Dja animal reserve

Dja animal reserve
The Dja River near Somalomo
Coordinates: 3 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  N , 13 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  E
Location:	Sud , Cameroon
Surface:	5260 km²
Founding:	1987
Entrance sign to the Dja game reserve at the ECOFAC office (Somalomo)

The Dja animal reserve is a nature reserve in Cameroon and is located within a 5260 km² loop on the upper reaches of the Dja river in the districts of Dja-et-Lobo ( southern province ) and Haut-Nyong ( eastern province ). The Dja is a tributary of the Sangha , a right tributary of the Congo .

The reserve is since 1981 Biosphere Reserve and in 1987 UNESCO - World Heritage .

geography

There are three ways to visit the Dja area. On the northern edge of the reserve is the small village of Somalomo .

Lomié is on the eastern edge of the area . The park is five kilometers west of Lomié. However, the road to Lomié is heavily criticized because of its proximity to the Dja.

In the very south of the reserve is the village of Djoum which is another way to explore Dja. However, visiting the village is extremely time-consuming.

Flora and fauna

Flora of the Dja game reserve

The park is one of the largest and best preserved tropical rainforests in Africa. 90% of the area is still original rainforest. It lies at an altitude of 400 to 800 m in the transition zone between the coastal forests on the Sanaga and those of the Congo Basin . Hence the outstanding biodiversity , which is one of the largest in Africa. The rather low amount of precipitation of 1570 mm per year for a rainforest means that the plant diversity is somewhat lower than that of the Korup National Park . One of the trees in the park is the mighty moabi ( Baillonella toxisperma ).

Northern pygmy monkey Dja animal reserve

At least 109 species of mammals live in the park, and possibly as many as 176, including a wide variety of primates . Endangered species that occur include forest elephants , chimpanzees and lowland gorillas . Other primates are various monkeys and mangabeans . The three most common monkeys are great white-nosed monkeys ( Cercopithecus nictitans ), blue-mouthed monkeys ( Cercopithecus cephus ), and black monkeys ( Cercopithecus pogonias ). Of the mangabies, one of the most likely to see the mantle indication ( Lophocebus albigena ). Sometimes you can also see the Sitatunga ( Tragelaphus spekii ) or the Bongo ( Tragelaphus eurycerus ), a rare large antelope.

An inventory from 1994–1995 revealed 349 native bird species and about 80 species of migratory birds. Three endangered species have been observed: the brown-cheeked weaver ( Ploceus batesi ), the Gabonese warbler ( Bradypterus grandis ), and spotted rockhopper ( Picathartes oreas ). According to BirdLife International one can also find the marble fish owl ( Scotopelia bouvieri ).

There is also an exceptional herpetofauna in the reserve . The amphibian and reptile species include two endangered crocodile species , the West African armored crocodile ( Mecistops cataphractus ) and the stump crocodile ( Osteolaemus tetraspis ). The African forest turtle ( Pelusios gabonensis ) has also been seen here. The dangerous black and white hat snake ( Naja melanoleuca ) is also present in Dja area.

population

Baka village in the Dja game reserve

Small groups of pygmies live within the reserve . They belong to the Baka ethnic group . They are allowed to hunt traditionally.

The majority of the population consists of the Bantu ethnic group .

ECOFAC

The ECOFAC office in Yaoundé

ECO systèmes F orestiers d ' A frique C entral (ECOFAC) was an environmental group that was funded by EU funds. The Dja reserve was also part of the ECOFAC program. However, there were also critical voices about projects relating to the Dja game reserve. Around the year 2000, for example, a road construction project was particularly criticized because, according to studies by the nature conservation organization Rainforest Foundation , it could lead to increased logging, increased poaching, etc.

literature

• Wim Bergmans : List provisoire des mammifères de la réserve de faune du DJA et de sa périphérie Comité Néerlandais pour l'UICN, 1994

Web links

• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
• Welcome to Dja Faunal Sanctuary!

Individual evidence

1. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Dja Faunal Reserve. Retrieved August 20, 2017 . 
2. ↑ kamerun-tourismus.de
3. ↑ eoearth.org
4. ↑ foe.co.uk
5. ↑ djoum.e-monsite.com: Djoum ( Memento from February 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ unep-wcmc.org ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) 
7. ↑ Looking for a gorilla ( Memento from June 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
8. ↑ Game Reserve Dja in: Microsoft Encarta
9. ↑ Avibase Bradypterus grandis
10. ↑ Avibase Picathartes oreas
    Petit tour d'horizon de la biodiversité du Dja ( Memento of the original of June 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Canopée No. 12, 1998 (French) 
11. ↑ birdlife.org
12. ↑ avibase.bsc-eoc.org
13. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: geocities.com (PDF)
14. ↑ regenwald.org  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ epo.de
16. ↑ http://www.ecofac.org : La Réserve de faune du Dja (Cameroun) ( Memento of May 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
17. ↑ bushmeat-kampagne.de: Sense and nonsense of external financial aid using the example of the Dja game reserve (PDF; 354 ​​kB)