Mbe Mountains

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Summary

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• Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) & Cross river gorillas (Gorilla gorilla diehli) are present in Mbe Mountains.
• The population sizes are unknown.
• The population trends are unknown.

Site characteristics

The Mbe Mountains span approximately 85 km², serving as a vital habitat corridor that connects the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary with the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park (WCS Nigeria). Although they lack formal conservation status, the Mbe Mountains are traditionally owned by nine surrounding communities and have been managed by the Conservation Association of the Mbe Mountains, with support from WCS, since 2007. Reaching elevations of up to 900 meters, the Mbe Mountains provide a crucial refuge for the critically endangered Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), along with other distinctive species such as the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti), the drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus), and the grey-necked rockfowl (Picathartes oreas) (WCS Nigeria).

Table 1. Basic site information for Mbe Mountains

Species	Pan troglodytes ellioti, Gorilla gorilla diehli
Area	85 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 6.220958 , Lon: 9.068399
Type of site	Non-protected area (Community Forest)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest
Type of governance	Governance by indigenous peoples and local communities

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Mbe Mountains

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Gorilla gorilla diehli	2009		20			Mbe Mountains	Reconnaissance walk		Imong, Wood & Dunn 2010
Pan troglodytes ellioti	2009	Present				Mbe Mountains	Reconnaissance walk		Imong, Wood & Dunn 2010

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Mbe Mountains

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1.2 Small-holder farming	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Farming and logging in surrounding lowlands threatens to isolate Mbe from adjacent forests and to destroy the two corridors linking Mbe to Afi and Okwangwo (WCS Nigeria). Farming encroachment reported during a 2009 survey (Imong, Wood & Dunn 2010).	Ongoing (2009)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Several wire snares were removed during a survey conducted in 2009 (Imong, Wood & Dunn 2010). Hunting activity in the Mbe Mountains is relatively low compared to the other sites, but it is still a major threat (WCS Nigeria).	2009-Ongoing (2014)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Illegal logging, particularly for ebony, is a growing problem particularly within the lowland areas surrounding the Mbe Mountains (WCS Nigeria).	Unknown

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Mbe Mountains

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.11 Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g., SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of patrols	Use of CyberTracker and SMART (Imong, Eban & Mengjo 2014; WCS Nigeria).	WCS Nigeria	2009-Ongoing (2014)
2 Counter-wildlife crime	2.3 Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols	With local support, and constant efforts by a team of 14 eco-guards managed by WCS, levels of hunting have been reduced compared to surrounding areas (WCS Nigeria).	WCS Nigeria	Unknown
4 Education & awareness	4.1 Educate local communities about apes and sustainable use	The formation of 11 school conservation clubs, which have regular field trips and exchange visits (WCS Nigeria).	WCS Nigeria	Unknown
4 Education & awareness	4.2 Involve local community in ape research and conservation management	Establishment of the Conservation Association of the Mbe Mountains (CAMM) to protect the forest and its wildlife and boost local development (WCS Nigeria).	WCS Nigeria	Unknown
4 Education & awareness	4.4 Regularly play TV and radio announcements to raise ape conservation awareness	Outreach programs that use radio drama and film shows to spread conservation messages within the area (WCS Nigeria).	WCS Nigeria	Unknown
7 Economic & other incentives	7.2 Provide non-monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g., better education, infrastructure development)	WCS has trained more than 100 farmers from the nine Mbe communities in various activities as an alternative source of income and to reduce levels of dependence on the forest particularly hunting (WCS Nigeria).	WCS Nigeria	Unknown
8 Permanent presence	8.1 Run research project and ensure permanent human presence at site	Research is being conducted at Mbe Mountains to assess the population of the Cross River Gorillas (WCS Nigeria).	WCS Nigeria	Ongoing (2016)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Mbe Mountains

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
2 Resources and capacity	2.4 Lack of continuous/long-term funding	Shomkegh et al. 2017	2017

Challenges

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Mbe Mountains

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
2 Resources and capacity	2.3 Continuous/long-term funding	Shomkegh et al. 2017	2017

Enablers

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Mbe Mountains

Category	Behavior	Observation type	Prevalence	Observation dates	Source	Habituation	Species	Comment
	Not reported

Behaviours

Exposure to climate change impacts

As part of a study on the exposure of African great ape sites to climate change impacts, Kiribou et al. (2024) extracted climate data and data on projected extreme climate impact events for the site. Climatological characteristics were derived from observation-based climate data provided by the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP, www.isimip.org). Parameters were calculated as the average across each 30-year period. For 1981-2010, the EWEMBI dataset from ISIMIP2a was used. For the two future periods (2021-2050 and 2071-2099) ISIMIP2b climate data based on four CMIP5 global climate models were used. For future projections, two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) were used. RCP 2.6 is a scenario with strong mitigation measures in which global temperatures would likely rise below 2C. RCP 6.0 is a scenario with medium emissions in which global temperatures would likely rise up to 3C by 2100. For the number of days with heavy precipitation events, the 98th percentile of all precipitation days (>1mm/d) was calculated for the 1979-2013 reference period as a threshold for a heavy precipitation event. Then, for each year, the number of days above that threshold was derived. The figures on temperature and precipitation anomaly show the deviation from the mean temperature and mean precipitation for the 1979-2013 reference period.

The estimated exposure to future extreme climate impact events (crop failure, drought, river flood, wildfire, tropical cyclone, and heatwave) is based on a published dataset by Lange et al. 2020 derived from ISIMIP2b data. The same global climate models and RCPs as described above were used. Within each 30-year period, the number of years with an extreme event and the average proportion of the site affected were calculated (Kiribou et al. 2024).

Table 8. Estimated past and projected climatological characteristics in Mbe Mountains

Value	1981-2010	2021-2050, RCP 2.6	2021-2050, RCP 6.0	2071-2099, RCP 2.6	2071-2099, RCP 6.0
Mean temperature [C]	25.3	26.4	26.2	26.5	27.6
Annual precipitation [mm]	2359	2468	2490	2470	2441
Max no. consecutive dry days (per year)	40.6	40	42	40.6	45.4
No. days with heavy precipitation (per year)	4.8	4.7	4.9	4.8	5.9

Table 9. Projected exposure of apes to extreme climate impact events in Mbe Mountains

Type	No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 2.6)	% of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 2.6)	No. of years with event (2021-2050, RCP 6.0)	% of site exposed (2021-2050, RCP 6.0)	No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 2.6)	% of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 2.6)	No. of years with event (2070-2099, RCP 6.0)	% of site exposed (2070-2099, RCP 6.0)
Crop failure	5.5	0.18	6	0.31	3.5	0.23	7.5	0.23
Drought	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Heatwave	3	100	5	100	3	100	5	100
River flood	1.5	0.17	1	1.87	1.5	1.15	2.5	1.23
Tropical cyclone	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wildfire	30	0.74	30	0.74	29	0.74	29	0.74

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  Precipitation anomaly in Mbe Mountains

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  Temperature anomaly in Mbe Mountains

References

Imong, I., Wood, K. L., & Dunn, A. (2010). Monitoring gorillas in Nigeria. Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe. https://www.berggorilla.org/en/home/news-archive/article-view/monitoring-gorillas-in-nigeria/

Imong, I., Eban, J., & Mengjo, C. (2014). Using technology to save gorillas in the Mbe Mountains. Gorilla Journal, 48, 16–17. link

Shomkegh, S. A., Adaje, P. O., & Dagba, B. I. (2017). Assessment of community participation in forest resources management in Afi and Mbe Mountains, Cross River State, Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology (IOSR-JESTFT), 11(12), 41–47. link

WCS Nigeria. (n.d.). Mbe Mountains. Retrieved February 5, 2025, from https://nigeria.wcs.org/Wild-Places/Mbe-Mountains.aspx

Kiribou, R., Tehoda, P., Chukwu, O., Bempah, G., Kühl, H. S., Ferreira, J., …, & Heinicke, S. (2024). Exposure of African ape sites to climate change impacts. PLOS Climate, 3(2), e0000345. doi:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000345

Page created by: Priscilla Stanley Shao Date: 2024-11-25 10:42:00