A wealth of Wildlife Endangered in northern Nimba County, Liberia

Mount Nimba is one of the most famous sites for biodiversity conservation in West Africa because of it high level of richness. People are concerned about the decline of tropical forest ecosystems and the decrease or disappearance of animal species has been attributed mainly to the destruction of habitat through human activities. In Liberia, the iron ore that constitutes the mountain body on Mont Nimba is now exploited by Arcelor Mittal Company. In the framework of its impact assessment process, Arcelor Mittal asked for a bushmeat study in its mining concession. We conducted a hunter's survey to better understand the motivations of the town communities and the human ? wildlife relationship. Then, the hunter's activities have been monitored to identify the animal species encountered in the game and to evaluate their local conservation status. The study reveals that all kind of wild animals in the area are considered to be potential prey and several species have been recorded in the hunting game. Through this study, it seems that many species are probably being driven or facing extinction in the area due mainly to agriculture and hunting activity; whereas in addition to hunting pressure, there are new threats to animals with mining activities and their direct and indirect consequences.