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

Central African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) populations are in serious decline due to poaching and habitat loss. Reliable estimates are urgently needed at a landscape level for informed management action for this wide-ranging megafaunal species. Here, we estimate the species abundance and distribution in the c. 11,000 km² Dja-Ngoyla Complex in Cameroon, a critical component of the 178,000 km² TRIDOM transboundary landscape. We assess threats to the population and compare our results with previous site estimates from 2018. A total of 1096.64 km line transects (559) were completed in 2021 using standing-crop dung counts method. The population estimate of 0.047 individuals/km2 (95 % CI: 0.032–0.067) and 509 individuals (95 % CI = 352–736) is similar to densities from other sites in Central Africa that have experienced elephant losses. Our study showed that elephants within the Complex are restricted to core areas, furthest from the boundary and areas experiencing anthropogenic development. The World Heritage Dja Faunal Reserve (5260 km2) had a stable population of 230 (95 % CI = 144–368) individuals, compared to our 2018 population estimate of 219 (95 % CI = 150–319) individuals. In the mixed land-use Ngoyla-Mintom, more dung piles were recorded in Ngoyla Faunal Reserve and adjacent Forest Management Unit 10–035. The study highlights the high risk of Dja’s elephant population becoming isolated. Promoting forest management certification to strengthen wildlife and habitat protection in all logging concessions is urgently needed and will also allow local communities to benefit from these forests.