Cameroon: Mounts Kupe and Muanenguba

MOUNTS KUPE AND MUANENGUBA: THE CUSTODIAN OF TRADITION AND BIODIVERSITY.

The Kupe and Muanenguba mountains are chained mountains located in the Southwest and Littoral regions of Cameroon. They carry some of the oldest forests in Africa known to be found nowhere else in Africa.

The Bakossi mountains, an extremely large and continuous forested hills running several kilometres north is found to the west of these mountains.

The mountains serve as a water reservoir for most of the South-western areas of Cameroon with an altitude of over 2400m above sea level.

It is also home to some of the rarest wildlife and plants. It has been found that there are over 329 species of bird on Mount Kupe alone, making it very famous. Apart from birds, the mountains also contain many primate species, most of them of endangered species, found only in west Cameroon, eastern Nigeria and the Kupe-Bakossi Mountains are home to some healthiest populations still remaining.

The area too, has several species of Chameleon, many of them thought to be found nowhere else in the world. Some very important mammal species as elephants, rare antelopes and buffalo roam parts of the "black bush" (i.e the dense forest).

The Kupe-Muanenguba Mountains harbor the greatest sacred places in the Bakossi tribe. It is here that the best herbs are found and it is also where sacrifices are performed.

The chiefs of this area claim that the steep mountain slopes were designed to act as a natural defense to prevent man from challenging supernatural powers, so they claim that, any planned trip in to the mountains calls for traditional blessings or sacrifices.

There are so many Stories around the area on what has befallen so many people who have gone up the mountains without these traditional rites. The famous twin lakes of Muanenguba also carry mysterious stories with so many people believing that the founder of the Bakossi land resides in the male lake (the smaller one, the other and larger one being the female).

The summit of the mountain is almost always covered by dense clouds. Because of this, the locals believe that the living mountains are trying to hide what is left of its wealth.

Cameroon: Mounts Kupe and Muanenguba