Franciso Ekang, Field Operations Manager for one of our Conservation Projects in Equatorial Guinea, recently returned from his regular visit to the south of Monte Alén National Park, where we are implementing activities to support human-elephant coexistence. Here we find out what a day in the field looks like.

The journey to the south of the park is often uncomfortable, long, and hot, and this time was no different as the project team and I drove down the bumpy road surrounded on either side by dense forest. The southern area of the park, close to the border with Gabon, is one of three areas along the periphery of Monte Alén National Park where we have teams working as Rapid Response Units and monitors, in an effort to support peaceful coexistence between local communities and the park’s Critically Endangered forest elephants. Elephant crop-foraging is a significant issue here, causing devastation in farms and leading to tensions with communities and, in some cases, retaliatory killings of elephants.

Relieved to have arrived, I was eager to hear the latest news. I first met with members of the Rapid Response teams to hear about any recent elephant invasions into farms and which methods were effective in driving the elephants back into the forest. There had been few invasions lately, but by combining different methods such as air horns, torchlights, and alarms, they were successful in deterring the elephants back into the forest. Ensuring that they have these functional tools is vital, so a member of the team inspects the materials, including the project bicycles, and notes down any issues. In this case, everything is in working order.

Photo of Rapid Response Unit member, Antonio Rosendo, and equipment (bicycle not pictured).

I then accompanied Maria, one of our community monitors, to her farm, where cassava, banana, and plantain are cultivated. Maria collects data on the amount of crop foraging that takes place each week to help us understand the levels of foraging and which animals are causing the most damage. It soon became apparent that an elephant had been feeding during the night as its dinner plate-sized footprints peppered the ground all around us. In this case, our camera trap had also captured some videos of the offending elephants, and we can see that it was a large group, including a calf!  

Camera trap video still of an elephant crop-foraging in one of the monitoring farms

We have camera traps in each control farm, which all need to be checked, as well as have their batteries and SD cards changed. The team also takes the GPS perimeters of the foraged farms, which help us to understand if there are certain areas where crop-foraging is more likely to happen. Elephants are not the only ones responsible for crop foraging, and Maria is keen to point out damage done by cane rats, a constant nuisance to farmers in Equatorial Guinea.

Francisco (left) and Project Assistant, Bernabe Esono Ekang (right), installing a camera trap in a control farm.

No visit to the field would be complete without meeting our most important stakeholders, the local community. I met with village leaders and farmers to discuss the project activities. We had a long discussion about their concerns relating to crop foraging wildlife, and in particular, an upcoming hands-on workshop where we will provide training on further mitigation measures that the community can adopt to further reduce crop foraging.

Happy with the team’s performance and all the valuable data collected, I provide the monitors and Rapid Response Unit teams with new data sheets and project materials for the following month of activities and head back to the city of Bata.  However, conservation work does not stop in the city, and my days are busy planning the next steps of the project, email correspondence, reviewing data, compiling reports, and meeting with project partners. No two days are the same, but seeing our work have a positive impact on local communities and wildlife is something I find highly rewarding, and that’s what really motivates me every day.

Note: this is a condensed account of the original report, translated from Spanish, co-written by Francisco Ekang and UWE Conservation Leadership student Sean Brogan.

Find out more about our projects in Equatorial Guinea below.