How Faunalytics Is Helping Conservation Efforts In Africa

When you think of Faunalytics, you probably think about public opinion data, such as our unique Animal Tracker survey. Or maybe you’d point to research on how to get better results for animals, such as our lapsed vegetarian study or our blog. Maybe you even know we have some great research articles in our online Research Library about the care of companion animals.

But did you know that Faunalytics is helping shape conservation efforts in Africa?

Atem Egbe was doing a simple search for the word “fauna,” related to his work as a conservationist in Cameroon, when he found Faunalytics. He was intrigued by the idea of a website that provides essential data for effective advocacy, and began browsing. The first article he came across was about youth attitudes towards veg*nism, but the more he looked, the more he found that would benefit his work.

Atem works with the Rainforest Trust, on a wildlife reserve downstream from Lake Ossa, on the Sanaga River. The vast area of the reserve covers habitat for a wide range of species, from elephants, to manatee, to chimpanzees, as well as a protected area for mangrove timber. At the time Atem found Faunalytics, he and his team were getting ready to set camera traps to do a sampling of animals around Lake Ossa, but all was not going smoothly. Bush pigs were constantly triggering the camera traps, skewing their results.

“The biggest thing holding back conservation work in Cameroon is a lack of sophisticated materials on how to better carry out surveillance of animals,” says Mr. Egbe. “Conservation can be slow. Ecological disturbance species indicators are useful, but methods need to keep being updated.” Looking at Faunalytics’ articles that mention camera traps, Atem was able to find relevant studies and other ways to accurately measure species abundance and health.

One of the things that Atem’s story highlights is how our Research Library may be used in unexpected ways. An article about camera traps helped Atem to discover more research, and ultimately refine his techniques. Whether it’s building the next generation of advocates, helping long time advocates improve their methods, or simply inspiring further research into a particular issue, our Research Library offers advocates at every level of their career a chance to learn. What’s more, we do it at a cost that is well below what you might spend on a cup of coffee each day: Atem was especially pleased to see that Faunalytics does its work efficiently, regularly delivering data to animal advocates at a cost of less than 10 cents per person.

Whether you’re a conservationist, a farmed animal advocate, a companion animal lover, or new to animal advocacy and don’t know where to start, we have you covered. Below you’ll find a selection of some of the most popular and useful resources available on our website. Check them out for a great introduction to our work!