- Client
- Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
- Sector
- Conservation NGO
- Location
- Nki National Park, Cameroon
- Year
- 2025
Planning cost-effective wildlife monitoring for Nki National Park, Cameroon
We gave ZSL a field-ready, costed camera-trap design to track forest elephant recovery in one of Central Africa's most remote parks.
Forest elephants are a focus of monitoring in Nki. © iStock
4
survey designs compared
3
countries' protocols aligned
96
camera stations in the final design
The challenge
Forest elephant numbers in Nki National Park fell by an estimated 78% between 2005 and 2015. ZSL needed a monitoring programme that could measure recovery, work in remote swamp forest and fit a realistic budget. It also had to produce data comparable with surveys in neighbouring Gabon and the Republic of Congo.
What we did
We reviewed past surveys of the park and its baïs (forest clearings) and then tested four camera-trap layouts, from 68 to 123 cameras, against budget, statistical power and access. Our recommended design combines a broad 6 x 6 km grid with intensive 2 x 2 km clusters at key baïs such as Ikwa and Makelekele. We added practical field guidance, including dry-season timing and flexibility to move stations by up to 250 m, along with a preliminary budget.
The outcome
ZSL received a costed design it can take straight to funders and field teams. It uses every available camera and matches Gabon's national grids, so results from Nki can be compared across borders.
