elephant carcass ratios

No carcasses were observed on transect in the Faro Zone, although 3 recent carcasses and an old carcass were located through off-transect flying (Table 24 and Figure 80). Of the recent carcasses, 2 were outside the survey strata, in safari hunting zones 18bs and 16. In the absence of on- transect carcass observations, ratios for the Faro Zone were 0% (Table 25).

FARO ZONE ELEPHANT CARCASS SUMMARY Total individuals Total individuals Minimum count in-strip outside strip Cat 1 0 0 0 Cat 2 0 0 0 Cat 3 0 0 3 Cat 4 0 0 1 TOTAL 0 0 4 Table 24. Total elephant carcass observations in/out strip and from all methods (minimum count) for the Faro Zone.

FARO + FARO E/SE - ELEPHANT CARCASS RATIOS All carcasses Recent carcasses Carcass Recent Year Method (cat 1 -4) (cat 1 -2) ratio carcass ratio 2008 Minimum count 0 0 0.00% 0.00% 2015 SRF (on) 0 0 0.00% 0.00% Minimum count* 4 0 3.92% 0.00% Ground verified - - - - Table 25. Elephant carcass ratios for the Faro Zone (* total of all elephant carcasses from both SRF on-transect, SRF off-transect and recce flights, cleaned for double counts).

Figure 80. Elephant carcasses across the Faro Zone

86 5.6.2 Wildlife and livestock

Across all three strata, the highest population estimates were for Buffon’s kob (4,791), western hartebeest (1,048), roan antelope (891) and baboon (789) (Tables 26 to 29, Figures 81 to 96). Together, these four species had a PRP (Percent Relative Precision) of between 41 and 83 %. Wildlife presence and abundance across the Faro Zone was patchy with concentrations to the northeast of Faro NP (in an area extending into safari hunting zone 13) and to the southeast (in an area extending into safari hunting zones 16, 18 and 18bs). Buffon’s kob had some particularly high densities in northeast and southeast areas, while western hartebeest were most dense in more southerly areas. Hippopotamus were observed on-transect in 5 groups of between 15 and 69 individuals along the Faro River. Giraffe and giant eland abundance and distribution was lower than in the east of the landscape. One group of giraffe numbering 3 individuals was observed on-transect in safari hunting zone 18. A group of 36 giant eland were observed in the southeast of Faro NP. A total of 23,144 cattle and 782 sheep and goats were observed across the Faro Zone. The southwest sector of Faro NP and the area northeast of the park in community hunting zone V-B (Voko-Bantandje) were hotspots of livestock of activity. The western park strata had a cattle population that was estimated to number 110,002 (with a PRP of 40%).

87 FARO (ALL STRATA) Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 52 66 789 298 655 83% 0.15 Bohor reedbuck 15 0 210 84 185 88% 0.04 Buffalo 38 34 611 366 804 132% 0.11 Buffon's kob 360 40 4,791 1,308 2,878 60% 0.88 Bushbuck 8 0 137 55 122 89% 0.03 Giant eland 38 1 628 51 1,357 216% 0.12 Giraffe 3 0 29 45 99 347% 0.01 Grimm's duiker 12 1 174 64 142 82% 0.03 Hippopotamus 134 0 - - - - - Oribi 8 3 99 80 175 177% 0.02 Red-flanked duiker 14 1 186 59 130 70% 0.03 Roan Antelope 59 7 891 311 684 77% 0.16 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 26 0 395 154 338 86% 0.07 Waterbuck 5 0 48 52 114 241% 0.01 Western hartebeest 78 107 1,048 438 964 92% 0.19 Cattle 9,594 13,400 160,291 29,942 65,873 41% 29.48 Sheep and goats 542 240 9,057 2,674 5,883 65% 1.67 Table 26. Total wildlife and livestock population estimates for all Faro Zone strata.

FARO NATIONAL PARK (WESTERN BLOCK) Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 20 52 333 129 285 86% 0.20 Bohor reedbuck 2 0 33 23 52 155% 0.02 Buffalo 18 20 299 225 495 165% 0.18 Buffon's kob 20 0 333 106 234 70% 0.20 Bushbuck 1 0 17 12 27 164% 0.01 Giant eland 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Giraffe 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Grimm's duiker 3 1 50 27 60 121% 0.03 Hippopotamus 0 0 - - - - - Oribi 0 3 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Red-flanked duiker 1 0 17 12 26 158% 0.01 Roan Antelope 11 0 183 117 257 140% 0.11 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 10 0 166 106 234 140% 0.10 Waterbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Western hartebeest 28 81 466 241 529 114% 0.29 Cattle 6,614 9,291 110,002 19,849 43,669 40% 67.44 Sheep and goats 456 120 7,584 2,470 5,435 72% 4.65 Table 27. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for the western block of Faro National Park (Faro strata).

88 FARO NATIONAL PARK (EASTERN BLOCK) Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 20 14 343 241 531 155% 0.14 Bohor reedbuck 7 0 120 65 142 119% 0.05 Buffalo 16 14 274 281 619 226% 0.11 Buffon's kob 161 33 2,757 1,115 2,452 89% 1.12 Bushbuck 7 0 120 54 119 99% 0.05 Giant eland 35 1 599 615 1,353 226% 0.24 Giraffe 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Grimm's duiker 5 0 86 53 117 137% 0.03 Hippopotamus 100 0 - - - - - Oribi 3 0 51 52 114 223% 0.02 Red-flanked duiker 6 1 103 42 92 89% 0.04 Roan Antelope 33 1 565 248 546 97% 0.23 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 10 0 171 80 176 103% 0.07 Waterbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Western hartebeest 14 0 240 173 380 159% 0.10 Cattle 2,882 3,009 49,358 22,372 49,218 100% 20.10 Sheep and goats 86 120 1,473 1,024 2,252 153% 0.60 Table 28. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for the eastern block of national park (Faro East strata).

FARO SOUTHEAST Indvls Indvls 95% CL Density est Species Est SE PRP in out +/- (per km2) Baboon (Olive) 12 0 118 117 257 217% 0.09 Bohor reedbuck 6 0 59 48 106 179% 0.04 Buffalo 4 0 39 64 141 358% 0.03 Buffon's kob 179 7 1,764 676 1,488 84% 1.31 Bushbuck 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Giant eland 3 0 30 45 99 335% 0.02 Giraffe 3 0 30 45 99 334% 0.02 Grimm's duiker 4 0 39 24 52 132% 0.03 Hippopotamus 34 0 - - - - - Oribi 5 0 49 60 133 269% 0.04 Red-flanked duiker 7 0 69 40 88 128% 0.05 Roan Antelope 15 6 148 147 324 219% 0.11 Topi/Damalisque 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Warthog 6 0 59 77 169 285% 0.04 Waterbuck 5 0 49 52 114 232% 0.04 Western hartebeest 36 26 355 323 710 200% 0.26 Cattle 98 1,100 966 1,426 3,137 325% 0.72 Sheep and goats 0 0 0 0 0 0% 0.00 Table 29. Wildlife and livestock population estimates for Faro Southeast.

Figure 81. Buffon's kob density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 82. Giant eland density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 83. Reedbuck density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 84. Giraffe density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 85. Roan antelope density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 86. Western hartebeest density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 87. Waterbuck density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 88. Bushbuck density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 89. Grimm’s duiker density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 90. Red-flanked duiker density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 91. Baboon density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 92. Buffalo density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 93. Hippopotamus density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 94. Warthog density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 95.Cattle density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 96. Sheep and goat density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

97 5.6.3 Human activity

Human activity across the Faro Zone mostly consisted of various small villages and camps associated with the high levels of pastoralism in the southwestern sector of Faro NP (Table 30 and Figure 97 to 99). Agricultural cultivation was primarily concentrated in northeastern areas of the survey zone in hunting areas 12 and VB and around the village of Voka. Evidence of access, primarily dirt roads, in the east of the park and adjacent safari hunting zones was particularly widespread. There were no observations of gold mining operations.

FARO NP (WESTERN) FARO NP (EASTERN) FARO SOUTH EAST % 5km x % 5km x % 5km x Incidence Incidence Incidence 5km grids 5km grids 5km grids human human human with with with Activity activity activity activity confirmed confirmed confirmed observed observed observed occurrence occurrence occurrence on-transect on-transect on-transect (n=70) (n=106) (n=66) ACCESS Dirt (bush) road 1 1.43% 36 26.42% 38 43.94% Footpath 5 7.14% 17 14.15% 2 3.03% Motorbike track 0 0.00% 4 2.83% 0 0.00% Paved road 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Transhumance track 15 15.71% 10 8.49% 2 3.03% AGRICULTURE / CLEARING Charcoal 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Cleared land 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Cultivation 0 0.00% 10 9.43% 5 6.06% FISHING Fishers 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% MINES Gold (artisanal) 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% SETTLEMENTS / CAMPS Cattle camp (active) 6 7.14% 1 0.94% 6 3.03% Cattle camp (old) 5 7.14% 1 0.94% 0 0.00% Poaching camp (active) 0 0.00% 2 1.89% 0 0.00% Poaching camp (old) 0 0.00% 1 0.94% 0 0.00% Village 1 1.43% 6 5.66% 2 3.03% Total / overall 33 34.29% 88 57.55% 55 56.06% Average 2 2.67% 6 4.78% 4 4.14% Table 30. Incidence of human activity across the Faro Zone for 5 main indicator categories.

Figure 97. Access route density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

Figure 98. Cultivation (agriculture) density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

100

Figure 99. Settlement and camp density (per km2) across the Faro Zone.

101 5.7 SAFARI HUNTING ZONES

This section presents the wildlife counts for safari hunting zones (with over 50% survey coverage) separately (Table 31). These counts are presented to give a general overview of wildlife richness and abundance in the safari hunting zones and do not include population estimates (these are presented in sections 5.3 to 5.6). Safari hunting zones were surveyed to different extents, therefore comparisons of raw counts should be made with caution. Safari hunting zones 12 and 20 to the south of Bouba N’djida NP, in the upper catchment area of the Mayo Rey, had a large mammal species richness comparable to that of the park. Some key populations in this area included those of Bohor reedbuck, Buffon’s kob, roan antelope, giant eland, giraffe and buffalo. Safari hunting zones 16 and 13 to the east of Faro NP also had relatively high wildlife densities. A greater abundance of wildlife was observed in areas with less livestock and safari hunting zones 13, 16, 18 and 20 were important in this respect.

102

SAFARI HUNTING ZONES (INDIVIDUALS ON-TRANSECT)

Species -

V ZIC_02 ZIC_03 ZIC_05 ZIC_07 ZIC_09 ZIC_10 ZIC_11 ZIC_12 ZIC_13 ZIC_16 ZIC_18 ZIC_20 ZIC_21 ZIC_23 ZIC_25

Baboon (Olive) 10 13 5 3 12 3 21 Bohor reedbuck 3 5 1 1 14 112 5 3 27 3 7 3 Buffalo 1 20 4 Buffon's kob 29 24 22 2 7 11 44 108 207 68 15 39 Bushbuck 12 3 1 9 1 Giant eland 15 27 1 1 Giraffe 2 6 3 3 Grimm's duiker 1 9 2 3 1 1 7 1 3 1 3 5 6 Hippopotamus 5 85 Oribi 1 10 4 4 2 2 Red-flanked duiker 4 1 2 2 1 4 2 2 1 1 6 Roan Antelope 8 14 7 3 22 63 15 5 6 3 3 4 Topi 1 4 Warthog 8 3 7 2 6 8 8 Waterbuck 32 30 3 2 3 1 20 10 Western hartebeest 6 6 6 45 60 10 15 29 7 Cattle 3,213 3,614 3,500 8,387 1,537 469 1,875 3,25 370 8 50 703 2,626 3,264 Sheep and goats 78 15 60 40 390 85 57 65 375 8 55 45 65

Total (all) 3,346 40 3,737 3,598 8,790 1,630 537 2,027 4,160 598 333 107 140 767 2,735 3,437 Total (wildlife) 55 25 63 58 13 8 11 87 360 220 333 99 90 9 64 108 Average (wildlife) 9 13 6 10 3 4 3 12 24 31 28 11 8 2 13 9 Wildlife richness 7 2 10 6 4 2 4 7 15 7 12 9 11 5 5 12

Table 31. On-transect (in/out strip) wildlife observations (individuals) for safari hunting zones with over 50% aerial survey coverage.

103 6 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 SURVEY METHODS

The design of this aerial survey followed the standards outlined in the PAEAS guidelines (2014). Effort was made to ensure a survey coverage and seasonal timing similar to that of the Omondi et al (2008) surveys of the same area (between late April and early May). This timing fell at the end of the dry season and avoided the dusty Harmattan trade winds that occurred across northern Cameroon in February 2015. The 2008 surveys were not based on SRF methods and instead produced a minimum count of wildlife abundance based on 3 and 5 km transect spacing. Therefore, direct comparisons of wildlife counts could not be produced. Some areas covered in 2008 were not included in this survey due to high elevations and the associated difficulty in maintaining consistent altitude and speed that are required for SRF implementation. The most notable being the southern section of Faro NP, where the elevation increases between 100m and 500m. The likelihood of observing wildlife in these areas was considered to be very low. The variable topography across the survey area and its numerous inselbergs presented challenges to maintaining transect flight lines and other parameters in some survey stratum. This included the southerly transects of Bouba East, Bouba West and Benoue NP, and a transect in Benoue South West. In Benoue North East, sampling intensity was reduced from a target of 6% (5km spacing) to 3% (10km spacing) during the surveys due to a complete absence of wildlife, data were excluded from the analysis to reflect this. Safari hunting zones to the southeast of Faro NP were considered potential elephant ranging areas demanding survey coverage. However, transect flying was not feasible across the entirety of these areas due to mountainous terrain and steep valleys. Therefore, recce flights were the only adequate option to ensure elephant groups in these areas were not missed. The flights located 3 elephant groups and contributed to the calculation of the minimum count for the landscape. Typically, the wet season across northern Cameroon begins in May, when rains can reduce wildlife detectability and flying conditions become less favourable. During the survey however, the weather was dry with a limited number of isolated rainfall events across the area. Throughout the survey period, vegetation cover remained reflective of dry season conditions. Observation conditions were therefore very good and wildlife visibility unaffected. In areas of high human dominance and absence of wildlife observations, aircraft speed and altitude were on some occasions increased in the interest of aircraft safety.

104 6.2 STATUS OF ELEPHANTS

Through a combination of SRF and recce flights, a minimum count of 102 elephants was produced for the Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura - Benoue - Faro Landscape. This included the observation of a group of 4 elephants in Bouba N’djida NP and 6 groups totalling 98 individuals in the central- western region of the landscape. Only 12 elephants were observed on-transect (with 9 in-strip), this low count did not permit a population estimate. For Bouba N’djida NP, total elephant numbers were just 2% of the 450 observed in 2008 (Omondi et al 2008). Since 2012, Bouba N’djida NP has been the site of numerous large-scale elephant poaching incidents. This survey has confirmed a minimum count of 253 elephant carcasses across all survey strata of which 214 were in Bouba N’djida NP. This included 61 on-transect carcass observations for the park, giving a carcass ratio of 95%. The very low elephant abundance inside the park and the correspondingly high abundance of carcasses indicates the almost complete eradication of elephants from this protected area. It is clear therefore, that over the past 3 years, elephants across the landscape have experienced a major poaching crisis and the status of this population is critical. The observation of recent (category 2) carcasses from elephants killed within the past year suggests the Bouba N’djida NP poaching crisis continues despite commitments from the government of Cameroon and the deployment of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR). In late 2015, there were reliable reports of a number of small elephant groups with between 2 and 9 individuals in the Bouba N’djida NP area. This reflects the continued elephant conservation value of the area and its high importance for elephant population recovery. Establishing a mechanism to support strong elephant security measures in both national parks and safari hunting zones is a priority. Building an understanding of the home ranges of these elephants and the real-time monitoring of their movements will be key to designing and implementing future protection regimes. Waza NP, in the Far North region of Cameroon had 496 elephants in 2007 (Foguekem et al 2010). Due to security constraints associated with the Boko Haram conflict, planned aerial surveys to establish the population status of elephants here could not be completed. With Boko Haram related violence extending up to the border of Waza NP (Raleigh et al 2010), there are major concerns that this group is engaging in elephant poaching and ivory trafficking to fuel their insurgency.

6.3 STATUS OF OTHER LARGE MAMMALS

Important populations of key wildlife species were identified across the landscape, including those of giant eland, Buffon’s kob, Bohor reedbuck, roan antelope and western hartebeest. Large mammals with generally low abundance and more restricted occupancy included giraffe, buffalo

105 and hippopotamus. Concentrations of key wildlife populations in a number of safari hunting zones (notably ZIC 12, 13, 16 and 20) demonstrated their crucial function in wildlife protection across this area. Bouba N’djida NP has a considerably higher richness and overall abundance of wildlife than both Benoue NP and Faro NP. In particular, the south of Bouba N’djida NP is a wildlife hotspot and should be considered a top conservation priority. The giant elands of this area are of national importance to Cameroon and represent a significant proportion of the global population of the eastern sub-species. The limited wildlife observations from Benoue NP in particular is a reflection of the high level of human pressure in this area and the corresponding protected area management demands here. The restoration of this area will be dependent on the effective management of wildlife rich hunting zones to maintain habitat connectivity and facilitate dispersal.

6.4 STATUS OF WILDLIFE THREATS

Human activity across the landscape is widespread and of high intensity in some national park sectors. Of number one concern is the trans-national poaching threat posed to elephants by heavily armed horsemen from Chad and/or Sudan. Reports of these poachers in Bouba N’djida NP this year, as well as observations of recent elephant carcasses in this survey, highlight the persistence of this threat. An explicit lack of adequate control along the Cameroon-Chad border to the north and east of Bouba N’djida NP represents a significant obstacle to sustainable park security. The substantial strengthening of anti-poaching and anti-trafficking operations across the landscape will be essential to the future survival of elephants here. A number of active and inactive poaching camps were located during the surveys. This included five active poaching camps in the Bouba Zone and numerous inactive camps across the landscape. This is reflective of ongoing bushmeat hunting activity and many of the inactive camps are likely associated with the elephant poaching crisis. The high number of these camps inside Bouba N’djida NP signals ineffective park operations and a lack of adequate ground and air patrol coverage. Another major concern are the numerous gold mines in the northwest of Bouba N’djida NP and the west and east of Benoue NP. These mines are causing widespread land degradation and are presenting significant threats to wildlife populations and human health. Heavy metal pollution associated with the on-site processing of gold has the potential to impact both the local ecology and the water quality of Lagdo Reservoir. This reservoir is a significant source of food and irrigation for the human population in the region. The observation of a vehicle with Chadian number plates at a gold mining site in Bouba N’djida NP reflects the transboundary nature of this illegal activity. Closing these mines and removing the camps associated with them will be essential to ensuring the long-term integrity of these protected areas.

106 Compared to 2008, the extent and intensity of human activity has increased considerably. The cattle count in this survey was 348% higher than that of 2008 in which 25,264 were observed. Southeast and northeast Benoue NP, northern Bouba N’djida NP and southwest Faro NP were hotspots of pastoralism. It is suspected that the conflict crises in Nigeria and CAR and transhumance from these countries into Cameroon is the primary driver of this livestock increase. Many people who have moved into the area have now settled, therefore creating a more sustained human impact on the area. Solutions to this issue go beyond the reach of protected area management alone and require high level political involvement. Nonetheless, targeted and conflict-sensitive actions to reduce the impact of livestock on protected areas at the landscape scale should be considered a priority. Sena Oura NP was dominated by human activities, mostly pastoralism and cultivation. Given the potential for wildlife dispersal from Bouba N’djida NP to repopulate this area, the reduction and elimination of these activities would contribute significantly to the establishment of Sena Oura NP as an ecologically viable conservation unit.

6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS

Over recent years there have been various challenges to the successful resolution of the Bouba N’djida NP poaching crisis and the management of wildlife across the Bouba N’djida - Sena Oura - Benoue - Faro Landscape. This has been documented in the results of this survey which demonstrate a major decline in elephant populations and on-going wildlife threat across the landscape and in particular inside national parks. The landscape faces a complex conservation crisis that has local, national and international dimensions. This will need to be addressed through a multi-faceted strategy that leads to substantial improvements in protected area management, border security, anti-trafficking and community operations. The protected area approach should be focused on firstly securing existing wildlife and then scaling up to ensure the rehabilitation and recovery of areas currently experiencing unsustainable human use. Broadly, three priority protection areas were identified from this survey (see Figure 100). These include: 1) the southern sector of Bouba N’djida NP, 2) the area including southeast Benoue NP and safari hunting zones 2, 26, 25, 20 and 12, and 3) the east of Faro NP and safari hunting zones 13, 18, 18bs and 16. Building the wildlife protection capacity of these areas will at a minimum ensure the conservation of populations at existing levels. Evidence from national parks in sub-Saharan Africa that have successfully overcome severe poaching and security problems suggests that long-term management partnerships can form a key component of the solution. In Chad, the national government delegated management responsibility of Zakouma NP to African Parks Network (APN) through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). APN consequently put in place the management structures, skills and funding to provide the conditions to secure the elephant populations and help them recover. This kind of

107 approach has high relevance to Bouba N’djida NP, therefore it is recommended that the government of Cameroon develop a PPP robust management partnership for the Park with an appropriately experienced international partner.

Figure 100. Spatial wildlife protection priority map for the Bouba N’djida – Sena Oura – Benoue - Faro Landscape with human activity density (including livestock incidence).

The plight of elephants in Africa is the subject of significant international attention. The successful protection and restoration of elephant populations in northern Cameroon has the potential to send a strong message on the ability of Cameroon to manage its natural resources. Furthermore, issues relating to elephant security also relate to national stability and human security. Illegal incursions of heavily armed poachers with potential links to rebel militias in Chad, Sudan and CAR justify a coordinated response involving both national military and international peacekeeping forces. The following targeted recommendations have been selected based on consideration of successful national park operations elsewhere in Africa and the specific context in Cameroon:

108 Overall recommendations and security measures  Develop inter-agency conservation-security partnership cooperation (including military, wildlife, police, local authorities, AFRICOM and other international security agencies…) to share information, detect and address poaching and trafficking threats, deter poaching and trafficking threats, secure remote areas and project sound governance.  Develop and implement a national elephant conservation and management strategy for Cameroon.  Develop transboundary elephant protection cooperation between Chad-Cameroon- Nigera (particularly on Cameroon-Chad and Cameroon – Nigeria key areas) targeting security of transboundary and border elephant populations.  Establish strong legal protections for elephant corridors and dispersal areas.  Ensure full implementation by the judiciary and prisons of new/recently established laws on wildlife trafficking.  Investigate and prosecute officials suspected to be involved in corrupt activities relating to wildlife crime and misappropriation of national park funds.  Establish strong national park management systems across the Bouba N’djida – Sena Oura – Benoue - Faro Landscape based on need.  Deploy satellite/GPS collars on all the remaining groups of elephants in the landscape and combine with mobilization of full time aerial surveillance to detect threats and orient rapid reaction law enforcement interventions to protect elephants.  Ensure the deployment of capable, committed and experienced national park conservators for Bouba N’djida – Sena Oura, Benoue and Faro NPs.  Develop a robust management partnership for Bouba N’djida NP with international expert partners.  Deploy a well-resourced joint border monitoring unit (involving park ecoguards and military) to patrol the Cameroon-Chad border between Djemadjou and Baïkoua.  Seek intelligence gathering and training support from international peacekeeping missions to assist park ecoguards and the joint border monitoring unit.  Enforce the closure of all illegal mining operations in and around Bouba N’djida and Benoue NPs.  Establish a system for allocating lands outside of protected areas for use by pastoralists and enforce the removal of livestock from key wildlife areas.

Bouba N’djida, Benoue and Faro NP management LAW ENFORCEMENT  Conduct an assessment of each park’s human resource, finance and logistics capabilities and outline a plan to increase capacity and performance based on management goals.

109  Establish a robust anti-poaching program that includes effective patrol operations, intelligence-led planning, expansion of infrastructure and transparent arrest and prosecution procedures.  Conduct coordinated anti-trafficking operations across the landscape to interdict and prevent wildlife trafficking (including intelligence gathering, investigations and checkpoints).  Ensure that law enforcement and operations teams are appropriately equipped to perform their duties (including the provision of salaries, HF radios, uniforms, rations, vehicles and fuel, arms and ammunition, GPS units, housing and camping equipment).  Establish a well-resourced aerial support unit to undertake regular surveillance flights over key habitats allowing for targeted law enforcement operations.  Ensure strong landscape-level collaboration between each national park management unit on enforcement operations and information sharing.  Develop robust protected area management partnerships. RESEARCH AND MONITORING  Develop robust law enforcement monitoring (LEM) systems to support patrol planning and prosecution processes, including the integration of aerial surveillance data.  Establish a real-time elephant monitoring system by collaring all groups to track elephant movements and target anti-poaching operations.  Develop a spatial database of all transhumance routes and monitor livestock movements.  Conduct repeated SRF surveys at least every 2 years following the methods and data presentation used here to monitor long-term changes in wildlife and human activity. COMMUNITY APPROACHES  Establish a landscape scale conservation committee involving all stakeholders (park management, enforcement agencies, safari hunting zone managers, cotton farmers and communities) to solve conservation issues and enhance collaboration.  Engage with local communities to build awareness of national park rules and wildlife, and explore options for collaboration on law enforcement.  Conduct research on who is engaging in illegal wildlife and gold mining activities and why.  Conduct research on wildlife product (inc. ivory and bushmeat) value chains.  Conduct research on the geographic sources and movement dynamics of pastoralists.  Establish strong initiatives aimed at enhancing the social and economic value of the parks to local communities.  Explore options for developing a landscape scale community land use management plan.

110 Safari hunting zone management  Establish partnerships between key safari hunting zones and conservation agencies to support sustainable wildlife management and landscape scale conservation.  Ensure that laws relating to wildlife management and protected species are fully adhered to across safari hunting zones.  Implement measures to ensure hunting safaris do not enter national parks.  Collaborate with national park conservators in anti-poaching operations including the provision of information on illegal activity and livestock movements.  Facilitate the deployment and operationalization of elephant security and monitoring systems.

111 7 REFERENCES

Antonínová M., Dolmia N.M., Siam B.A., Banymary D., 2015. National Elephant Conservation and Management Strategy for Chad, 2016 - 2025 (NECMSC). Working document, approved by technical committee for submission to government council DBCNPH & African Parks, Chad. Bouché, P., Douglas-Hamilton, I., Wittemyer, G., Nianogo, A.J., Doucet, J.L., et al. 2011. Will elephants soon disappear from West African savannahs? PLoS One 6. Craig, G.C. 2012 Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants: Aerial Survey Standards for the MIKE Programme. Version 2.0. CITES MIKE programme, Nairobi. Douglas-Hamilton, I & Burrill, A. 1991. Using elephant carcass ratios to determine population trends. In African Wildlife: Research and Management (eds F.I.B. Kayanja & E.L. Edroma), pp. 98– 105. International Council of Scientific Unions, Paris, France. Foguekem, D.M., Tchamba, N. and Omondi, P. (2010). Aerial survey of Elephants (Loxodonta africana africana), other large mammals and human activities in Waza National Park, Cameroon. African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 4:6, 401–411. Frederick, H., Moyer, D. and Plumptre, A.J. 2010. Aerial Procedures Manual, version 0.9 (Uganda). Wildlife Conservation Society. Hijmans, R.J., Cameron, S.E., Parra, J.L., Jones, P.G. and Jarvis, A. 2005. Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas. International Journal of Climatology 25: 1965- 1978. l'Institut National de la Statistique. 2015. Data Portal Cameroon. Available online: http://cameroon.africadata.org/en/Reports [Accessed 30 September 2015]. International Crisis Group (ICG). 2014. The Security Challenges of Pastoralism in Central Africa. Africa Report No. 215. Brussels, Belgium. Jolly G.M. 1969. Sampling Methods for Aerial Censuses of Wildlife Populations. East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal – Special Issue 1969: 46 - 49. Lagrot, I., Lagrot, J.F. and Bour, P. 2007. Probable extinction of the western black rhino, Diceros bicornis longipes: 2006 survey in northern Cameroon. Pachyderm 43. Nouredine, A. 2012. Situation du braconnage des éléphants dans le Mayo Rey (Secteur du Parc National de Bouba N’Djida, Nord cameroun) Garoua, Février 2012. Available online: http://www.rapac.org/index.php?option=com_docman&view=download&category_slug=divers &alias=233-situation-du-braconnage-des-elephants-dans-le-mayo-rey&Itemid=105 [Accessed 28 September 2015].

112 Omondi, P., Bitok, E.K., Tchamba, M., Mayienda, R. and Lambert, B.B. 2008. Total aerial count of elephant and other wildlife species in Faro, Benoue, Bouba Ndjidda National Parks and adjacent hunting blocks in Northern Cameroon. World Wildlife Fund and Cameroon Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife. PAEAS. 2014. Aerial Survey Standards and Guidelines for the Pan-African Elephant Aerial Survey 2014. Raleigh, C., Linke, A., Hegre, H. and Karlsen, J. 2010. Introducing ACLED-Armed Conflict Location and Event Data. Journal of Peace Research 47(5) 651-660. Van Lavieren, L.P and Esser, L.D. 1979. Numbers, distribution and habitat preference of large mammals in Bouba N’djida National Park, Cameroon. African Journal of Ecology 17: 141-153. Vira, V. and Ewing, T. 2014. Ivory’s Curse: The Militarization & Professionalization of Poaching in Africa. Born Free USA. Vircoulon, T. 2015. Cameroon: Africa’s Pivot. World Policy Journal. Summer 2015 Issue "Climate's Cliff". New York, USA. UNOCHA. 2015. Cameroon: Population displacement due to violence against civilians (as of 20 March 2015). UNHCR. Available online: www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/system/files/documents/files/CMR_Snapshot_PopMovt_ Mars2015.pdf [Accessed 30 September 2015].

113 8 APPENDICES

8.1 APPENDIX 1. Jolly 2 method

Overall density:

푛 ∑𝑖=1 푦𝑖 푅 = 푛 ∑𝑖=1 푧𝑖 Population estimate:

Ŷ = 푍 × 푅 Population variance: 푁 (푁 − 푛) 푉푎푟 = × (푆2 − 2 × 푅 × 푆 × 푅2 × 푆2) Ŷ 푛 푦 푧푦 푍 where:

푅 = Overall density of animal species (sum of all observations in alltransects / sum of area of all transects)

푛 = Number of samples (transects flown)

푧𝑖 = Area of the transect 푖

푦𝑖 = Species count for the transect 푖

푍 = Area of the stratum

푁 = Number possible sampling units in stratum (푁 = 푛 푥 푍/ ∑ 푧)

2 푆푍 = Variance of observations in sample 푦

2 푆푍 = Variance of sample areas 푧

푆푧푦= Covariance between observations and sample area

Total estimates (for the entire survey zone and groups of stratum) where obtained by summing stratum estimates and their population variance. The standard error was obtained by taking the square root of the variance. The 95% confidence limits of the population estimate where derived by Ŷ ± 푡 where 푡 is the Student’s t distribution for a two-tailed probability of 0.05 and 푛 − 1 degrees of freedom.

114 8.2 APPENDIX 2. Survey team

SURVEY TEAM POSITION N242TC N22044 PILOTS: ALL STRATA Pilot Paul Elkan (WCS) Soqui Mendiguetti (WCS) FSOs: SENA OURA FSO Etienne Bemadjim (DPNRF) Paul Bour (WCS) FSOs: BOUBA FSO Roger Fotso (WCS) Paul Bour (WCS) FSOs: BENOUE AND FARO FSO Hensel Fopa Kueteyem (WCS) Paul Bour (WCS) RSOs: ALL STRATA Vailia Nguertou Alexandre (Mayo Rey RSO-L Emmanuel Vounserbo (EFG) Conservation) RSO-R Mbamba Jean Paul (MINFOF) Iyah Ndjidda Emmanuel (EFG) Table 32. Names and institutional associations for each member of the air team

115 8.3 APPENDIX 3. Census parameter summary

NORTH REGION - SRF SURVEY EFFORT INFORMATION SENA BOUBA BOUBA BOUBA BENOUE BENOUE BENOUE BENOUE FARO FARO E FARO NP OURA NP E W SE NP NE SW SE 29/04 - 30/04 - 03/05 - 04/05 - 06/05 - 06/05 - Date (dd/mm) 29/04 01/05 03/05 03/05 05/05 30/04 01/05 04/05 05/05 07/05 07/05 Aircraft type Cessna 182 and 206

Survey area (km2) 1,144 2,347 2,644 3,450 544 2,444 1,894 1,838 1,350 2,456 1,631 No. transects 15 28 17 20 6 34 7 16 11 13 13 Transect spacing (km) 2.5 2.5 5 5 5 2.5 10 5 5 5 5 Transect orientation 90/270 Total transect length (km) 457 939 523 690 117.5 980 205 385 282.5 500 332.5 Transect flight time (mins) 160.43 420.16 166.52 240.78 56.59 318.86 69.62 123.56 113.66 180.59 120.67

Sample fraction 11.78% 12.03% 5.91% 6.12% 8.20% 11.31% 3.42% 5.78% 10.52% 5.84% 6.01% Search effort (min/km2) 1.38 1.49 1.08 1.14 1.29 1.09 1.08 1.16 1.28 1.43 0.85

Calibrated stripwidth 182 147m (left), 141m (right) Calibrated stripwidth 206 141m (left), 159m (right) Combined stripwidth 288m (182), 300m (206) Table 33. Sampling information for all survey strata

116 8.4 APPENDIX 4. Transect sessions

On- Off- Session Effort Aircraft Session start (UTC-0) Session stop (UTC-0) transect transect Transect list Stratum total ratio time time 43, 41, 39, 37, 27, 25, 35, Sena Oura, Bouba N242TC 29/04/2015 05:32 29/04/2015 09:39 171.00 76.45 247.45 0.69 33, 23, 21, 31, 29, 19, 17, N’djida 15 42, 40, 28, 38, 36, 26, 24, Sena Oura, Bouba N22044 29/04/2015 05:37 29/04/15 09:46 171.96 77.62 249.58 0.69 34, 32, 22, 20, 30, 18, 16, N’djida 14, 12

13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 53, Bouba N’djida, Bouba N242TC 30/04/2015 05:29 30/04/15 09:40 166.37 84.36 250.73 0.66 55 East

10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 54, 56, 58, Bouba N’djida, Bouba N22044 30/04/2015 05:34 30/04/15 09:44 132.70 117.18 249.88 0.53 60 East

59, 57, 51, 49, 47, 45, 44, Bouba East, Bouba N242TC 01/05/2015 05:14 01/05/2015 09:57 182.00 101.69 283.68 0.64 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, West 75

50, 48, 66, 64, 62, 70, 72, Bouba East, Bouba N22044 01/05/2015 05:19 01/05/2015 09:40 142.87 118.43 261.30 0.55 74, 76, 78, 80, 79, 77 West

81, 83, 85, 87, 89, 91, Benoue, Benoue N242TC 03/05/2015 05:19 03/05/2015 10:27 140.62 166.78 307.40 0.46 195, 197, 199, 115, 117, Northeast, Benoue 119, 121, 123, 125, 127 Southeast Benoue, Benoue 86, 88, 90, 92, 194, 196, N22044 03/05/2015 05:25 03/05/2015 10:13 108.18 179.27 287.45 0.38 Southeast, Benoue 198, 116, 118, 120, 122 Northeast 97, 99, 101, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 113, 143, Benoue, Benoue N242TC 04/05/2015 05:18 04/05/2015 10:31 164.73 148.54 313.27 0.53 141, 139, 137, 135, 133, Southwest 131, 129 Table 34. Information on session dates, duration and transects flown (transect time is in minutes) Table continued on next page

117 On- Off- Session Effort Aircraft Session start (UTC-0) Session stop (UTC-0) transect transect Transect list Stratum total ratio time time 96, 98, 100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, Benoue, Benoue N22044 04/05/2015 05:22 04/05/2015 10:22 143.45 156.41 299.87 0.48 142, 140, 138, 134, 132, Southwest 130

95, 93, 145, 147, 149, Benoue, Faro N242TC 05/05/2015 05:25 05/05/2015 10:17 72.35 219.15 291.50 0.25 151, 153 Southeast

Benoue, Benoue 94, 128, 144, 146, 148, N22044 05/05/2015 05:29 05/05/2015 10:06 84.99 191.97 276.97 0.31 Southwest, Faro 150, 152, 154 Southeast

167, 165, 163, 161, 159, N242TC 06/05/2015 05:11 06/05/2015 10:27 125.42 190.61 316.03 0.40 Faro East, Faro 157, 155, 181, 183

166, 164, 162, 160, 158, N22044 06/05/2015 05:15 06/05/2015 10:00 107.78 176.44 284.22 0.38 Faro East, Faro 156, 182, 184

193, 191, 187, 189, 185, N242TC 07/05/2015 05:08 07/05/2015 10:18 60.44 249.54 309.98 0.19 Faro, Bouba West 68

N22044 07/05/2015 05:02 07/05/2015 10:29 28.61 298.24 326.85 0.09 192, 190, 186, 188 Faro

Table 35. Information on session dates, duration and transects flown (transect time is in minutes), continued

118 8.5 APPENDIX 5. Height above ground level

NORTH REGION – HEIGHT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (SRF) N242TC N22044 Stratum Mean HGL (ft) Standard deviation Mean HGL (ft) Standard deviation SENA OURA 297.23 21.71 296.29 42.50 BOUBA NP 303.13 33.60 315.70 63.79 BOUBA E 318.48 71.71 364.34 108.29 BOUBA W 310.10 66.18 305.49 65.63 BENOUE SE 308.46 57.71 421.01 107.52 BENOUE NP 322.18 85.46 300.32 54.50 BENOUE NE 314.83 34.75 300.90 47.10 BENOUE SW 289.78 40.93 299.77 47.61 FARO SE 293.33 26.64 322.47 74.54 FARO E 295.33 28.41 290.59 52.03 FARO NP 296.11 29.67 308.66 44.98 OVERALL 308.00 55.60 313.59 70.96

Table 36. Mean HGL for each aircraft across each strata

HGL histogram

10% 9% 8% N 11454 7% Mean 312.97 6% St dv 69.42 5% 4% SqRT (mean) 17.32 Frequency 3% SE 3.94

2% % 270 - 300 ft 54.41% 1% 0%

HGL (ft)

Figure 101. HGL histogram for both aircraft across all strata

119 8.6 APPENDIX 6. Ground speed

N242TC N22044 Mean ground Standard Mean ground Standard Stratum speed (nm/h) deviation speed (nm/h) deviation SENA OURA 93.29 5.61 97.85 7.87 BOUBA NP 91.68 5.86 94.56 8.39 BOUBA E 93.33 6.80 95.96 10.92 BOUBA W 93.72 6.18 92.24 7.52 BENOUE SE 92.18 6.63 97.54 9.44 BENOUE NP 93.88 6.93 96.97 8.41 BENOUE NE 96.97 7.46 96.75 8.38 BENOUE SW 91.30 4.41 96.33 4.40 FARO SE 90.29 4.72 94.16 5.53 FARO E 91.59 5.00 92.43 5.85 FARO NP 91.31 6.26 92.55 5.84 OVERALL 92.84 6.32 95.01 8.05

Figure 102. Mean ground speed (in nautical miles per hour) for each aircraft across each strata

Ground speed histogram 35% N 108,680 30% Mean 93.82 25% St dv 7.23 20% SqRT (mean) 9.52

15% SE 0.76 Frequency 10% % 85 - 95 nm/h 58.05% 5% 0% 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 More Ground speed (nm/h)

Figure 103. Ground speed (in nautical miles per hour) histogram for both aircraft across all strata

120 8.7 APPENDIX 7. Calibration

N242TC Emmanuel Vounserbo (RSO-L) Mbamba Jean Paul (RSO-R) HGL Marker count Width HGL Marker count Width 180 5 100 180 4 80 220 5 100 190 6 120 250 6 120 200 6 120 260 6 120 240 7 140 270 6 120 250 5 100 280 6 120 280 6 120 320 6 120 290 7 140 330 6 120 290 9 180 350 8 160 300 8 160 370 10 200 320 9 180 370 10 200 330 10 200 390 9 180 350 8 160 440 11 220 370 10 200 440 13 260 370 10 200 470 11 220 420 10 200 500 12 240 420 10 200 420 12 240 460 13 260 470 11 220 500 15 300 Table 37. Calibration flight height readings and corresponding marker counts for N242TC

N22044 Vailia Nguertou Alexandre (RSO-L) Iyah Ndjidda Emmanuel (RSO-R) HGL Marker count Width HGL Marker count Width 159 4 80 159 4 80 171 5 100 171 4 80 281 7 140 249 5 100 302 8 160 281 5 100 323 7 140 289 6 120 327 7 140 302 6 120 337 7 140 323 7 140 362 10 200 327 9 180 363 8 160 337 8 160 383 9 180 362 10 200 390 9 180 383 10 200 408 10 200 403 10 200 438 12 240 408 11 220 487 13 260 438 10 200 Table 38. Calibration flight height readings and corresponding marker counts for N22044

121 8.8 APPENDIX 8. Species observed

Species observed across all North Region strata Nom français English name Scientific name 1 Antilope rouane / hippotrague Roan Antelope Hippotragus equinus 2 Babouin Baboon (Olive) Papio anubis 3 Bubales Western hartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus 4 Buffle Buffalo Syncerus caffer 5 Céphalophe à flanc roux Red-flanked duiker Cephalophus rufilatus 6 Céphalophe de Grimm Grimm's duiker Grimm's duiker 7 Cob de Buffon Buffon's kob Kobus kob 8 Cobe Defassa Defassa Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus 9 Colobe Guéréza Black and white colobus Colobus guereza 10 Crocodile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus 11 Damalisque Topi Damaliscus lunatus 12 Éland de Derby Giant eland Tragelaphus derbianus 13 Éléphant de savane Savanna Elephant Loxodonta afrcana 14 Girafe Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis 15 Grand calao d'Abyssinie Ground-hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus 16 Guib harnaché Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus 17 Hippopotame Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibious 18 Ourébi Oribi Ourebia ourebi 19 Patas Patas monkey Erythrocebus patas 20 Phacochère Commun Warthog Phacochoerus africanus 21 Redunca Bohor reedbuck Redunca redunca 22 Vervet Vervet monkey Chlorocebus aethiops Table 39. Species observed through all flights across the North Region strata

122 8.9 APPENDIX 9. Observer pairs

N242TC – COMPARISON OF INDIVIDUALS IN-STRIP3 Emmanuel Vounserbo (Left) Mbamba Jean Paul (Right) Individuals Individuals Individuals Individuals X2 p-value X2 p-value left expected left right expected right Buffon's kob 158 165 3.74 0.90 192 185 3.20 0.94 Giant eland 68 33 1.96 0.70 2 37 24.80 0.01 Reedbuck 185 155 6.44 0.22 145 175 3.77 0.62 Roan antelope 42 48 12.90 0.03 59 53 16.86 0.01 Western hartebeest 34 50 13.45 0.01 72 56 6.51 0.36 Table 40. Chi-square tests for observer wildlife counts for N242TC (p-values <0.01 considered significant, these are indicated in red)

N22044 – COMPARISON OF INDIVIDUALS IN-STRIP3 Iyah Ndjidda Emmanuel (Left) Vailia Nguertou Alexandre (Right) Individuals Individuals Individuals Individuals X2 p-value X2 p-value left expected left right expected right Buffon's kob 278 222 14.10 0.07 157 213 42.03 0.00 Giant eland 41 81 12.63 0.00 117 77 2.42 0.38 Reedbuck 142 120 3.30 0.88 94 116 4.30 0.80 Roan antelope 103 71 6.81 0.57 37 69 15.79 0.02 Western hartebeest 161 131 22.48 0.00 96 126 34.05 0.00 Table 41. Chi-square tests for observer wildlife counts for N22044 (p-values <0.01 considered significant, these are indicated in red)

3 To conduct the chi-square analysis the abundance and encounters of each of the more common species per strata (excluding Sena Oura) was listed for each observer. These were then compared to the expected abundance for each strata using a chi-square test in R (with simulated p-values). The equation used to calculate the expected number was: 푇표푡푎푙 푛푢푚푏푒푟 × 푂푏푠푒푟푣푒푟′푠 푠푡푟𝑖푝 푤𝑖푑푡ℎ 퐸푥푝푒푐푡푒푑 푛푢푚푏푒푟 = 푇표푡푎푙 푠푡푟𝑖푝 푤𝑖푑푡ℎ 푓표푟 푏표푡ℎ 표푏푠푒푟푣푒푟푠 Where: Expected number = the expected number of groups/individuals each observer was expected to see if detection probabilities were equal Total number = the total number of individuals counted for each of the species by both observers Observer’s strip width = the strip width (m) for each of the observer positions individually at the nominal height Strip width for both observers = the combined strip width for both observer positions

123 N242TC – COMPARISON OF ENCOUNTERS IN-STRIP3 Emmanuel Vounserbo (Left) Mbamba Jean Paul (Right) Individuals Individuals Individuals Individuals X2 p-value X2 p-value left expected left right expected right Buffon's kob 53 62 2.22 0.99 78 69 1.31 1.00 Giant eland 7 4 0.92 1.00 1 4 2.99 0.35 Reedbuck 90 77 3.00 0.97 73 86 1.51 0.93 Roan antelope 11 13 2.77 1.00 17 15 2.48 1.00 Western hartebeest 8 9 1.58 1.00 12 11 0.94 1.00 Table 42. Chi-square tests for observer wildlife encounters for N242TC (p-values <0.01 considered significant)

N22044 – COMPARISON OF ENCOUNTERS IN-STRIP3 Iyah Ndjidda Emmanuel (Left) Vailia Nguertou Alexandre (Right) Individuals Individuals Individuals Individuals X2 p-value X2 p-value left expected left right expected right Buffon's kob 76 63 3.03 0.97 48 61 8.88 0.28 Giant eland 8 10 0.73 1.00 10 9 0.70 1.00 Reedbuck 75 62 1.51 1.00 46 59 1.89 1.00 Roan antelope 25 20 2.71 1.00 15 20 3.89 1.00 Western hartebeest 23 19 2.15 0.93 14 18 3.18 1.00 Table 43. Chi-square tests for observer wildlife encounters for N22044 (p-values <0.01 considered significant)

124 8.10 APPENDIX 10. Description of file names and formats

FOLDER FILES DESCRIPTION cmr_nso_calibration_data.rar nso_calibration_182_n22044_MARKERCOUNT Calibration data (N22044)

nso_calibration_206_n242tc_MARKERCOUNT Calibration data (N242TC)

nso_calibration_n242tc_n22044_GRAPHS Calibration graphs cmr_nso_observation_db.rar nso_equipment Survey equipment list nso_flightlogs Survey flight metadata

nso_srf_hgl_ilm_fso HGL data (ILM and FSO) nso_observer_pairs_indv Comparison of observers (individuals) nso_observer_pairs_grps Comparison of observers (groups)

nso_srf_obs_db Wildlife / human activity obs data

nso_srf_speed_db Aircraft speed data nso_strata_description List of stratum nso_transect_log Transect metadata cmr_nso_sampling_units_shp.rar transect_lines Shapefiles of transects transect_start_end_pnts Shapefiles of transect start/end points cmr_nso_strata_shp.rar cmr_nso_strata Shapefile of survey strata nso_survey_des_map Map of survey strata (jpeg) cmr_nso_tracklogs_gpx.rar N242TC and N22044 gpx files (x16) GPX flight tracklogs cmr_nso_tracklogs_shp.rar nso_n242tc_n22044_tlogs Shapefile of flight tracklogs nso_flight_tlog Map of flight GPS tracklogs (jpeg) cmr_nso_trackpoints_shp.rar nso_trackpoints Shapefiles of trackpoints Table 44. List of digital copies of data uploaded to PAEAS data portal

125 8.11 APPENDIX 11. Transect start/end points

Table 45. Transect start/end points and lengths START POINT END POINT Transect ID Stratum ID Length (km) Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude 1 Bouba N’djida 30.0 8.37947 14.90917 8.37931 14.63668 2 Bouba N’djida 30.0 8.40208 14.90915 8.40192 14.63666 3 Bouba N’djida 55.0 8.42469 14.90915 8.42426 14.40954 4 Bouba N’djida 33.7 8.44731 14.90915 8.44712 14.60255 5 Bouba N’djida 50.0 8.46991 14.86372 8.46948 14.40947 6 Bouba N’djida 50.0 8.49252 14.86371 8.49210 14.40944 7 Bouba N’djida 50.0 8.51513 14.86371 8.51471 14.40940 8 Bouba N’djida 50.0 8.53775 14.86370 8.53732 14.40937 9 Bouba N’djida 47.5 8.56036 14.86369 8.55997 14.43205 10 Bouba N’djida 47.5 8.58297 14.86368 8.58258 14.43202 11 Bouba N’djida 42.5 8.60557 14.81823 8.60519 14.43198 12 Bouba N’djida 42.5 8.62818 14.81820 8.62780 14.43195 13 Bouba N’djida 45.0 8.65079 14.81820 8.65038 14.40919 14 Bouba N’djida 45.0 8.67341 14.81819 8.67299 14.40916 15 Bouba N’djida 35.0 8.69602 14.81819 8.69573 14.50003 16 Bouba N’djida 35.0 8.71863 14.81818 8.71835 14.50000 17 Bouba N’djida 35.0 8.74126 14.86363 8.74102 14.54541 18 Bouba N’djida 35.0 8.76388 14.86362 8.76363 14.54537 19 Bouba N’djida 35.0 8.78649 14.86361 8.78624 14.54534 20 Bouba N’djida 35.0 8.80910 14.86360 8.80885 14.54532 21 Bouba N’djida 22.5 8.83166 14.74995 8.83147 14.54527 22 Bouba N’djida 20.0 8.85425 14.72717 8.85408 14.54525 23 Bouba N’djida 17.5 8.87685 14.70441 8.87669 14.54526 24 Bouba N’djida 15.0 8.89944 14.68166 8.89930 14.54523 25 Bouba N’djida 12.5 8.92204 14.65890 8.92191 14.54520 26 Bouba N’djida 10.0 8.94463 14.63614 8.94453 14.54517 27 Bouba N’djida 7.5 8.96722 14.61337 8.96714 14.54514 28 Bouba N’djida 5.0 8.98980 14.59060 8.98975 14.54512 29 Sena Oura 7.5 8.78651 14.93180 8.78649 14.86361 30 Sena Oura 7.5 8.80912 14.93180 8.80910 14.86360 31 Sena Oura 20.0 8.83173 14.93180 8.83166 14.74995 32 Sena Oura 22.5 8.85435 14.93179 8.85425 14.72717 33 Sena Oura 25.0 8.87696 14.93179 8.87685 14.70441 34 Sena Oura 27.5 8.89957 14.93178 8.89944 14.68166 35 Sena Oura 30.0 8.92219 14.93178 8.92204 14.65890 36 Sena Oura 32.5 8.94480 14.93178 8.94463 14.63614 37 Sena Oura 35.0 8.96741 14.93177 8.96722 14.61337 38 Sena Oura 37.5 8.99002 14.93177 8.98980 14.59060 39 Sena Oura 42.5 9.01264 14.93176 9.01236 14.54509 40 Sena Oura 42.5 9.03525 14.93176 9.03497 14.54506 41 Sena Oura 42.5 9.05786 14.93175 9.05759 14.54503 Table continued on next page 126 START POINT END POINT Transect ID Stratum ID Length (km) Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude 42 Sena Oura 42.5 9.08048 14.93175 9.08020 14.54500 43 Sena Oura 42.5 9.10309 14.93175 9.10281 14.54497 44 Bouba East 10.0 8.01750 14.63701 8.01757 14.72776 45 Bouba East 20.0 8.06273 14.63697 8.06285 14.81848 46 Bouba East 45.0 8.10795 14.63693 8.10811 15.04538 47 Bouba East 45.0 8.15318 14.63689 8.15334 15.04539 48 Bouba East 45.0 8.19840 14.63685 8.19857 15.04539 49 Bouba East 45.0 8.24363 14.63680 8.24379 15.04540 50 Bouba East 45.0 8.28886 14.63676 8.28902 15.04540 51 Bouba East 45.0 8.33408 14.63672 8.33425 15.04541 52 Bouba East 15.0 8.37947 14.90917 8.37947 15.04542 53 Bouba East 15.0 8.42469 14.90915 8.42470 15.04542 54 Bouba East 20.0 8.46991 14.86372 8.46993 15.04543 55 Bouba East 40.0 8.51513 14.86371 8.51509 15.22716 56 Bouba East 40.0 8.56036 14.86369 8.56032 15.22718 57 Bouba East 27.8 8.60560 14.92949 8.60557 15.18177 58 Bouba East 35.0 8.65079 14.81820 8.65081 15.13634 59 Bouba East 20.0 8.69602 14.81819 8.69606 15.00000 60 Bouba East 10.0 8.74126 14.86363 8.74213 14.95454 61 Bouba West 35.0 8.01750 14.63701 8.01710 14.31940 62 Bouba West 55.0 8.06273 14.63697 8.06198 14.13783 63 Bouba West 55.0 8.10795 14.63693 8.10720 14.13773 64 Bouba West 55.0 8.15318 14.63689 8.15242 14.13763 65 Bouba West 55.0 8.19840 14.63685 8.19765 14.13754 66 Bouba West 55.0 8.24363 14.63680 8.24287 14.13744 67 Bouba West 55.0 8.28886 14.63676 8.28809 14.13734 68 Bouba West 55.0 8.33408 14.63672 8.33331 14.13724 69 Bouba West 40.0 8.37931 14.63668 8.37881 14.27337 70 Bouba West 20.0 8.42426 14.40954 8.42394 14.22787 71 Bouba West 20.0 8.46948 14.40947 8.46917 14.22778 72 Bouba West 20.0 8.51471 14.40940 8.51439 14.22769 73 Bouba West 22.5 8.55997 14.43205 8.55961 14.22760 74 Bouba West 27.5 8.60519 14.43198 8.60474 14.18207 75 Bouba West 25.0 8.65038 14.40919 8.64996 14.18198 76 Bouba West 35.0 8.69573 14.50003 8.69518 14.18188 77 Bouba West 20.0 8.74102 14.54541 8.74075 14.36360 78 Bouba West 20.0 8.78624 14.54534 8.78598 14.36352 79 Bouba West 10.0 8.83141 14.49984 8.83128 14.40891 80 Bouba West 10.0 8.87663 14.49978 8.87650 14.40884 81 Benoue 20.0 7.92534 13.75258 7.92475 13.57117 82 Benoue 20.0 7.94794 13.75251 7.94736 13.57110 83 Benoue 20.0 7.97055 13.75244 7.96997 13.57157 84 Benoue 21.1 7.99316 13.75238 7.99254 13.56125 85 Benoue 19.6 8.01577 13.75231 8.01519 13.57483 Table continued on next page 127 START POINT END POINT Transect ID Stratum ID Length (km) Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude 86 Benoue 16.8 8.03838 13.75224 8.03789 13.60018 87 Benoue 19.9 8.06105 13.77485 8.06048 13.59451 88 Benoue 25.7 8.08380 13.82016 8.08306 13.58717 89 Benoue 38.8 8.10672 13.93353 8.10564 13.58094 90 Benoue 42.5 8.12939 13.95616 8.12821 13.57040 91 Benoue 38.1 8.15205 13.97879 8.15104 13.63263 92 Benoue 37.5 8.17467 13.97873 8.17366 13.63868 93 Benoue 37.5 8.19728 13.97868 8.19627 13.63829 94 Benoue 40.0 8.21994 14.00131 8.21888 13.63822 95 Benoue 27.5 8.24261 14.02395 8.24192 13.77430 96 Benoue 27.5 8.26522 14.02390 8.26453 13.77423 97 Benoue 27.5 8.28783 14.02384 8.28714 13.77416 98 Benoue 27.5 8.31044 14.02379 8.30975 13.77409 99 Benoue 27.5 8.33305 14.02373 8.33236 13.77402 100 Benoue 30.0 8.35571 14.04638 8.35496 13.77395 101 Benoue 35.0 8.37833 14.04632 8.37743 13.72848 102 Benoue 35.0 8.40094 14.04627 8.40004 13.72840 103 Benoue 30.0 8.42343 14.00079 8.42265 13.72833 104 Benoue 30.0 8.44604 14.00071 8.44525 13.72826 105 Benoue 35.0 8.46865 14.00063 8.46771 13.68277 106 Benoue 35.0 8.49126 14.00060 8.49032 13.68269 107 Benoue 35.0 8.51375 13.95514 8.51277 13.63719 108 Benoue 35.0 8.53636 13.95508 8.53538 13.63711 109 Benoue 32.5 8.55897 13.95502 8.55806 13.65975 110 Benoue 32.5 8.58177 13.95766 8.58067 13.65967 111 Benoue 32.5 8.60419 13.95489 8.60328 13.65959 112 Benoue 17.5 8.62640 13.81852 8.62588 13.65951 113 Benoue 15.0 8.64901 13.81845 8.64857 13.68215 114 Benoue 15.0 8.67162 13.81838 8.67118 13.68205 115 Benoue Northeast 10.0 8.42365 14.09163 8.42343 14.00079 116 Benoue Northeast 15.0 8.46898 14.13694 8.46865 14.00063 117 Benoue Northeast 20.0 8.51420 14.13684 8.51375 13.95514 118 Benoue Northeast 15.0 8.55932 14.09131 8.55897 13.95502 119 Benoue Northeast 15.0 8.60454 14.09120 8.60419 13.95489 120 Benoue Northeast 12.5 8.64965 14.04565 8.64935 13.93205 121 Benoue Northeast 55.0 8.69475 14.00009 8.69311 13.50023 122 Benoue Northeast 55.0 8.73997 13.99997 8.73832 13.50005 123 Benoue Northeast 50.0 8.78507 13.95441 8.78353 13.49987 124 Benoue Northeast 45.0 8.83015 13.90880 8.82874 13.49969 125 Benoue Northeast 40.0 8.87524 13.86321 8.87395 13.49951 126 Benoue Northeast 30.0 8.92031 13.81760 8.91934 13.54479 127 Benoue Northeast 15.0 8.96507 13.68102 8.96455 13.54461 128 Benoue Southwest 25.0 7.99208 13.43487 7.99116 13.20811 129 Benoue Southwest 43.2 8.03789 13.60018 8.03637 13.20791 Table continued on next page 128 START POINT END POINT Transect ID Stratum ID Length (km) Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude 130 Benoue Southwest 41.8 8.08306 13.58710 8.08157 13.20772 131 Benoue Southwest 40.0 8.12821 13.57040 8.12678 13.20752 132 Benoue Southwest 37.5 8.17366 13.63837 8.17237 13.29805 133 Benoue Southwest 25.0 8.21888 13.63822 8.21804 13.41131 134 Benoue Southwest 35.0 8.26453 13.77423 8.26343 13.45651 135 Benoue Southwest 20.0 8.30975 13.77409 8.30915 13.59251 136 Benoue Southwest 20.0 8.35496 13.77395 8.35436 13.59235 137 Benoue Southwest 12.5 8.40004 13.72840 8.39965 13.61489 138 Benoue Southwest 20.0 8.44525 13.72826 8.44462 13.54662 139 Benoue Southwest 15.0 8.49032 13.68269 8.48983 13.54645 140 Benoue Southwest 10.0 8.53538 13.63711 8.53505 13.54628 141 Benoue Southwest 12.5 8.58067 13.65967 8.58026 13.54610 142 Benoue Southwest 12.5 8.62588 13.65951 8.62547 13.54593 143 Benoue Southwest 15.0 8.67118 13.68207 8.67068 13.54576 144 Faro Southeast 20.0 7.80953 13.02758 7.81034 13.20889 145 Faro Southeast 20.0 7.85473 13.02737 7.85554 13.20870 146 Faro Southeast 20.0 7.89993 13.02716 7.90075 13.20850 147 Faro Southeast 20.0 7.94513 13.02694 7.94595 13.20831 148 Faro Southeast 20.0 7.99033 13.02673 7.99116 13.20811 149 Faro Southeast 30.0 8.03509 12.93581 8.03637 13.20791 150 Faro Southeast 30.0 8.08029 12.93558 8.08157 13.20772 151 Faro Southeast 27.5 8.12560 12.95803 8.12678 13.20752 152 Faro Southeast 30.0 8.17114 13.02585 8.17237 13.29805 153 Faro Southeast 40.0 8.21645 13.04831 8.21804 13.41131 154 Faro Southeast 25.0 8.26165 13.04809 8.26269 13.27498 155 Faro East 40.0 8.01249 12.93593 8.01203 12.84524 156 Faro East 27.5 8.05769 12.93570 8.05636 12.68630 157 Faro East 27.5 8.10289 12.93547 8.10155 12.68604 158 Faro East 35.0 8.14842 13.00328 8.14674 12.68578 159 Faro East 40.0 8.19385 13.04842 8.19193 12.68552 160 Faro East 40.0 8.23905 13.04820 8.23712 12.68526 161 Faro East 40.0 8.28425 13.04798 8.28231 12.68500 162 Faro East 42.5 8.32945 13.04775 8.32736 12.66204 163 Faro East 50.0 8.37487 13.09292 8.37242 12.63909 164 Faro East 52.5 8.42018 13.11539 8.41761 12.63881 165 Faro East 52.5 8.46538 13.11517 8.46280 12.63854 166 Faro East 27.5 8.51002 13.00144 8.50866 12.75175 167 Faro East 25.0 8.55522 13.00121 8.55398 12.77418 181 Faro 20.0 8.01051 12.57322 8.00941 12.39190 182 Faro 40.0 8.05636 12.68630 8.05415 12.32362 183 Faro 45.0 8.10155 12.68604 8.09903 12.27799 184 Faro 45.0 8.14674 12.68578 8.14420 12.27768 185 Faro 45.0 8.19193 12.68552 8.18938 12.27738 186 Faro 10.0 8.23712 12.68526 8.23471 12.29974 Table continued on next page 129 START POINT END POINT Transect ID Stratum ID Length (km) Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude 187 Faro 7.5 8.28231 12.68500 8.27988 12.29943 188 Faro 25.0 8.23617 12.52650 8.32552 12.36716 189 Faro 25.0 8.28136 12.52622 8.37129 12.45760 190 Faro 25.0 8.32696 12.59399 8.41647 12.45730 191 Faro 20.0 8.37242 12.63909 8.46252 12.59315 192 Faro 20.0 8.41761 12.63881 8.23658 12.59454 193 Faro 5.0 8.46280 12.63854 8.28191 12.61695 194 Benoue Southeast 35.0 8.06198 14.13783 8.06119 13.82022 195 Benoue Southeast 22.5 8.10720 14.13773 8.10672 13.93353 196 Benoue Southeast 17.5 8.15242 14.13763 8.15205 13.97879 197 Benoue Southeast 17.5 8.19765 14.13754 8.19728 13.97868 198 Benoue Southeast 12.5 8.24287 14.13744 8.24261 14.02395 199 Benoue Southeast 12.5 8.28809 14.13734 8.28783 14.02384

130