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[/one_third]It has been discovered that the Lebialem Highland Conservation Complex (LHCC) besides harbouring threatened wildlife species like the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), African Forest Elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), is home to other IUCN Red list species, which have not been identified or documented for conservation.
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[/one_half]Also, threatened wildlife species are constantly threatened by anthropogenic activities like illegal hunting for bush meat, and conversion of forest in to farmland but no data exists on important bush meat areas in the conservation Complex.
Ascertaining wildlife species hunted, establishing a baseline data for the different species hunted, identifying marketing channels for hunted wildlife species amongst others are therefore very crucial in policy formulation and the effective management of the LHCC
LHCC was created in by the Cameroon government in 2010 consisting of a protected area (Tofala Hills Wildlife Sanctuary) and 2 proposed protected areas (Mak-Betchou wildlife Sanctuary and Mount Bamboutous Integral Ecological Reserve).
ERuDeF has been working in this complex for more than 15 years and finds the need for a proper baseline survey of all the threatened species found in the complex. With support from conservation organizations like Zoos and Botanical Gardens, this will be done and the protection and sustainable management of these species guaranteed.