Study

Good news from north-central Africa: largest population of vulnerable common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius is stable

  • Published source details Scholte P., Nguimkeng F. & Iyah E. (2017) Good news from north-central Africa: largest population of vulnerable common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius is stable. Oryx, 51, 218-221.

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

Action Category

Ban exports of hunting trophies

Action Link
Terrestrial Mammal Conservation
  1. Ban exports of hunting trophies

    A before-and-after study in 2000–2014 along a river within and around Faro National Park, Cameroon (Scholte et al. 2017) found similar numbers of hippopotamuses Hippopotamus amphibious before and after a ban on exporting of hippopotamus hunting trophies. Results were not tested for statistical significance. Two years after a ban on exporting hippopotamus hunting trophies, 685 hippopotamuses were counted, compared with 647 hippopotamuses counted 12 years before the ban and 525 counted four years before the ban. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) suspended exports of hippopotamus trophies from Cameroon in 2012. In March 2014, hippopotamuses were counted over three days in the dry season, along 97 km of the Faro River. Animals were counted between 07:30 and 17:30 h, by two teams of 2–3 observers. Observers walked through the riverbed at a speed of 1–4 km/hour. Similar counting methods were used in 2000 and 2008 (twelve and four years before the ban respectively) but precise details are not given.

    (Summarised by: Ricardo Rocha)

Output references
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