Status and ecology of forest antelopes and other large mammals in the Ngoyla Faunal Reserve, Cameroon.

Ungulates have undergone major declines in Central and West African forests as a result of bushmeat trade and habitat loss. Monitoring forest ungulate status is a critical conservation need. We undertook a systematic camera-trap survey of the Ngoyla Faunal Reserve within the ∼11,000 km2 Dja-Ngoyla Complex, part of the critical TRIDOM forest landscape in Central Africa. We deployed cameras at 36 sites over 2,734 camera-trap days. We recorded 3,307 independent detections of 12 species of forest ungulates. The Peters' duiker and blue duiker were the most abundant, accounting for 71 % of all ungulate detections, both with occupancy >85 %. The black-fronted duiker and white-bellied duiker were relatively widespread but rare. There were very few detections of Bates' pygmy antelope, sitatunga, forest buffalo, and bongo. These findings are similar to our baseline population estimates of ungulates in the neighbouring Dja World Heritage site. Our study provides further evidence of ecological partitioning among the more abundant duikers based on activity pattern and body size. The Dja-Ngoyla Complex is integral to the 178,000 km2 TRIDOM conservation landscape. The landscape is a global conservation priority for securing the future of great apes, forest elephant, a community of forest ungulates, and other threatened species in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]