Large mammals of Takamanda Forest Reserve, Cameroon

Citation

Sunderland-Groves J & Maisels F (2003) Large mammals of Takamanda Forest Reserve, Cameroon. In: Cominskey J, Sunderland T & Sunderland-Groves J (eds.) Takamanda- the biodiversity of an African Rainforest. SI/MAB Series, 8. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, pp. 111-127.

Abstract
A twelve month survey of the large mammal populations in the Takamanda Forest Reserve, Cameroon, was carried out from February 1998 to January 1999. The focus of this study was to obtain data on the isolated population of gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) inhabiting the Reserve whilst concurrently recording all large mammal sign encountered. Further field surveys initiated in 2000 and still on-going, will provide comparative large mammal data on two of the strata censused during the 1998 surveys. This paper presents the overall large mammal data obtained during the 1998/1999 surveys. All ape nest data is presented separately in Chaper ? (this volume). In general, signs of animal presence were rare throughout the Reserve. Although a total of 95 kilometers of line transects were walked during the year, 41 of them twice, making a total of 136 observer-kilometers in all, no species of animal nor appropriate animal sign was seen frequently enough to estimate density using the computer analysis program DISTANCE. However, it was possible to express and to compare relative abundance of each species in terms of the encounter rate, which is the number of times a species or its sign was seen per kilometer. This survey confirmed the presence of 8 primate species; Cross River gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli, chimpanzee Pan troglodytes, red-eared guenon Cercopithecus erythrotis, mona monkey Cercopithecus mona, puttynose monkey Cercopithecus nictitans, preuss's guenon Cercopithecus preussi, crowned guenon Cercopithecus pogonias, and drill Mandrillus leucophaeus. Other large mammal presence recorded during the survey included elephant Loxodonta africana, blue duiker Cephalophus monticola, yellow backed duiker Cephalophus silvicultor, red duiker (refers to all medium sized duikers as species could not be reliably separated), buffalo Syncerus caffer and bush pig Potamochoerus porcus. No sign of grey-cheeked mangabey Lophocebus albigena, previously reported to exist in the area, was recorded at anytime during the survey.