Impact of village hunting on wildlife populations in the western Dja reserve, Cameroon

The Dja Biosphere Reserve, a lowland rainforest in southern Cameroon, supports extensive biotic communities with a high proportion of endemic fauna and flora. A growing human population afflicted by an economic crisis and a predilection for game meat has augmented pressures on the faunal resources. We conducted a 2-year study to assess the spatial distribution and intensity of hunting in the western Dja Reserve and the implications for the management of these activities. We mapped the area where the villagers hunt, determined snare densities, and collected biological data on species killed. Surveys using standard line-transect methodology were conducted on mammalian game species in the various hunting zones across strata of human-disturbed and less-disturbed areas. In the three hunting zones of the village of Mekas, snare density decreased as distance from the village increased. Despite a 64% lower snare density, the monthly overall capture rate was four times higher there than in the zone closest to the village. The number of animals that rotted on snares was three times higher in the farthest hunting region from the village. Except for the four common arboreal primates, encounter rates and densities of game species tended to decrease with proximity to human activity and with an increase in snare densities. Duikers (Cephalophus spp.) comprised 63.5% of animals killed. We used Robinson and Redford's (1991) production model to determine the sustainability of the present harvest rates. Harvest rates of C. monticola, C. dorsalis, and C. callipygus in two of the hunting zones were between one and three times higher than the populations can theoretically sustain. As species are depleted, hunters will journey even further into the forest to hunt. To reduce waste, subsistence hunting should be limited to within 15 km of the village. Ecological studies to determine stochastic and deterministic influences on the duiker populations are required to ensure their conservation within the Dja Reserve.