Douala-Edéa National Park, formerly known as Douala-Edéa Wildlife Reserve, is a national park in the Littoral Region of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Location

The park is located on either side of the mouth of the

Sanaga River The Sanaga River (formerly ) is the largest river in Cameroon located in East Region (Cameroon), East Region, Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region and Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Its length is about from the confluence of Dj ...

along the shores of the

Bight of Biafra The Bight of Biafra, also known as the Bight of Bonny, is a bight off the west- central African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea. This "bight" has also sometimes been erroneously referred to as the "Bight of Africa" because ...

opposite the island of

Bioko Bioko (; ; ; historically known as Fernando Pó, ) is an island of Equatorial Guinea. It is located south of the coast of Cameroon, and northwest of the northernmost part of mainland Equatorial Guinea. Malabo, on the north coast of the is ...

. Lake Tissongo, a lagoon connected to the south bank of the Sanaga River by a tidal channel, is included in the reserve. Mouanko is the main town in the reserve, on the north shore of the

. File:Lac tisongo, mouanko.png, Lake Tissongo File:River Sanaga.jpg, Sanara River

History

The reserve was established in 1932. Cameroon designated the reserve as a wildlife park for scientific purposes in 1971, and by 1974 the reserve had a conservator and guard post. It was designated a national park in 2018. As of 2000, it covered . Upgrade to full national park status was delayed since oil had been discovered in Cameroon's coastal areas, and the area could hold important reserves. In October 2018, it was upgraded to national park status.

Flora

80% of the reserve is covered by tropical lowland equatorial forest, and 15% by Atlantic mangrove forests. The Mouanko reserve between the Sanaga and the

Wouri estuary The Wouri estuary, or Cameroon estuary is a large tidal estuary in Cameroon where several rivers come together, emptying into the Bight of Biafra. Douala, the largest city in Cameroon, is at the mouth of the Wouri River where it enters the estuar ...

holds about of mangrove forests. The mangroves form a buffer against

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

, and are a refuge for 80% of the local marine and aquatic species for at least part of their lifecycle. They are threatened by logging for construction timber and for firewood used in fish smoking, as well as by urban infrastructure development. Illegal loggers were expelled from the park in 1976.

Fauna

Fauna include

forest elephant The African forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis'') is one of the two living species of African elephant, along with the African bush elephant. It is native to humid tropical forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the ...

s, primates (

chimpanzees The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close relative the ...

, monkey Singes de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 14species such as

black colobus The black colobus (''Colobus satanas''), or satanic black colobus, is a species of Old World monkey belonging to the genus ''Colobus''. The species is found in a small area of western central Africa. Black colobuses are large, completely covered ...

), antelopes (

sitatunga The sitatunga (''Tragelaphus spekii'') or marshbuck is a swamp-dwelling medium-sized antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of South Sudan, Southern ...

blue duiker The blue duiker (''Philantomba monticola'') is a small antelope found in central, southern and eastern Africa. It is the smallest species of duiker. The species was first described by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg in 1789. 12 subspe ...

, etc.),

West African manatee The African manatee (''Trichechus senegalensis''), also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of Western Africa – from Senegal to Angola. It is the only manatee species to be found in the Old World. Ta ...

s, sea turtles, dolphins, crocodiles, alligator, many fish species, terrestrial and water bird species. The

red-capped mangabey The collared mangabey (''Cercocebus torquatus''), also called red-capped mangabey and white-collared mangabey, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae of Old World monkeys. It formerly included the sooty mangabey as a subspecies. A ...

was reported to be common in the reserve in 1972. The endangered red-eared nose-spotted guenon was reported in the Lombé part of the reserve in densities of 2–3 groups per square kilometers, but populations had dropped elsewhere due to hunting. Animals in the reserve are poorly protected and poaching is widespread. Central chimpanzees in the reserve are threatened by hunters. File:Loxodontacyclotis.jpg, Forest elephant File:Singes de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 21.jpg, Forest view File:Singes de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 04.jpg, Monkeys on a motor way at the park File:Singes de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 19.jpg, Lunch time by a river File:Singes de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 14.jpg, Black specie Monkeys by a stream at the Douala-Edea reserve File:Singe de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 07.jpg, A Monkey on Bamboo branches File:Singe de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 17.jpg, A male monkey climbing a tree in the park File:Singes de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 15.jpg, Adult Monkeys with children eating banana fruits File:Singe de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 16.jpg, Monkey File:Singe de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 05.jpg File:Singe de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 09.jpg File:Singe de la réserve de faune de Douala - Edea 03.jpg File:Chimpanzé, R.F Douala-édea,Mouanko.png, Chimpanzee

References

Cited sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Douala Edea Wildlife Reserve Douala National parks of Cameroon Protected areas established in 1932