World’s Rarest Gorilla Gets Protection in New National Park in Cameroon
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the government of Cameroon have just created a new national park to preserve habitat for the Cross River gorilla, the world’s most endangered great ape.
Besides the Cross River gorillas, the 261 square mile Takamanda National Park will also protect populations of forest elephants, chimpanzees, and a rare primate and close relative of the mandrill, the drill.
Takamanda also forms part of a trans-boundary protected area with Cross River National Park in Nigeria, safeguarding about 115 gorillas (a third of the Cross River gorilla population). Trans-boundary protected areas allow species to roam freely between nations.
