Satellite view of Mount Cameroon (center), Cameroon, and Bioko (lower left), Equatorial Guinea Photograph by USGS   Western Africa: Coastal Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   400 square miles (1,100 square kilometers) -- about half the size of Rhode Island Critical/Endangered

· Volcanic Diversity
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Volcanic Diversity

Diversity and richness describe the Mount Cameroon and Bioko Montane Forest ecoregion. A series of volcanic eruptions in this region over the past several hundred years has created a patchwork of varied habitats--montane forests, montane grasslands, and heathland. The montane forests occur in patches on the tops of Mount Cameroon and on the island of Bioko. This ecoregion is distinguished from surrounding forests by its isolation and species composition. On the slopes of recently erupted volcanoes such as Mount Cameroon and St. Isobel, you can find plants and animals that occur nowhere else on Earth.

Special Features

About ten volcanic eruptions in this region since 1800 have created a mosaic of vegetation types of various ages and stages of succession over a range of altitudes. Endemic birds include the Fernando Po speirops, the Mount Cameroon speirops, and the Mount Cameroon francolin. Endemic amphibians include the four-digit toad and the Tumbo-insel screeching frog. A large number of the island's plants and animals have very limited distributions on the mainland. The only other place where many of them are found is on Mount Cameroon.

	Cameroon is one of the "squirreliest" places in Africa, with numerous species including Cooper’s mountain squirrel, green squirrel, and Lady Burton’s rope squirrel.

Wild Side

On Mount Cameroon, you’ll be lucky to catch a glimpse of the endemic Mount Cameroon francolin. This shy bird hides in montane forest undergrowth on the southern slopes of the mountain. The forests here are also home to pygeum, a medium-sized evergreen tree that may be as tall as 100 feet (30 m). It has a spreading crown and a rough, chunky bark that provides anchorage for a large number of ferns and orchids. It also serves as habitat and food for wild endemic birds such as the Cameroon greenbul and other tree dwelling animals such as the rare Preuss geunon monkey. In the montane forests of Bioko, a volcanic island off the coast of Cameroon, you can also find many endemic species, including the Fernando Po batis, a highly localized bird found only in forests or well-wooded cocoa plantations.

Cause for Concern

As the human population grows in this region, more and more people are seeking new land for agriculture and other uses. As a result, forest loss is a major threat. Overgrazing, fire damage, unsustainable exploitation of firewood, and agricultural encroachment all put pressure on this ecoregion’s wild forestlands. In some areas of Mount Cameroon, up to half the forest cover has already been lost. While there are some areas of protected forest in Bioko, Mount Cameroon is very poorly protected.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.