Dezang: Ever since he first spotted African manatees, award-winning marine biologist Aristide Takokum Kamala Dedicated to protecting little-known and endangered aquatic mammals.
African manatees are found in freshwater along the coast of West Africa, such as Cameronis wide Osa Lake Where the researcher saw them more than 10 years ago.
But they are shy creatures who need to get out before dawn to see them when the lake is glassy and calm, to follow the trails of bubbles and, maybe just, to catch two big nostrils while taking a quick breath. is better
“I was expecting to see them like this on YouTube: in clear water, jumping like dolphins… a completely surreal idea” from publications on manatees in Florida, the 39-year-old Cameroonian smiles. Did you miss
However, their African cousins are very different and the then University of Dschang apprentice researcher had to queue for a long time before receiving the prize.
Thanks to local fishermen, Takokum Kamala has now learned how to easily spot African manatees in the murky depths of the 4,500-hectare (11,000-acre) Lake Osa, part of a sprawling wildlife reserve in southwestern Cameroon. is
They are her “favorite animals,” the subject of her doctorate at the University of Florida — and the reason she won this year’s prestigious Whitley Award. which recognizes the biodiversity work of grassroots conservationists.
endangered habitat, Poaching
American scientist Sarah Freinelli cried as she watched five African manatees, including a female with her calf, walk out on the lake with Takokum Kamala.
“It’s huge! There are some places in Africa where it’s impossible to see them,” said Farinelli, who is 30 and studies marine mammals in Nigeria.
Much about Trichechus senegalensis still eludes researchers — how many are in Cameroon; How long do they live? When and where do they migrate?
African manatees are found between Mauritania and Angola, but “it’s a very little-studied species, with a lot of mystery still surrounding it,” Takokum Kamala said.
Sometimes known as the sea cow, the large marine herbivore is listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
But the Cameroonian scientist believes this is “an underestimate of the true status of this species, which is subject to poaching” and whose habitat is “constantly under threat”.
Takokum Kamala founded the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization, which has five laboratories, including one in the lakeside fishing village of Dzango.
At Osa Lake, the animals’ only predators are humans — just a few years ago, manatees were still being served in village restaurants.
Manatee hunting is now illegal and the dish has disappeared from the menu. There is even a blue manatee statue in his honor.
But the threats remain.
Takokum Kamala, standing by the lake, points to an artisanal palm oil refinery whose waste is dumped into the water.
Another danger is setting nets across the lake to maximize the catch because it can “trap the little manatees in their nets,” he complained, arguing heatedly with a fisherman in his dugout canoe.
“We are local, we make a living from it and we have never faced restrictions at home,” the old man said bitterly.
“If you want to ban us, you have to pay us every month.”
Biological warfare
Relations between scientists and local communities whose fishing traditions have been passed down from generation to generation are difficult.
But an environmental threat that struck three years ago brought their two worlds together.
Half of the lake’s surface was covered by the invading giant Salonia — Salonia Molista. — a free-floating plant that has made the lake uninhabitable for both fish and manatees.
To combat this, the scientists used a microscopic worm that feeds exclusively on Salonia and enlisted the help of fishermen.
“They used to take weed-infested salonia and put a little bit everywhere in the lake,” said AMMCO researcher Thierry Avetti.
Three years later, the dangerous plant has disappeared.
“At one point, we couldn’t take it anymore,” said Dezango fisherman Thierry Bosambo, but promises were kept, marked by memories of long fishless nights.
Bridges built with fishermen is something Takokum Kamala wants to maintain to avoid “parachute science,” a term that refers to scientists who drop from their academic ivory towers to work in the field in local communities. come for
And to combat potential poaching, he wants to develop the area. Ecotourism.
It is a “priority”, agreed Gilbert Om Ndjoka, curator of nearby Douala-Adia National Park, who said “all stakeholders are allies for conservation”.