PAPFor

A hotspot of primate diversity

Yuzhou — 2022-07-24T11:50:30Z

Despite continued hunting pressure the primate fauna in particular is remarkably diverse, with 19 species resent: Cross River gorilla, chimpanzee, drill, red colobus monkey, putty-nosed guenon, mona guenon, redcapped mangabey, red-eared guenon, crowned guenon, Preuss's guenon, Talbot's needle-clawed galago, Allen's galago, Demidoff's galago, Thomas's dwarf galago, potto, angwantibo, vervet monkey, patas monkeyand olive baboon. Four of these speciesare endemic to the region and sevenothers are represented by endemic subspecies.

Forest elephants

Yuzhou — 2022-07-24T11:50:24Z

Over the past century, forest elephants Loxodonta cyclotis have declined across most of their range and were recently classified by IUCN as “critically endangered”. As a result of hunting and habitat loss, only a few small groups of forest elephants survive in Nigeria today. Cross River National Park contains two important forest elephant populations in Oban and Okwangwo (contiguous with Takamanda National Park in Cameroon). Forest elephants are highly frugivorous and are instrumental in dispersing many tree species.

The sub-montane and montane forests of Cross River National Park

Yuzhou — 2022-07-24T11:50:16Z

The region bounded by the Cross River in Nigeria and the Sanaga River in Cameroon is considered an important center of plant diversity due to its speculated isolation during the Pleistocene era. The ecotone of unbroken and little-disturbed forest from 150m to 1,700m is rare in Africa and an important feature of the Okwangwo Division of Cross River National Park. Protection of these forests on the slopes of Cross River National Park is essential to maintain a continuous flow of safe and sustainable water supplies for local communities.