Gorilla Conservation in Río Muni
The Spanish biologist Juan Pedro Gonzalez Kirchner, who had agreed to
write an article for this issue, tragically passed away in March 1998.
Instead of his article, his publications are summarized here. Large parts
of Río Muni (Equatorial Guinea) are populated only sparsely and
59% of the country is covered by undisturbed rain forest. However, in
the last 25 years, the number of gorillas in Río Muni has decreased
considerably. In 1989/1990, the gorilla population was estimated at 1,000-2,000
individuals. They live in approximately 17% of Río Muni's area,
in 5 distribution areas which have become isolated from each other since
the 1960s. The highest gorilla population densities were found in the
Río Campo region in the northwestern part and in the Nsork region
in the southwestern part of the country.
The isolation of the populations constitutes a severe threat if they include
fewer than 500 individuals. The unusual frequencies of genetic anomalies
and malformations that were observed may result from such isolation. Missing
toe joints, for example, have been linked to inbreeding.
They are threatened mainly by the slow but continuous destruction of their
habitat by the local people and by other human activities, such as hunting,
capture of infants for sale, and other activities for commercial purposes.
Primate meat is important in the local markets; sometimes it amounts to
more than 50% of the total meat. Gorillas and chimpanzees are hunted (gorilla
meat amounts to about 5% of the meat offered) and are considered a delicacy
by the human population of Río Muni, the Fang.
The 800 km² area of Mt. Alén has only recently been gazetted
as a National Park. Since 1992 it has been one of the areas protected
under the ECOFAC (Conservation et utilisation rationelle des Ecosystèmes
Forestiers en Afrique Centrale) program. Within the framework of this
programme, Juan Enrique Garcia and Jesus Mba studied the primates and
the nature conservation in this area in 1994. They were able to show that
gorillas occur throughout the park. While gorillas used to be killed on
a regular basis, this obviously is no longer the case. However, slash-and-burn
cultivation is frequent and is a threat to the rain forest and its inhabitants.
Nevertheless, the park is protected quite well and the hunting pressure
on animals remains low. The conservation of Mt. Alén is developing
exceptionally well, and the sombre prediction made by Jorge Sabater Pí
in 1981 - "We can predict a very tragic end for the gorilla,"
- hopefully will not come true in the near future.
Angela Meder
Dr. Angela Meder observed the behaviour and development of captive lowland gorillas for 10 years. A major aim of her various studies was the improvement of the management, rearing and housing of gorillas in zoos. Today she works as a book editor. Since 1992 she has been part of the Board of Directors of Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe.
Gorilla distribution areas and Mt. Alén National
Park (dark)