Protected animals in my country (Cameroon)

Compliments of the season my fellow animal lovers and welcome to my blog as I share my thoughts about the contest “Protected Animals in my Country”. I will invite @rafk, @aviral123 and @bossj23 to share their thoughts about the contest.

There are several protected animals in Cameroon ranging from gorillas, chimpanzees, African grey parrots, etc. For the sake of the contest, I will discuss more in the subtitles below.

Animal population status (mention the name of the animal it comes from...)

As I earlier said, there are several endangered animals in Cameroon which are highly protected because of the fear of extinction by poachers, farmers, and infrastructural development.

Amongst these protected animals, the cross river gorillas are the top protected animals in Cameroon. In Cameroon, the population of the gorillas is about 200 according to statistics from the Cameroon Wildlife Center.

What causes habitat and environmental changes so that this animal is threatened with extinction or why this animal has become a typical animal of that region or country?

The first cause of gorillas' threatened extinction is as a result of poaching. The forest are not protected enough to save the lives of these animals from poachers. Poachers killed them indiscriminately and this species suffered extinction and needed to be protected.

Another reason for gorillas' extinction is deforestation. This is the act of cutting down trees by farmers to extend farmland. They cutsown trees without replanting and these animals are exposed for hunters to kill them.

The last but not the least is Industrial expansion. Many industries now move away from the city centres to the suburbs and this requires a vast area of empty land. As they expand, the animals around that area suffered extinction.

It is for these reasons that the Caneroon government created wildlife centres where some of these endangered animals can be given by good Samaritans for conservation.

Legal Status and Legal Protection (Mention the law that protects the animal.

Cameroon is a land of law with several laws protecting endangered animals. The first law protecting gorillas is the wildlife legislation. This legislation protects gorillas, chimpanzees, lions, elephants, etc. Those who violate the law, face heavy penalties and even imprisonment.

Also, Cameroon has signed the gorilla agreement with ten other countries where gorillas live. This agreement helps to protect this animal from extinction.

There is also border agreement signed between Cameroon and Nigeria because we share borders and they work in collaboration across the borders to fight against poachers at the borders.

In sum, Cameroon has good written laws to protect these endangered animals but the laws are not enforced enough to punish defaulters. Also, our legal system is too corrupt to the extent that one can poach freely or even bribe law enforcement officers to go unpunished.