African Elephant Crisis

The African elephant population in Central African countries like Cameroon has fallen by more than 30% in the last 7 years.

African Elephant

The African elephant is a genus- consisting of 2 species: the African forest elephant and the African bush elephant. They are listed as vulnerable species by IUCN. African elephant species are found in the sub-Saharan Africa. The African forest elephant occurs only in the Central African region.

Elephants in Cameroon

Cameroon had an elephant population of 21,000 in 2010. However, massive increase in poaching, fuelled by international illegal wildlife products’ trade had led to the killing of about 300 elephants in 2012 alone. The Deng-Deng National Park and Nja Biosphere Reserve- which house over 450 elephants are major centres for elephant products’ trade and trafficking.

Dja Faunal Reserve

The Dja Faunal Reserve is located in south-eastern part of Cameroon. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an IUCN SCC conservation priority site for threatened species like the common chimpanzee and the western gorilla along with the African forest elephant. The encompassing conservation complex spans over 2 million hectares of lowland forest.