Abuh Forest Trek Tour

Abuh forest is one of the 11 community forests in Boyo Division. It is the only forest developed for eco-tourism, and visitors can now enter the forest with a guide. This trek will open your eyes to the diversity and splendor of the North West highland forests.

Along the way, you will experience the natural beauty of the hillside farms, ancient forests, plateau grasslands, swamp, and a hidden sacred cave with a waterfall flowing over the entrance. Abuh forest is also home to the famously endemic Bannerman’s Turaco,a magnificent red-crested bird found nowhere else in the world.

Itinerary

7:00 Meet at the reception center in Belo

7:30 Taxi to Fundong

8:45 Motorcycle to Abuh village

9:30 Meet guide in Abuh village and begin the trek

12:00 Break for lunch

14:00 Return to Abuh village

14:30 Begin trek to the Fundong office (our staff member to greet)

16:30 Taxi back to Belo (17:30 arrival)

Know About Mount Oku, Cameroon:

Amphibians are a disproportionately threatened group of vertebrates, the status of which in Sub-Saharan Africa is still uncertain, with heterogeneous fauna punctuated by mountains. Mount Oku, Cameroon is one such mountain, which holds many endemic and restricted-range species.

The history of amphibian research on Mt Oku, current knowledge on biogeography and conservation biology is reviewed, including recent findings. This updated inventory adds 25 further species, with 50 species of amphibian so far recorded to the Oku Massif (c. 900 to 3,011 m). This includes 5 endemics to Mt Oku, 7 endemic to the Bamenda Highlands, 18 restricted to the highlands of Cameroon and Nigeria, and 20 with broader ranges across Africa. This includes a new mountain locality for the Critically Endangered Leptodactylodon axillaris.

Among others, the first record of Phrynobatrachus schioetzi and Ptychadena taenioscelis from Cameroon are presented. The uncertainty of habitat affinities and elevational ranges are discussed. The proportion of threatened species on Mt Oku is 44.2%, but projected to increase to 47.9% due to new species descriptions and recent dramatic declines. The natural habitats of Mt Oku are irreplaceable refuges for its endemic and restricted-range amphibian populations under severe pressure elsewhere in their range.

Mount Oku does not form a clear mountain as it occurs on the Bamenda Plateau. Mt Oku is here defined by the boundary of its lower localities within the Oku Massif, such as Big Babanki (1200–1300 m), Bamo Forest west of Big Babanki (900 m), Babungo (1770 m), Ibal (1380 m), Belo (1530 m) and the Mbi Crater (2010 m) (Fig. 1). The term “Mt Oku” used throughout this paper does not exclusively address land controlled by the Oku community, but the land also controlled by other communities, such as the Banso, Mbessa, Kedjom-Keku, Fulani, and Kom, the latter for example primarily controlling the Ijim Ridge and forest.