NAME | CROSS-RIVER-GORILLA |
SIZE | 125 - 175 cm |
SPEED | bis zu 40 km/h |
WEIGHT | 60 - 275 kg |
LIFE SPAN | 35-50 years |
DIET | Leaves,shoots, pith, bark, fruits |
ENEMIES | Leopards, Crocodiles, Homo Sapiens |
HABITAT | Africa (Nigeria,Cameroon) |
NAME LATIN | Gorilla Gorilla Diehli |
ORDER | Primates |
FAMILY | Chimpanzee, Orangutan, Bonobo, Homo Sapiens |
LIVING SPACE | Rainforest, mountain forest, swamp |
FEATURES | Human-like, long arms, short legs, "crown". |
POPULATION | 250-300 |
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What distinguishes the gorilla?
The Cross River gorilla has a sort of red "crown" on its head. This is due to the neck bulge. There are only two species of gorilla ...
Where is the Cross-River gorilla found?
This gorilla is found in only two countries on this planet, Cameroon and Nigeria. We have created a map ...
What threatens the gorilla?
Habitat loss due to deforestation, collection of forest fruits, settlement construction, agriculture, poaching, fire, epidemics, war ...
Poaching
has been placed under severe penalties by Nigeria and Cameroon. Nevertheless, there are still isolated incidents, which are particularly painful in the small population. Enhanced road access opens up the forest to more intense hunting pressure. Since gorillas are impressive creatures, gorilla meat counts as a delicacy in some villages, the bones are used for medical fetishes and the children are sold as pets. By setting traps for antelope and other prey, the gorillas are also attracted and suffer mutilations.
Deforestation
From 2000 to 2020,Cameroon experienced a net change of -626 kha (-1.7%) in tree cover.In 2021, Cameroon lost 167 kha of natural forest, equivalent to 105 Mt of CO₂ emissions.
From 2000 to 2020, Nigeria experienced a net change of -1.47 Mha (-6.1%) in tree cover.In 2010, Nigeria had 10.9 Mha of natural forest, extending over 12% of its land area. In 2021, it lost 96.5 kha of natural forest, equivalent to 65.3 Mt of CO₂ emissions.
(Source: Global Forest Watch)
Habitat Loss
Forest within the range of gorilla gorilla diehli continues to be lost, fragmented, and degraded; converted through agriculture, logging, grazing and fire. Nigeria’s human population has increased almost fivefold from 1950 to 2010 to 158,259,000, and Cameroon’s population has increased almost fourfold during the same time to 19,958,000 (United Nations 2009). With the rapidly growing human population in the region, the phenomenon of "empty forests" has appeared with increasing frequency. In these empty forests, due to traditional hunting, there are hardly any large mammals left. Humans also go into the forests and collect similar plants and fruits as the gorilla (NTFP-Collection).
Many gorilla habitats are near settlements and are not designated protected areas. In Nigeria, several forest reserves have been converted to farmland and to commercial oil palm and rubber plantations. Large areas of forest surrounding key protected areas such as Okomu and Cross River National Parks have already been converted to oil palm plantations. Extensive new oil palm developments are also underway in Cameroon. Logging has often been followed by replacement of the forest by farmland. Attempts have been made to halt the loss of habitat by establishing national parks. But unfortunately, the gorillas do not always respect the boundaries. Gorillas shy away from humans. Due to the construction of roads, their freedom of movement is increasingly restricted, making it more and more difficult for the small gorilla groups to visit each other in order to produce offspring.
(Source: IUCN Regional Action Plan)
Population Fragmentation
If there is no exchange between the groups, reproduction is lacking and the lack of mixing of the gene pool leads to hereditary diseases. This combination of loss of habitat and hunting has been gradually fragmenting populations of the Cross-River Gorilla, so that many of the remaining populations are now small and isolated. They are therefore at increased risk of extinction from disease and other unpredictable events.
Epidemics
such as Covid, have not yet been studied in the Cross River Gorilla. Due to the proximity to humans, viruses are a major threat because we are genetically 98.2% related to the gorillas. However, gorillas do not have a health system that can save them from our viruses.
War
In late 2017, riots broke out in the southwest region. They began from protests by the English-speaking population against a lack of infrastructure measures by the French-speaking central government and against government discrimination in schools and in the courts. The central government in Yaoundé responded with military action, whereupon peaceful protest turned to violence. Because the gorilla habitats are all in the English-speaking region, more and more international conservation organizations have been forced to withdraw from their protected areas. In 2019, Planet B was the only local NGO that managed to enter the Takamanda National Park and implement projects.
Where do we protect?
Takamanda National Park is located on the border with Nigeria and Cameroon. It was established in 2008 to protect the Cross River Gorilla...
How do you save a species?
It is crucial to know exactly where the gorillas are located. Due to the political situation in Cameroon, many parks no longer have up-to-date data ...
What is a holistic approach?
We have developed a concept of how all our projects add up to more than the sum of their parts. This allows us to do more with less ...
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