Vanishing giants: Assessing forest elephant status and conservation strategies in Cameroon's Dja-Ngoyla Complex

A recent study estimates that the forest elephant population in Cameroon's Dja-Ngoyla Complex, a critical UNESCO World Heritage Site, has declined to approximately 509 individuals (95% CI: 352–736), with densities similar to other threatened Central African sites. Using standing-crop dung counts across 1,096.64 km of line transects in 2021, researchers found elephants are increasingly restricted to core areas far from boundaries and anthropogenic development, particularly within the World Heritage-listed Dja Faunal Reserve (5260 km²), where the population remained stable at 230 individuals (95% CI: 144–368). The study underscores the urgent risk of isolation for this population and calls for forest management certification to protect wildlife and habitats across logging concessions, ensuring both conservation success and community benefits. These findings highlight the vulnerability of Central African forest elephants and the need for transboundary conservation strategies in the 178,000 km² TRIDOM landscape.

Fankem, O. Z., Bruce, T., Kobla, A. S., & Amin, R. (2025). Vanishing giants: Assessing forest elephant status and conservation strategies in Cameroon’s Dja-Ngoyla Complex. Global Ecology and Conservation, 62, e03843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03843