IJFAF | Status of Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) and Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the North and South Eastern Parts of the Kimbi-Fungom National Park, North West Region of Cameroon

Indexing and Abstracting

Status of Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) and Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the North and South Eastern Parts of the Kimbi-Fungom National Park, North West Region of Cameroon

NKEMTAJI Franklin NDA , TSI Evaristus ANGWAFO , FOMINYAM Christopher , MVO Denis CHUO , FOTANG CHEFOR , AGBORTOKO Bate ASHU , AKWO Christian EBUA

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DOI: 10.22161/ijfaf.2.3.2

Journal : International Journal Of Forest, Animal And Fisheries Research(IJFAF)

Abstract:

The study titled “Status of Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) and Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the North and South Eastern parts of the Kimbi-Fungom National Park (K-FNP) of the North West Region of Cameroon” was carried out in the rainy season from 1st May to 31st July 2015. The general objective was to contribute to the conservation of bushbuck and Buffalo in the K-FNP through the establishment of status of mammals which will serve as a guide for management decisions. The methodology employed was the “recce-walk”. Twenty seven (27) lines transects of 2 km long each were walked making a total effort of 53km. One hundred and fifty six (156) questionnaires were administered to the local population, twenty one (21) semi-structured interviews to households and seven (7) focus group discussions with local chiefs and notables were used to get local people’s perceptions about wildlife conservation in the NP. Results revealed a total of 13 species of mammals within the NP belonging to 6 families. The Bovidae family had the highest number of species represented by the buffalo (Syncerus caffer), bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), the blue duiker (Cephalophus monticola) and the red duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis). The buffalo and the bushbuck recorded encounter rates of 0.85 and 0.34sign/km respectively. The Buffalo had a higher density in the North East of the South East compartment of the park while the bushbuck had a higher density in the south west of the north east compartment. There was a strong relationship (R2=0.792) between the encounter rate of mammals and anthropogenic activities. Ninety two (92.31%) of respondents recognized the importance of the NP because they depended on it for collection of NTFP’s (34.60%), hunting of Bushmeat (12.80%), fuel wood gathering (7.70%), religious activities (6.40%), agricultural land (5.10%), harvesting of medicinal plants(5.10%), source of clean water (5.10%), traditional rituals (3.80%) and traditional medicine harvesting (2.6%). Ninety seven percent (97.2%) supported wildlife conservation because of its touristic, aesthetic and for sustainability. Thirty four percent (34.60%) of the respondents were aware of community implication in managing the NP. K-FNP is poor in species abundance, species richness and flagship species. Associated benefits from ecotourism are far-fetched coupled with encroachment by grazers. We therefore recommend that the government, councils, NGOs and the local communities should step up conservation efforts.

Keywords:

Anthropogenic activities, Conservation, Large mammals, Perception, Status, Kimbi-Fungom National Park.

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