By France Anougue, a Ph.D. student at Concordia University

My Ph.D. research focuses on “Habituation and ecology of western gorillas for conservation and ecotourism in the Campo Ma’an National Park, Southern Cameroon”. It is supervised by Dr. Robert Weladji of the Ecology and Conservation Lab, Biology Department, Concordia University. In the summer of 2023, I did my final field season with the aim of collecting data for the 4^th chapter of my thesis assessing “Perception of stakeholders on the potential of ecotourism and its impacts on the habituated gorilla group inhabiting dense tropical forests” that is being habituated to human presence (Photo 1)

In May 2023, I flew from Montreal to Cameroon (Campo-Ma’an National Park) on the Atlantic coast of Southwest Cameroon in Central Africa to collect data. That journey was one of the most rewarding journeys I’ve ever had. Anyone who loved nature would be taken aback by the unbelievable sights from that altitude. I had a daytime flight, and from my window seat, I observed the blue waters and the leafy green forests; it felt so special. All of which I will remember for years to come. I went with lab mate Léa Mimeault, who was to do her first field season in the same location. When we arrived at Campo, the Research Centre for Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation, built by Concordia University and Zoo de Granby under the auspices of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife of Cameroon, welcomed us, providing us with accommodation and an office equipped with internet access where we worked comfortably throughout our field season (Photos 2 and 3).

After being introduced to the Conservator of the Campo-Ma’an National Park, as procedures require, we went to the administrative authorities, namely the Senior Divisional Officer to present the objectives of our study in Campo.

While on the field, data were collected among 180 household members over 18 years old. Interviews were also conducted among local authorities, representatives of local and international NGOs, the park’s conservator, and representatives of the ministries (Forestry and Tourism) on the perception of the potential of ecotourism and its impacts on the habituated gorilla group. 

My major challenge was the reluctance of some people in responding to my questionnaires. The community of Campo was going through very difficult times due to the damage caused by elephants to their cropland. People were crying and calling upon the Cameroonian government for help, and compensation and to bring pertinent solutions on how to tackle the problem of elephants’ damage to their crops. It should be noted that with the establishment of the palm oil industry in this locality, 60,000 ha of equatorial forest is planned to be destroyed to plant palm trees. As a result, the habitat of medium size and large mammals (such as gorillas and elephants) is fragmented, and food is virtually non-existent. Wildlife then leaves their natural habitat in search of food and most often will be eating crops on farms, thereby causing human and wildlife conflict.

Nevertheless, though the communities were in pain, many others were still very open and responded to my questionnaires with very pertinent answers for the writing of my article. I had a great time with the community, and after the interview with the local community, I also had discussions with the resource people, namely the administrative authorities. 

During my days off, I went to the beach with my colleagues to relax,  sunbathe, and observe the beauty of the sunset in the evening (photo 4). My stay in Cameroon was fabulous.

About the author: France Anougue is a Ph.D. student in ecology and conservation in Dr. Weladji’s Lab, at Concordia University. “My passion for ecology and wildlife dates from my childhood. This explains why I entered the conservation field in 2014 as a volunteer at the World Fund for Nature where my task was to habituate a group of wild gorillas to human presence. After acquiring some field experience, I later decided to pursue my PhD study in Biology.”