Towards the conquest of Manatees in the Lake Ossa of the Douala-Edea Wildlife Reserve

Tour summary

This overnight tour will take us to one of the wildlife reserve in Cameroon, the Douala-Edea Wildlife reserve, created in 1932 and today covering a surface area of 160,000 hectares. In 1971, it was uplifted to the status of a wildlife park for scientific purposes, though its actual implementation has been hampered by the supposed presence of crude oil in its subsoil.

Day 1: Yaounde – Edea – Dizangue – Lake Ossa – Dizangue

Through boat ride,s we shall be able to discover the two main reserves in this landscape; the larger Douala-Edea Reserve and the smaller Lake Ossa Reserve, having six ecosystems: tropical lowland rainforests, mangrove forests, beaches, swamps, rivers and freshwater lakes. Threatened species of animals such as forest elephants, chimpanzees, mandrills, African soft shelled turtles, marine turtles, sharks, rays and West African manatees still find refuge in this unique mosaic of habitats. However, the elephants, crocodiles, alligators and the turtles are almost extinct while the apes such as chimpanzees and monkeys are threatened by hunters. Also, wetlands are a haven for birdlife and over 70 water bird species have been recorded. They are also an important nursery area for a variety of fish and crustaceans, providing the basis for productive fisheries that local people depend upon for food security.

ZSL in partnership with the Marine Conservation Service and some local NGOs, have been working in this landscape since 2014, initially in the Lake Ossa Wildlife Reserve to pilot initiatives that engage local communities in the co-management of the reserve and its resources and ecotourism is an integral part of this pilot initiative. They are actually a project for the conservation of African soft shelled turtles and marine turtles for tourists to view around the Ossa lake area.

As we sail through the Lake Ossa through the Chimps islands, the Lake Tissongo and the mangrove areas around Siossio we shall see in the wild several species of bird, monkeys, and fish. Chimps and monkeys are conserved at some islands at Mouanko by a French NGO PAPAYE France.

Day 2: Dizangue – Edea – Yaounde

To conclude this tour, we shall have the possibility of conquering the “the water elephant”, the manatees around the Lakes Ossa and Tissongo and enjoy the specular display they effectuate on the surface of the lakes.

Tariff: 145.000F CFA/ pax for a couple; 105.000F CFA/pax for a group of 4 participants

NB: Plus 15.000 F FCA for foreign tourists as entry fees into visited attractions is elevated