PAPFor

The sooty mangabey

Yuzhou — 2024-03-07T14:13:42Z

The sooty mangabey (Cercocebus atys) is a small monkey in the cercopithecus family. It is easily recognised by its entirely grey coat, which is slightly lighter on the belly. Males weigh between 8 and 10 kg, compared with 5 to 7 kg for females.

Sooty mangabeys during a delousing session, an activity that strengthens social bonds between individuals.

Unlike most other species of monkey in Guinean forests, this mangabey frequently feeds on the ground. It eats mainly fruit, seeds and nuts, with a few invertebrates rounding out its diet. It is a very sociable species, living in groups of up to a hundred individuals, with several breeding males and females. A group's home range is around four to seven square kilometres, with overlaps between different groups. Young males tend to leave their natal group, while females tend to stay within their group. Females give birth to their first offspring at around five years of age, after five and a half months gestation. Sooty mangabeys can live to the age of 18.

A young mangabey, around 2 months old

The sooty mangabey is endemic to the forests of Upper Guinea. Its range extends from the Casamance River in Senegal to the Sassandra River in Côte d'Ivoire. It can therefore be found in the five landscapes supported by PAPFor in Upper Guinea. It is mainly found in dense rainforests, but can also be found in secondary forests. It is particularly fond of marshes and palm forests.

It is possible to habituate the species to the presence of humans, which represents significant potential for tourism. In Taï National Park, for example, a group has been habituated by Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) and is followed by trackers every day, from morning till night, so that tourists can be taken early in the morning to see them, taking all the necessary health precautions, including wearing a mask covering the mouth and nose, to prevent the spread of disease.

Duikers

Yuzhou — 2023-12-08T08:47:43Z

We are fairly familiar with the large mammals that inhabit our forests. But among the typical mammals of the Guinean forests, have you heard of duikers?

Duikers are small forest antelopes in the bovid family. The Guinean forests are home to no fewer than 9 species of duiker, 4 of which are endemic, meaning that they are found in no other forest in the world.

Duikers of the Guinean forests
Scientific name	Common name
Philantomba monticola	Blue duiker
Philantomba maxwelli	Maxwell's duiker
Philatomba walteri	Walter's duiker
Cephalophus zebra	Zebra duiker
Cephalophus brookei	Brook's duiker
Cephalophus niger	Black duiker
Cephalophus silvicultor	Yellow-backed duiker
Cephalophus dorsalis	Bay duiker
Cephalophus jentinki	Jentink's duiker
Species shown in bold are endemic to the Upper Guinean forests

Blue and Maxwell's duikers are the smallest species, with an adult female hardly reaching more than 5 or 6 kg. At the other extreme are the Yellow-backed and Jentink's duikers, whose males can reach 80 kg.

Some duikers are emblematic because of their unique appearance. Of particular note are the Zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra) and the Jentink's duiker (Cephalophus jentinki), both of which have virtually the same distribution: from eastern Sierra Leone to western Côte d'Ivoire.

Duikers are an essential link in the ecological chain of the Guinean forests: they are prey for large predators such as leopard, they control the composition of the undergrowth by eating vegetation, including young plant shoots, and they are important disseminators of trees as they eat ripe fruit that has fallen to the ground.

All duikers are hunted for their meat, and many species have virtually disappeared outside protected areas. It is estimated, for example, that there are fewer than 2 500 individuals of Brook's duiker left, which is considered to be in danger of extinction. The Sapo, Grebo-Krahn and Taï National Parks are important refuges for this species. Similarly, zebra and Jentink's duikers are threatened and their survival depends largely on conservation programmes such as PAPFor, which is active in the Gola-Foya, Wologizi-Wonegizi-Ziama and Taï - Grebo-Krahn - Sapo landscapes, corresponding almost perfectly to their distribution.

Jentink's duiker

Class : Mammal
Order : Cetartiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Genus : Cephalophus
Species : jentinki
Weight : between 55 and 80 kg, making it one of the largest duikers in Africa.
Dimensions : height at withers: 75-85cm
Diet: mainly young shoots from shrubs in the undergrowth, but especially fruit that has fallen to the ground. Has very strong jaws, enabling it to eat nuts.
Habitat : mainly dense forests with closed canopies, but also natural clearings and adjacent heavily wooded agricultural areas. Requires numerous fruit-bearing trees and dense undergrowth for shelter.
Lifespan: unknown; 21 years in captivity.
Reproduction : very little is known; generally one young per litter.
Social life : no known social organisation; most observations are of isolated individuals, sometimes in pairs. Sedentary and territorial.

Jentink's duiker is a source of national pride in Côte d'Ivoire.

A zebra duiker © Kispál Attila https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12640107

Maxwell's duiker, Taï National Park © Tremarctos Photography

The Cross River gorilla

Yuzhou — 2023-11-03T14:10:44Z

The Cross River gorilla is one of the rarest mammals in the world, with a total population of less than 300 individuals. In addition, the species is distributed in small isolated populations, some of which are found in conflict zones in Cameroon. Throughout its range, illegal deforestation and hunting are major threats.

The species is found in a number of protected areas, including Cross River NP, which receives technical and financial support from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), notably through PAPFor.

Given the alarming nature of the Cross River Gorilla's conservation situation, it is classified as ‘Critically Endangered' by the IUCN.

A rare photo of the Cross River gorilla, taken by a camera trap. © WCS

Identity sheet

Class: Mammal
Order: Primates
Family: Hominidae
Genus: Gorilla
Species: gorilla
Sub-species: diehli
Weight: 60 to 75 kg for females and 150 to 190 kg for males
Size: up to 1.8 m when standing upright
Diet: Fruit is a gorilla's favourite food but it also eats herbaceous plants, prizing plants of the ginger (Zingiberaceae) and arrowroot (Marantaceae) families in particular. Occasionally, it will eat ants or termites.
Social animal, forming small groups with a dominant male and typically 3-7 adult females.
Life expectancy: not known
Reproduction: Females generally give birth to their first young at around 10-11 years of age, after a gestation period of 250 days. Reproduction is slow, with at least four years between births to the same female.

There are two species of gorilla in Africa. The Eastern Gorilla is found in the east of the Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, while the Western Gorilla is widespread from southeast Nigeria to the west of the Congo Basin. The latter species is itself made up of two distinct subspecies, the rarest and least widespread of which is the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli), found only in southeast Nigeria and southwest Cameroon.

The Black-bellied pangolin

Yuzhou — 2023-09-20T14:00:19Z

Class: Mammal
Order: Pholidotes
Family: Manidae
Genus: Uromanis
Species : tetradactyla
Weight: between 2.2 and 3.6 kg
Size: 30 to 35 centimetres without tail; tail: 55-80 cm
Diet: tree ants (Crematogaster and Cataulacus in particular)
Habitat: very often near forested rivers or swamps
Reproduction: births can take place all year round, as females can be fertile as early as two weeks after giving birth. A single infant is born in a tree hole.
Adaptation: this species has a particularly long tail that enables it to keep its balance when climbing trees, but it mainly uses its tail to cling onto branches.

Because this species lives in areas that are difficult to access and infested with stinging ants, and because it is small and shy, this arboreal species is slightly less threatened than the other more terrestrial species: the species is considered Vulnerable, whereas the other two West African species are Critically Endangered.

Black-bellied pangolin, Montserrado County, Liberia © M. Languy

Most species of pangolin are in danger of extinction due to local trade in its meat and international trade in its scales, which are sold mainly in China for traditional medicine. Several hundred thousand pangolins are killed every year in Africa. In 2021, for example, China confiscated a stock of 23 tonnes of pangolin scales from Nigeria.

Due to heavy hunting pressure, protected areas play an essential role in the survival of West African pangolins. PAPFor landscapes are all home to at least two species of pangolin and are therefore important for the survival of these species.

The Western red colobus

Yuzhou — 2023-07-12T10:06:33Z

The Western red colobus (Piliocolobus badius) is part of a larger group of red colobuses distributed throughout tropical Africa, and this species is endemic to the forests of Upper Guinea. Its distribution extends from western Sierra Leone to central Côte d'Ivoire.

This colobus can be recognised by its reddish coat, dark brown to black back and greyish face; the long tail is red with a darker tip.

A Western red colobus at Tiwaï Island, Sierra Leone. © M. Languy

Species factsheet:

– Class: Mammal
– Order: Primates
– Family: Cercopithecidae
– Genus: Piliocolobus
– Species: badius
– Weight: 6 to 9 kg for females, 9 to 12 kg for males
– Size: around 60 cm without tail; tail: 65-75 cm
– Diet: young leaves and buds, seeds, fruits and flowers. In areas of competition with other monkeys, older leaves are also eaten, and much more rarely bark.
– Very social animal, forming groups of 30 to 90 individuals, with several adult males and females. The latter often groom other females and males. Their territories vary from 50 to 65 ha on average.
– Reproduction: females give birth after a 198-day gestation period. Two years generally elapse between births, which can take place at any time of year.

This monkey is sometimes hunted by chimpanzees, as well as by the Crowned Eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) and, probably, Shelley's Owl (Bubo shelleyi). To better protect itself from its natural predators, it often mixes with other species such as the Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana).

The Western red colobus is native to dense forests, but tolerates light forms of degradation and can be found in secondary forests, even in mosaics of savannah and abandoned fields; it also frequents mangroves.

However, this species is quite rare outside protected areas, as it is hunted. The species is therefore considered "endangered" by the IUCN.

A male and female in Sapo National Park, Liberia. © M. Languy

Four landscapes in the PAPFor programme are home to the Western red colobus: Gola-Foya, Wologizi-Wonegizi-Ziama, Mount Nimba and Taï Grebo-Krahn - Sapo. The PAPFor programme is therefore important for the survival of this species, as it supports some 15 protected areas where the species is still found.

Damselflies and dragonflies

Yuzhou — 2023-05-25T15:07:47Z

Odonata is an order of flying insects comprising two large and very different groups: the suborder Zygoptera, commonly known as damselflies, and the suborder Anisoptera, known as dragonflies.

All dragonflies and damselflies lay eggs in water where the larvae develop. These insects thus come in two completely different forms: the larvae are flightless and live exclusively in the water where they hunt other insect larvae or sometimes, in the case of the larger species, also fry, tadpoles or other small vertebrates. The larva then emerges from the water, clings to a branch or rock and undergoes a metamorphosis to become a dragonfly, as they are most widely known.

A typical example of the dragonfly Hadrothemis defecta (male), found mainly in West and Central Africa

Like all insects, they have six legs. They all have four wings and most have large eyes with many facets. The adults are, like the larvae, carnivorous. They hunt small flycatchers, butterflies and other flying insects.

Damselflies and dragonflies of the Guinean forests.

There are over 300 species of Odonata in Upper and Lower Guinea. Not all of them are dependent on forests, as many need sunny areas and live only in the savannah or on the forest edge. There are, however, many species that live only in forest rivers or streams.

Trithemis annulata is a non-forest dragonfly found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa (Pinselli forest, OKKPS).

Diastatoma gamblesi is strictly endemic to the forest streams of Upper Guinea (Kiota, Wologizi-Wonegezi-Ziama landscape)

A mating of Hadrothemis versuta, which is only found in the forests of West and Central Africa (Sapo NP, Taï-Grebo-Krahn-Sapo landscape)

The interest of dragonflies is that they are excellent indicators of the quality of the environment: their eggs and larvae can only survive in clean water; the adults need prey which in turn depend on many plants.

Allocnemis flavipennis is a damselfly that lives in small forest streams from Sierra Leone to western Cameroon. In the darkness of the forest, it can be detected by the yellow tip of its abdomen.

Diversity still poorly understood

Although, after butterflies, dragonflies are among the best known insects, there are still many species to be discovered, including in Guinean forests. Several species have been discovered recently and others are still awaiting scientific description.

Phyllomacromia cf melania is a species that was discovered a few years ago and still needs a formal description. This is a rare, if not the only, photo of an individual in natural condition (East Nimba Nature Reserve, Mount Nimba landscape)

PAPFor supports bio-monitoring programmes in all landscapes and inventories that provide a better understanding of the biodiversity of Guinean forests, including dragonflies and damselflies.

The pygmy hippopotamus

Kristell — 2023-03-06T14:30:36Z

Class : Mammifère
Order : Artiodactyle
Family : Hippopotamidés
Genus : Choeropsis
Specie: liberiensis
Weight: about 200 kg, up to 275kg for males
Size: up to 80 cm at the withers and 170cm length
Diet : herbivore
Habitat : wetlands and rivers of the dense humid forests of West Africa
Discreet, solitary, semi-aquatic and nocturnal animal
Lifespan (in captivity) : from 30 to 55 ans

An unusual species, emblematic of the forests of Upper Guinea
The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is a species of hippopotamus native to the forests and swamps of West Africa. It is the cousin of the much better known and larger so-called ‘amphibian' hippopotamus.
The scientific species name means ‘from Liberia', as that is where a large majority of them live. Smaller populations are also clustered near the Liberian border in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone, making it one of the region's iconic species. Old records show the species was also once present in Nigeria, but that population is now believed to be extinct.
It is considered one of the 10 species most in need of protection, to prevent its disappearance. See its identity sheet.

Some particularities
The skin of pygmy hippos secretes a protective substance that gives a pinkish tinge to their body and is sometimes called ‘blood sweat', although it is neither sweat nor blood.
Pygmy hippos spend most of the day hiding in streams, emerging from the water at nightfall to feed. They use existing trails to move through the dense forest.
Sexual maturity for the pygmy hippopotamus occurs between three and five years. The gestation period varies from 190 to 210 days, and there is usually only one young per litter.
Since it is very difficult to observe this discreet and mainly nocturnal species, scientists study it mainly by exploiting its tracks and using camera-traps.

Danger of extinction
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that there are fewer than 3 000 pygmy hippos left in the wild (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/10032/18567171).

The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) lists it in Appendix 2 as a species that may be threatened by uncontrolled international trade and that must be covered by an export permit or re-export certificate (https://cites.org/fra/app/appendices.php).

Threats to the species are mainly habitat loss and fragmentation, as forests are cleared and converted to agricultural land. They are also threatened by poaching, hunting, natural predators and war.
The NGO Sylvatrop runs a conservation programme for the pygmy hippopotamus in Guinea.

The species survives in three landscapes supported by PAPFor: Gola-Foya, Wologizi-Wonegizi-Ziama and Taï-Grebo-Sapo. Among the most important protected areas for the conservation of the species are Tiwaï Island and Gola Rainforest NP (Sierra Leone), Gola Forest NP (Liberia), Ziama and Diecke (Guinea), Sapo NP (Liberia) and Taï NP (Côte d'Ivoire).

The forest elephant

Kristell — 2023-03-06T14:13:36Z

Class : mammal
Order : Proboscids
Family : Elephantidae
Genus : Loxodonta
Specie: cyclotis
Weight: from 2 to 6 tonnes
Size: 1,5 to 3,5 m at the withers and4 to 7 m leong
Diet : megaherbivore, consuming a large number of plants with a very varied diet (fruits, leaves, bark, herbaceous)
Very social animal but evolves in small groups, which move over long distances and therefore need large territories to survive
Lifespan : from 60 to 70 years
Reproduction : The reproductive functions appear from the age of 9 in the female elephant. Male elephants reproduce around the age of 30. Gestation is the longest of any land mammal: 20 to 22 months. In most cases, only one elephant is carried. Females give birth to their first baby around 23 years old (unlike savannah elephants, which do so around 11-14 years old).

The African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is the cousin of the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). It is smaller, especially with shorter and straighter tusks, than the savannah elephants, adapted to the forest environment where it is more difficult to move through the dense undergrowth. It is generally found in the dense forest of Central and West Africa, but is also sometimes on the edge of forest territory, just like the savannah elephant, with which it can breed and have viable and healthy offspring.

The forest elephant: an important ecological function

The African forest elephant contributes to maintaining the composition and structure of the Guinean forests of West Africa.
This species is truly dependent on the forest (and in particular on the fruits of forest trees) for food. As a megaherbivore, it consumes a large number of plants and fruits. The African forest elephant eats more than 200 kg of plants per day to sustain itself. It contributes to the regeneration of many species by dispersing swallowed seeds over significant distances.
Some plant and tree seeds only germinate after passing through an elephant's digestive tract. In addition, elephant dung provides a nutrient-rich environment for the growth of seedlings and is a veritable restaurant for many insects, including butterflies, which come to collect mineral salts.
Also, by creating trails and openings in the forest canopy as they move through the forest, forest elephants create or maintain corridors used by other species and support slow growing trees (typically hardwood and shade-tolerant species). They also maintain forest clearings (called salinas or baïs) where they take advantage of the large amount of mineral salts available.

A critically endangered species

This species is less well known than the savannah elephant because of ecological and political barriers, which have made it more difficult to study and protect. It has disappeared from a large part of its natural range and, where it is still present, it is declining at an alarming rate, even though it plays a very important ecological role.
The forest elephant has no real predators apart from humans. Hunting and poaching, particularly for the trade in ivory from their tusks, are the main threats facing Guinean forest elephants.
Deforestation and fragmentation of the Guinean forests lead to a loss of habitat. The risk of conflict over habitat with human populations, also known as human-elephant conflict, increases and threatens the survival of the elephant. When the forest is reduced, elephants become part of the problem, as they rapidly destroy the vegetation in the area where they live and eliminate food resources.
On 25 March 2021, the forest elephant was classified as 'critically endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The organisation points out that its population fell by 86% between 1990 and 2021 (https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/181007989/181019888).
The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) lists it in its Appendix 1 as an endangered species, prohibited from international trade. However, trade in the species may be allowed under exceptional conditions - for scientific research, for example. When this is the case, an export permit (or re-export certificate) and an import permit are issued. (https://cites.org/fra/app/appendices.php)

African elephants, both savannah and forest, are estimated to number only about 415 000 individuals (IUCN, 2016), down from about 10 million before the decline of the last two centuries. This represents a 95% loss of their population. There is little reliable data on elephant numbers in West Africa, but estimates show small and isolated populations of around 11 500.

Habitat potentiel pour l'éléphant de forêt ('Hidden Giants : Forest elephants of the Congo Basin' by Stephen Blake et al. Page 14) /Potential forest elephant habitat (‘Hidden Giants: Forest elephants of the Congo Basin' by Stephen Blake et al. Page 14)

MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants : https://cites.org/fra/prog/mike/index.php/portal)

The MIKE programme is entirely dependent on donor support. The European Union has been the largest donor to MIKE and has funded implementation in Africa since its inception in 2001, and in Asia since 2017. Funding has also been provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the governments of Japan, the UK and China.

The overall objective of MIKE is to provide the information necessary for elephant range states and CITES to make appropriate management and enforcement decisions, and to build the institutional capacity of range states for the long-term management of their elephant populations. MIKE aims to help range States improve their capacity to monitor elephant populations, detect changes in levels of illegal killing, and use this information to ensure more effective enforcement and strengthen any regulatory measures needed to support that enforcement.

Recent observations in Liberia

For the northwestern forest block in Liberia, which represents a large proportion of the Upper Guinean forests, the ELRECO (Elephant Research and Conservation https://www.elreco.org/index_en.html) project recently estimated that the remaining forest elephant population numbers between 350 and 450 individuals, or even less.
These elephants are distributed throughout the Gola-Foya and Wologizi-Wonegizi-Ziama landscapes, both supported by the PAPFor programme. They migrate and are also found outside the protected areas. It is therefore crucial to maintain connectivity through forest corridors between all protected areas, which is one of the objectives of PAPFor.

The chimpanzee

Kristell — 2023-03-02T13:40:17Z

The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) belongs to the family of ‘great apes' and is well known to the public because these species are very close to humans. It is therefore an emblematic species for conservation initiatives.

Of the four subspecies of chimpanzee in the world, one is endemic to the forests of Upper Guinea (Pan troglodytes verus) and another to the forests of Lower Guinea (Pan troglodytes ellioti).

Factsheet :

– Class: Mammal
– Order: Primates
– Family: Hominidae
– Genus : Pan
– Species : troglodytes
– Weight : between 30 and 40 kg for females and 40 to 60 kg for males
– Size: up to 1.7m standing
– Diet: omnivorous but mainly frugivorous; chimpanzees also eat leaves and bark, but also insects and small vertebrates, and very occasionally small monkeys
– Very social animal, forming groups of 15 to 100 individuals. Males are often aggressive towards other groups, and may kill other ‘outsiders'. Territories vary from 5 to 12 km2.
– Lifespan of about 20 years; in natural conditions, some chimpanzees can live up to 30-35 years.
– Reproduction: Chimpanzees reach puberty at around 7-8 years of age but females give birth to their first baby (rarely twins) usually at around 13-14 years of age, after a gestation period of 230 days.
The chimpanzee lives mainly in forests but also in savannahs. Unfortunately, these habitats are increasingly threatened by the expansion of agriculture, both village and industrial. Moreover, although protected, this species is hunted either for meat or for the trade in live individuals to sell as pets. There are thought to be only 200 000 to 300 000 chimpanzees left in the world, a figure that has been declining steadily for several decades, particularly in West Africa where deforestation is the highest on the African continent. The species is considered ‘endangered' by the IUCN.

All the landscapes in the PAPFor programme are home to chimpanzees, so this programme is very important for the survival of the species. In each landscape, biomonitoring programmes follow the evolution of chimpanzee populations, either through counting (individuals and/or nests) or through camera traps. In addition, the chimpanzee is an important tourist attraction; PAPFor supports several eco-tourism initiatives as a means of reconciling conservation and riparian development through income generation for riparian communities.

The white-necked rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus)

Kristell — 2022-12-14T17:38:16Z

Class: Birds
Family: Picathartidae
Genus: Picathartes
Species: gymnocephalus
Size: about 40 cm
Weight: 200 g
Lifespan: unknown
Distribution: only the forests of Upper Guinea
PAPFor landscapes: Gola-Foya, Wologizi-Wonegizi-Ziama, Nimba and Taï-Grebo-Sapo

The white-necked rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus) is an exceptional bird in many ways. Together with its Central African cousin, the grey-necked rockfowl, they are the only two members of the Picathartidae family in the world and are found only in certain dense forests from Guinea to Ghana. It has a very distinctive appearance, which gives the impression that it comes from the time of the dinosaurs.

Despite its bright colours, it is rarely to be seen, as it silently scours the forest floor for insects, small amphibians or any other small animal within its reach.

The best chance to see a rockfowl is at the end of the day, when it returns with other birds to the roost, which also serves as a nesting site. This species is also unique in this respect: it needs large overhanging rocks in order to build mud nests on the side of the rock in the manner of some swallows.

Unfortunately, the white-necked rockfowl is threatened with extinction and is classified as ‘Vulnerable' by IUCN. The species has very fragmented populations which are increasingly isolated from each other. Due to deforestation and its very specific nesting requirements, the rockfowl's habitat is being reduced year by year. It is also hunted and regularly caught in snares, when the large young are not taken from the nest to be eaten.

Fortunately, it is found in several protected areas, including several in the landscapes supported by PAPFor.

PAPFor supports local communities in developing ecotourism activities. This species is very popular with birdwatchers, many of whom will travel thousands of kilometres for the chance to see this emblematic species of the Upper Guinean forests. This is a real opportunity to reconcile conservation with the development of communities living in protected areas.