Elephant Tagging Operation January 8-26, 2010 Mt. Cameroon National Park, Cameroon. WWF SAWA North Carolina Zoological Park MINFOF

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1 Elephant Tagging Operation January 8-26, 2010 Mt. Cameroon National Park, Cameroon WWF SAWA North Carolina Zoological Park MINFOF Michael R. Loomis, DVM, MA, DACZM Chief Veterinarian, North Carolina Zoological Park And Eno Nku Manasseh, MSc. Conservation Biologist, WWF SAWA January 2010

2 Field operations were mounted from January 8 to January 26, 2010, to collar elephants on the Mount Cameroon National Park. The focus of this operation was to collar elephants in the Northwest sector of Mt. Cameroon National Park (Fig. 1). The operation was conducted in two phases: Phase 1, from January 8-13, 2010, and Phase 2, from January 19-26, Figure 1. Phases 1 and 2 elephant tagging routes Phase 1 Phase 1 was centered around a forest clearing referred to as the Elephant Opening or Musingile Clearing. A reconnaissance mission conducted in December 2009 found several herds of elephants and many fresh elephant tracks in the area (Eno-Nku, 2009). The team was composed of: Dr. Allan Carlson, WWF Sweden Dr. Mike Loomis, North Carolina Zoological Park Eno Nku Manasseh, Conservation Biologist, WWF Coastal Forests Program and expedition leader Dontego Desire, Field Assistant, WWF Jengi Project and chief technical assistant 2

3 Derrick Mesape, Field Biologist WWF Coastal Forests Program Dickson Ewa Ndip, Logistician Wotani Abel Mbondi, Chief tracker and Guide Ngomba Meende Robert, Tracker David Ngou Bilong, Cook Ichu Mvo Ignatius, porter Hans Likoke Tikali, porter Teke Lucas Wolete, porter Efome Likoke Joseph, porter Edward Ekema Iyange, porter Obi Valentine, journalist Molumbe Likoke Dickson, porter William Enia Mbondi, porter Simon, Mosisa Embola, porter The team entered the forest through a palm plantation and was dropped by vehicles at N, E. A base camp was established at N, E, approximately 400m NW of the Elephant Opening. Technical problems were discovered with the UHF transmitters (transmitting to NOAA weather satellites) in both of the collars constructed for this operation. Consultation with the manufacturer, Telonics (Mesa, AZ, USA), did not solve the problem. Both collars were functional during testing in the US prior to shipment to Cameroon. A collar not deployed last year was sent to the car drop off point and was retrieved by three of the team members. This collar was functioning properly, but retrieving the collar cost a full day of field time. Actual field operations began on 10 January. There were no fresh elephant signs around the Elephant clearing. Prospecting for fresh elephant signs SW of the elephant opening revealed a set of tracks from approximately 2 days ago, which headed West (down-slope) into an area of very thick vegetation. The tracks were not pursued because they were not fresh enough to allow the team to catch up with the elephants. The team crossed lava a flow to the North of the Elephant Opening. There were no fresh elephant signs on the North side of the lava flow indicating that the elephants had not moved to the North. No fresh elephant signs (signs less than 24 hours old) have been seen in the area. A large number of snares and discharged shot gun shells were found during prospecting for elephant signs. Our trackers indicated 3

4 that hunting in the area escalates dramatically around the Christmas period. Although elephants are probably not hunted in this vicinity, the elephants are harassed by the hunters. It is possible that the elephants have been driven from the area by the intensified hunting pressures. An additional day of prospecting in the area turned up many more snares and shot gun shells, but no fresh elephant tracks. The camp was moved to the North. The team found no fresh elephant sign and also no water. The team had to hike out of the field the following day due to lack of water. The team trekked a total of 20.2 km in very rough terrain and saw many elephant signs from one to two months earlier, but essentially no fresh signs. Phase 2 Phase two was developed to center around a crater lake in the northwest sector of Mount Cameroon National Park. A reconnaissance trip was taken on 16 January to the village of Ekona Lelu to find guides who know the location of the crater lake. Two guides were hired and joined the team. The team left Limbe on 19 January and drove the abandoned Post and Communication (P&T) site at an elevation of 2500 m on Mt. Cameroon. The drive to P&T was on a minimally maintained road. From P&T, the team hiked to Nitele, an old, established hunting camp which contains two bush houses. The camp is at the elevation of 1800m and is a 20 minutes hike from the Nitele water source, a small permanent water seep. There were old elephant tracks around the Nitele water source. The following day, the team headed to another water seep in the forest down-slope from Nitele. Our guides reported that elephants frequent this water source. After several hours searching, the water source was found, but it had dried up. A few old elephant tracks were found at the interface of the forest and savannah on the return trip to camp. On 21 January, the team left Nitele for the crater lake. After one and a half hour s hike on the Mousengille-Nitele trail, the team headed West cross-country in search of the crater lake. After two hour s hike, it became evident that the guides did not know the location of the lake. With no fresh elephant tracks in the area and our inability to find the crater lake, it was decided to move camp to Camp 2 from Phase 1 of the operation. On 22 January, the team moved camp to Camp 2. There were no fresh elephant signs around the elephant opening. Since the only fairly recent elephant tracks seen in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the operation were headed West from the elephant Opening, The team decided to hike down-slope to a camp used by the team in 2007 designated as Idenau Camp 1. This camp was 9 km from Camp 2 (GPS point to GPS point). On January 23, the team headed for Idenau Camp 1. The terrain made the hike very difficult. There were many valleys too steep to descend. Hiking around the valleys required numerous detours from the intended route. 4

5 After nine hours of hiking, the team was still 5 km from the camp. The team set up a dry camp along an established trail. The following day, the team continued towards Idenau Camp 1. The terrain was again very difficult. As the team approached to within 1.5 km from the camp, a group of elephants were heard feeding in an area of thick vegetation. The team prepared a dart and began stalking the elephants. After more than an hour of attempting to approach the elephants, the approach was discontinued due to the danger of approaching the elephants with essentially 1 m visibility and very few trees for cover. The team continued on to the camp. The team spent January 25 prospecting around Idenau Camp 1 for fresh elephant signs. There were numerous 1 to 2 day old tracks in the area, but no tracks fresh enough to follow. There were many water sources in the area, which made it impossible to predict where the elephants would go to drink. With the lack of fresh elephant tracks and dwindling food rations, the team hiked out of the forest on January 26. During Phase 2, the team trekked a total of 30.2 km, with a total ascent of over 4600 m through extremely rough terrain. Observations and recommendations Reconnaissance in the vicinity of the Elephant Opening conducted in early December indicated numerous elephants in the area. Unfortunately, hunting pressures in the area around the Christmas season may have driven the elephants from the area. If an additional attempt to collar elephants in this area is made, it should be done between mid November and mid December. The existence of a crater lake in the northwest sector of the park is intriguing. A reconnaissance team should be sent to determine the location of the lake and monitor elephant movements around it. The lake may represent a critical water source for elephants in the area in the dry season, similar to the situation around Red in the southwest sector of the park. Approaching elephants in dense vegetation is very difficult and dangerous. The use of tree stands should be considered in an attempt to safely dart elephants in dense vegetation. There were some personnel problems with the guides and trackers on the team during the exercise. A reconfiguration of the team should be considered. A checklist for essential field equipment was developed. 5

6 Although transmission problems with collars has not been a problem in the past, collars will be activated at least 72 hours prior to taking to the field to ensure they are transmitting adequately. Also, a UHF receiver will be purchased to verify the uhf transmitter in working, in addition to confirmation via the CLS ADS report. References Eno-Nku, M Reconnaisance surveys of the proposed Mt Cameroon National Park. Report to WWF Coastal Forests Programme. 6

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