Impact of Livelihood Improvement on the Conservation of Large Mammals in the Bakossi Landscape, South West Cameroon

Large mammals at least the sizes of duikers are greatly affected by anthropogenic activities in the Bakossi landscape area. The improvement of the livelihood of indigenous population around and within protected areas can be of immense important to wildlife conservationists who want to succeed in their efforts or approaches of conserving large mammals in the landscape. A duration of one year of monitoring large mammals abundance and densities, and human activities have shown that, if those who live around protected areas are provided with alternative sources of proteins to rear or farm, this can boost wildlife conservation. It has also shown that hunting and agriculture are the most dangerous causes of wildlife declines because of a ready consumable market of bush meat in big towns and also due to land use dispute because of a growing human population that needs space for socio-economic activities and large mammals that want to forage. Alternative sources of proteins like Pigs, cane rat and goat rearing, snail and bee farming etc provide enough income than hunting and encroachment into protected areas for bush meat and farming. We strongly recommend livelihood improvement through the provision of alternative sources of proteins in the Bakossi landscape to ease large mammal’s conservation