Finding More Ammo Than Animals In Huge African Rain Forest
In Cameroon’s remote Dja Faunal Reserve—a World Heritage Site—expedition’s findings raise concern for forest elephants, gorillas, and other animals.
A team of scientists undertook an unprecedented week-long trek last month deep into one of Africa's largest rain forests.
Their mission: survey the tropical wilderness and scout for animals such as endangered chimps, western lowland gorillas, and forest elephants.
But instead of spying some of the 50-plus mammal species that call Cameroon's remote Dja Faunal Reserve home, the team documented poaching camps and gun cartridges—and surprisingly few signs of animals.
“There were lots of hunting camps in the core of the reserve, 16 in total, and we saw cartridges all over the place,” says the African Wildlife Foundation’s Jef Dupain, the expedition leader for the grueling 60-mile (90-kilometer) journey. “We found more cartridges than signs of animals—and this is in the middle of
