A footage of Cross River gorillas, the world’s rarest, have been spotted in Mbe Mountain area of the state.
The video footage by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) captured about 4 female gorillas walking under the forest canopy with infants on their backs. Similar sighting have been made earlier in January when graduate students at the University of Calabar captured stunning footage of the world’s rarest great ape in the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary.
The extraordinary sightings with the trail cameras mark the first successful photos since graduate students began studying this elusive subspecies last year as part of the Cross River Gorilla initiative. Gorillas and other wildlife populations are being protected in Mbe Mountains through joint management and conservation efforts by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Conservation Association of the Mbe Mountains – an alliance of nine local communities.
It could be recalled that Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Wilder Institute invested over N8m to safeguard Cross River gorillas. They donated cameras, computers, and other tech that will go to Cross River National Park, the State Forestry Commission, and the University of Calabar.
According to a statement by Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), it is estimated that only about 300 Cross River gorillas remain in the wild along the Nigeria-Cameroon border. The NCF said it “continues to work with its partners to mobilise stakeholders and muster support to preserve the remaining population and their habitat to prevent the extinction of the gorilla in Nigeria.” No Cross River gorillas have been recorded or reported killed in Nigeria since 2012.
