Elephant in the Faro National Park
A new Faro National Park wildlife survey reveals that conservation measures are paying off, but warns that increasing human pressures such as transhuman herders and gold‑panning threaten these gains. Experts have called on the need for urgent community vigilance.
Record wildlife diversity: The July 2024 line‑transect survey counted 34 species of large and medium mammals in Faro National Park. At least eight species (including Colobus monkeys, lions, leopards and giraffes) are in Cameroon’s “Class A” fully protected category.
Successes in species recovery: The study shows Buffon’s cob density estimated at 1.41 individuals/km² with a population of about 4,673 animals; and kilometric abundance indices indicate strong numbers for roan antelope, buffalo, harnessed guib and Derby eland. Compared with 2021, indicators for many species (roan antelope, Derby eland, elephant, buffalo and warthog) increased.
Hippopotamus boom: The hippo count along the Faro and Déo‑Mayo Lifé section tallied 508 individuals, a relative abundance of 8.55 hippos/km and a density of 2.85 animals per km². The population has grown since the 2021 Wildlife Survey in Faro National Park.
Rising threats: The survey recorded 58 signs of anthropogenic activity along the Faro/Déo river section, with gold‑panning sites the most common (IKA 0.50). Human pressures—transhumance, poaching and fishing—are concentrated in the park’s south near the villages of Sarkimata and Mana. Rangers note that large wildlife congregates in the north around the Faro–Déo confluence.
Local call to action: Researchers recommend strengthening community patrols and building a permanent ecoguard base in the southern part of the Faro National Park. They also urge more camera traps and local reporting to monitor carnivores and counter poaching.
According to a spokesperson from the Garoua Wildlife School , noted that the survey shows progress in conservation efforts.
“Our survey shows Faro’s wildlife is rebounding thanks to local conservation efforts, but we must remain vigilant. Gold‑panning camps and transhumant herders continue to encroach on this heritage. Building an ecoguard base near Sarkimata and involving communities in monitoring will protect both our wildlife and livelihoods.”
Why it matters for Cameroon:
Cameroon has prioritised conservation in the north to stimulate ecotourism and safeguard national heritage. Highlighting both the park’s recovery and the need for stronger community involvement underscores the role of local media in fostering public pride and engagement.
In Cameroon’s Faro landscape, the emphasis has been on promoting security for wildlife by reducing poaching and putting in place the building blocks to invigorate an isolated and poorly resourced protected area. When secure, wildlife habitat will connect to a larger protected area network that stretches between northwestern Cameroon and eastern Nigeria.
Located in northern Cameroon and crossing into Nigeria, the Faro landscape provides critical habitat for savanna elephants and the largest hippo population in Central and West Africa. In FY23, AWF completed a five-year program supported by ECOFAC-6 to revive activities in a nearly abandoned protected area here, Cameroon’s Faro National Park. The park is part of a larger protected area complex that includes hunting zones and parks like Cameroon’s Bouba Njida and Bénoué and Nigeria’s Gashaka Gumti.
According to the African Wildlife Foundation, Faro National Park faces significant challenges that threaten not only wildlife but also the park’s connectivity to the larger protected area complex, and thus the greater ecosystem. They include commercial poaching, illegal fishing, and climate change impacts, including pressure from overgrazing by livestock. In addition, the lack of adequate roads and river crossings impedes rangers from keeping the park secure, both for wildlife that face commercial and bushmeat poaching and for herders and farmers who face armed raiders and kidnappers.
