In a win for Nigeria’s only Indigenous grassroots conservation organization, camera traps installed in Ise Conservation Area have captured the first known video of a resident Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee.
The individual, seen swinging between tree branches and feeding on figs, is a mature male in his prime, said Rachel Ashegbofe Ikemeh, founder director of the South-West/Niger Delta Forest Project (SWNDF). “We are able to show the world these chimps for the very first time.”
Camera traps at Ise captured the first video of a genetically unique Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. Video courtesy of SWNDF
The Ise Conservation Area, a small patch of tropical lowland rainforest spread across 3,300 hectares (8,000 acres), is the only forest left in a maze of human habitation. It has been battered by land degradation due to years of marijuana cultivation.
The government of Ekiti state, where Ise lies, established it as a conservation area in 2020 to protect the iconic Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti). Endemic to the forests bordering the two countries, this great ape is the most threatened chimpanzee subspecies, with a combined estimated 3,500- 9,000 individuals left in the wild.
Ikemeh estimates fewer than 25 chimpanzees remain in Ise. Separated from other populations in Nigeria by the Niger River, which is too wide for chimpanzees to cross, the reserve’s chimps are thought to be genetically distinct from other populations.
“The few genetic samples collected suggest they are a distinctive group with a unique genetic history distinct from their counterparts in eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon,” said Katy Gonder, an ecologist at Texas A&M University who studied the Ise chimpanzees in 1997. “It’s remarkable that they are still present in such a small and isolated area.”
Before their tiny home range was earmarked as a protected area, this chimpanzee population was on the brink of extinction, Ikemeh said. “The forest was badly degraded … and the chimps were mostly found along the forest by the [Ogbesse] river,” she said. Locals hunted them for their parts, which fetched good money.
SWNDF has managed Ise since 2021, working with the Ekiti state government and local communities to protect the forest from marijuana plantations, encroaching farmlands, and bushmeat hunters. While their work is reflected in the increasing biodiversity and a surge in chimpanzee nests and foraging sites, no visual evidence previously confirmed the presence of the elusive apes in the forest.
The captured video provides that long-awaited proof.
“It was also a vindication in many ways … prior to this, there was a lot of skepticism among the local stakeholders,” Ikemeh said, adding that this has now changed. “To have these same people come back to say thank you and to say we are with you now … it’s a solemn feeling.”
With camera traps now installed, Ikemeh said she hoped they would provide insights into Ise’s chimpanzee population and behavior, underscoring the importance of conserving their habitat.
Banner image: Screenshot from the first camera-trap video showing a Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee courtesy of SWNDF.