Spying On Elusive Gorillas In Lobeke Park
By Fidelis Pegue Manga
Our appetite to visit Lobeke National Park was whetted by the park's abundant wildlife. One of the three national parks in the Southeast Cameroon, Lobeke covers a surface area of 217,854 hectares.
Gorilla drinking from saltlick in Lobeke
Situated on Cameroon's borders with Central Africa Republic and Congo Brazzaville and overlooking the Sangha River, the park has one of the highest densities of forest mammals in the Congo Basin, with an estimated population of 2000 elephants and 3000 gorillas.
As we sauntered through the winding root strewn and marshy trail leading to Petite Savane, one of the forests clearing inside Lobeke, we felt the presence of elephants, gorillas, colobus monkeys and other animals. But our hope was to catch a glimpse of the elusive gorilla.
Likambo Simon, WWF Junior Field Assistant for Lobeke, who led the team of seven, including an American Peace Corps Volunteer couple, Matthew and Sarah Kuhn, urged us continually to keep quiet. "Shiiii!" he hissed as we approached fresh footprints of elephants. "They are very close by," he whispered, pointing at faecal drops that littered the trail. We felt their presence and perceived their acrid stench.
Suddenly, Likambo began moving backward. Some of us, lily-livered, held our throbbing hearts. We were further rattled by shrieks of frolicking black and white colobus monkeys. The entire forest became noisy with abrupt swaying of tree branches around us.
In a couple of minutes, however, all was quiet again. We continued the two-hour hiking, this time wholly unperturbed, until we got to Petite Savane, where WWF has reconstructed an observation tower (mirador).
The sight of the tower linked by a 3-metre tall walk-away was inviting. As we picked our way up the swinging walk-away with uncharacteristic deliberation, the clearing became visible. Petite Savane is a swampy grassland twice the size of a soccer pitch with clusters of raffia palms dotted here and there.
Midway up the walk-away, Likambo started retreating again. He had seen a group of gorillas feeding in the clearing. "Let's access the observation tower from beneath the walk-away. Gorillas are very sensitive and will flee immediately they notice our presence," he explained. We obeyed and stepped into the swamp but before we could set foot in the tower, the gorillas felt our presence and took off.
We waited patiently in the tower, hoping the gorillas will return but they kept trotting in the surrounding forest.Two bongo antelopes entered the clearing but their stay was brief as they soon disappeared behind a cluster of raffia palms. A female sitatunga ambled in and stayed for ages but we were more eager to see gorillas.
Our patience began waning, as we felt increasingly frustrated. At the threshold of our departure, however, a male silver back gorilla appeared from the far end. Apparently very cautious, the gorilla kept watching from the fringe of the clearing. Seemingly assured of it safety, it stumped into the clearing, rapidly drank from the saltlick and sauntered off. We waited and waited but it did not show up again.
As we prepared to leave the tower, Likambo explained that the number of animals that visit clearings in Lobeke is increasing by the day. He said the behaviour of gorillas in the park is largely influenced by poaching pressure. He was happy that game rangers now accompany monitoring teams into the forest.
"Gone are those days when poachers never got scared when we met them in the park. I think poaching is on the decline inside the park thanks to this new approach; this explain the resurfacing of animals," he stated.
"I have been monitoring clearings in Lobeke for eight years now and I have noticed a remarkable increase of animals. Elephants, gorillas, sitatunga and buffaloes frequent the clearings most," he revealed. He said bongo antelopes rarely visit the clearings, preferring dense forest. They also hate being perturbed by flies in the clearing.
WWF has been carrying out ecological monitoring in six forest clearings in Lobeke, including Djembe a base inside the park.According to Dr. Zacharie Nzooh, WWF Jengi Scientific Advisor, data collected from monitoring of forest clearings are necessary for orientation of strategy for sustainable management of natural resources.
"Ecological monitoring is one of the surest means to gauge wildlife trends," he argued.
Though a bit disappointed, we went to sleep feeling privileged to have seen a gorilla.
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