Cameroon is endowed with both Cross River gorillas and western lowland gorilla which together with other attractions of the country have made the country a tourist destination in Africa
Cross River gorillas (CRGs) live in the English-speaking part of Cameroon bordering Nigeria, in small pockets of forest that are the focus of a conservation project but with no tourism component yet.
The only captive Cross River gorilla (CRG) can be seen at the Limbe Wildlife Centre which also cares for about 20 western lowland gorilla (WLG) orphans with a long-term goal – funding permitting – of rehabilitation back into the wild.
WLGs live in the French-speaking part of the country, such as the Campo-Ma’an National Park in the south-west, where WWF is developing ecotourism (but it’s early days yet, so gorilla-viewing is not guaranteed).
More rescued WLGs – orphans of the illegal bushmeat and wild animal trade – can be seen in forest enclosures at Mefou NP, close to the capital, Yaoundé.
A community-based initiative to habituate gorillas in the Lomié region, south-east of the Dja Reserve, had some success, but lack of visitors was a problem – head for Karagoua and Koungoulou if you want to be part of the solution.