The Cross Sanaga Faunal Region

The Cross-Sanaga Faunal Region is a small area stretching from the Cross River in Nigeria southeast to the Sanaga River in central Cameroon (as far east as the Mbam River), and includes the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea. The total area is less than 50,000 sq km. This transboundary region is considered one of 4 ice age refugiums and ‘biodiversity hot-spots’ in Africa. It is home to one third of Africa’s primates, including several species found no where else in the world, including the drill, Preuss’ monkey Cercopithecus preussi and red-eared guenon Cercopithecus erythrotis. The Cross-Sanaga Faunal Region is also home to the 2 most endangered great ape subspecies: the Cross River gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli, and the Nigerian chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes vellerosus. Protected areas of the Cross Sanaga include Cross River National Park (Oban & Okwangwo Divisions) and the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary in Nigeria, and Korup National Park and Banyang Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary in Cameroon. New protected areas proposed in Cameroon include Takamanda National Park, Mt. Cameroon National Park, Bakossi National Park and Ebo National Park. Drills and chimpanzees are present in all these areas however only Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary has effective protection from hunting.

Two other protected areas exist to the north of the drill’s range, outside the rain forest zone. These are the Gashaka Gumpti National Park in Taraba State, Nigeria, and the newly created Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary in Cameroon. Gashaka Gumpti is the largest protected area in the transboundary region at over 6,500 sq km.

Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, has a unique primate portfolio that is not represented by any area on the mainland: it contains most monkeys of the Cross Sanaga but also species found to the south of this region on the mainland. Moreover, most primates on Bioko are represented as distinct subspecies making the island (just over 2,000 sq km) one of the most important places on earth for primate biodiversity. Yet, hunting for the bushmeat trade has increased in recent years as the country’s economy grew dramatically with the advent of oil production. All primates on Bioko are threatened with extinction if the factors presently at play do not change in the near future. There are no effective protected areas on the island.