Banana farmers on the edge of a vast national park on Cameroon’s Atlantic coast say they can no longer bear the destruction of crops at the hands of hungry elephants as conflict between humans and animals escalates.

Near the southern border with Equatorial Guinea, eight villages have lodged complaints with Campo Ma’an National Park, a vast area of ??jungle where the animals originate.

An estimated 500 gorillas and more than 200 elephants – both endangered species – roam the reserve’s 264,000 hectares.

A week after elephants leveled his banana plantation near the park, Simplice Yomen, 47, is struggling to come to terms with it.

“We’re at the end of our strength,” he sighs.

The elephants eat the new growth in the banana tree trunks after splitting them open.

Cassava, corn, sweet potatoes and peanuts are also popular snack foods, says park manager Michel Nko’o.

In Cameroon, the coexistence of humans and animals on the edge of dense forests is proving to be increasingly challenging.

Most of the crop destruction is recorded near protected game reserves.

For Nko’o, elephant raids have become noticeably more frequent since agro-industrialists settled at the park.

Another 2,000 hectares of forest were cleared to plant oil palm trees for Cameroun Vert, an industrial plantation project for which the government initially allowed 60,000 hectares to be cleared before protests reduced it to 39,000 hectares.

“The elephants that used to live here have run out of space and end up in people’s fields,” said park warden Charles Memvi.

In affected villages near the city of Campo, “three to four hectares of plantations have been destroyed, which means a great financial loss for the local people,” says Nko’o.

Elephants are blamed for 80-90 percent of attacks.

The rest are gorillas, chimpanzees, hedgehogs, pangolins and porcupines.

Almost all of these species are endangered due to habitat loss and/or poaching.

Daniel Mengata’s two hectares of banana trees were “ravaged” in 2020.

“The animals really discourage us,” admitted the 37-year-old.

“I cried when I saw the damage, because in one night a year’s work was undone. That really hurts.”

“I can no longer support my family,” adds Emini Ngono, 57. Hungry elephants have ruined their small farm that once produced pumpkins, cassava and potatoes.

Ngono says she could make more than 1,000 euros ($970) selling seeds for gourds, a traditional stable fodder across the region.

Logs from the forest are piled up not far away.

The shrill sound of a saw drowns out the chirping of birds as a group of trackers set off in search of rare gorillas.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched a “primate habituation” project a decade ago, focused on gorillas, to develop ecotourism in the region.

A portion of the proceeds should go to local communities to encourage them to help protect animals and reduce conflict with people.

Chimene Mando’o tracks primates.

“There! This is Akiba,” the 25-year-old yells after the gorilla calls.

Shortly thereafter, Akiba – which means “thank you” in the local Mvae language – appears briefly at the base of a tree just a dozen meters (yards) away before scampering off into the jungle.

“We need to find a way to generate some development… so that everyone benefits from this natural resource,” explains WWF biodiversity economist Yann Laurans.

The Forests and Wildlife Ministry says Cameroon has no legal framework to compensate people after attacks by animals from national parks.

WWF is testing and investigating an insurance system that protects people who lose their livelihoods to animal attacks.

Smallholder Simplice Yomen hopes for a safer future after setting up beehives to deter elephants from encroaching on his plantation.

Others try lemon trees and other prickly bushes to keep the elephants away.