More than a dozen recent camera-trap photographs have confirmed that a small population of Jentink’s Duiker, a deer-like animal that is threatened with global extinction, is living within Sierra Leone’s Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserve.
The photographs, which were obtained between October 2011 and March 2012 as part of a camera-trap survey run by Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, are the first irrefutable evidence of the animal’s live presence in the Western Area. Previous researchers had found only bones of the animals or heard reports of sightings from hunters.
"It is really exciting to see these great images of such rare and special animals
," said Dr. John Oates, an emeritus professor at the City University of New York. "They show how significant the Western Area forests still are for biodiversity in Sierra Leone, despite being so close to the large city of Freetown. We should not neglect the conservation value of any remaining areas of rain forest in that part of West Africa, even when they are relatively small and isolated."
"Jentink’s duiker is among the world’s least known, unusual-looking, and rare antelopes, so this solid evidence from camera trapping of their continued presence in the Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserve is very good news indeed,"
said Dr. Tim Wacher, a wildlife biologist with the Zoological Society of London. "It provides another strong reason to protect this fascinating and important habitat."
The Jentink’s Duiker (Cephalophus jentinki) is a forest-dwelling mammal that stands 80 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weighs roughly 70 kilograms. Scientists have estimated that there are between 2,000 and 3,500 Jentink’s Duikers left in the wild, with scattered groups living in the forests of Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire, in addition to Sierra Leone. The global population is on the decline, due largely to habitat destruction and poaching.
Tacugama’s year-long camera-trap survey, run by Rosa Garriga, has also confirmed the presence of two other threatened species inside the Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserve (WAPFR): the Western chimpanzee, which is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and the white-necked picathartes, an endemic bird that is classified as vulnerable. Many other mammals have also been captured by the cameras including black and bay duiker, bushbuck, genet, civet, mongoose and several monkey species.
The WAPFR is a 17,000-hectare forest reserve that borders Freetown, Sierra Leone’s sprawling capital city. The forest is a biodiversity hotspot and a vital watershed, but it is critically threatened by its proximity to Freetown and faces many threats from land clearing, bushmeat hunting and urban expansion.
To increase protection of this important habitat, the government just announced that it is planning to designate the area as Sierra Leone’s third national park. Efforts are also underway to have the forest listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Background
Sierra Leone, a small West African nation that falls in the bottom ten percent of the UN’s Human Development Index, suffered through a brutal 11-year civil war that ended in 2002. The conflict killed 200,000 people and devastated the country’s wildlife, as bushmeat hunting soared with the proliferation of small arms. But Sierra Leone has been at peace for more than a decade and its Environmental Protection Agency was created in 2008. The country is preparing for a presidential election later this year.
The camera-trap survey has been made possible by generous support from Sea World Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, Lush Cosmetics, Barcelona Zoo, and GIS expert Berndt Eckhardt. For more information about Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, visit: www.tacugama.com.
