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Anthropogenic pressures are driving major declines in mammals, especially in unprotected areas. However, our understanding of how mammals coexist with humans and adapt to hunting in human‐dominated landscapes remains limited. Here, we used long‐term data (2008–2023) from an unprotected biodiversity hotspot facing hunting pressure and impending logging to model how Nigeria‐Cameroon chimpanzees and African forest elephants respond to hunting. We found that elephant occurrence was mostly associated with higher elevations and greater village distance, declined with increasing terrain ruggedness, and was not sensitive to hunting. In contrast, chimpanzee occurrence increased strongly with terrain ruggedness, moderately with elevation, and non‐linearly with village distance. It decreased with increasing hunting intensity. During 2008–2023, elephant occurrence remained generally stable but increased in high elevations and near rivers. Concurrently, chimpanzee occurrence declined, especially in areas with high hunting intensity and the species occurred increasingly away from villages. Overall, our findings suggest that hunting may predominately impact chimpanzees. Meanwhile, elephants may be more vulnerable to industrial logging that began after this study, likely outcompeting them in flatter areas. Our results highlight the urgent need to identify and secure key areas for both species to ensure their long‐term persistence alongside other land uses in this biodiversity hotspot. We used long‐term data (2008–2023) from an unprotected African rainforest facing hunting pressure and impending logging to model how Nigeria‐Cameroon chimpanzees and African forest elephants respond to hunting. We found that elephant occurrence declined with increasing terrain ruggedness and was not affected by hunting. In contrast, chimpanzee occurrence increased strongly with terrain ruggedness, non‐linearly with village distance, and declined with increasing hunting intensity. We call for urgent action to identify and secure key areas for both species to ensure their long‐term persistence alongside other land uses in this biodiversity hotspot.

Primate populations worldwide are experiencing rapid declines due to habitat loss, degradation, and overexploitation. These pressures are particularly severe across sub-Saharan Africa and the Gulf of Guinea biodiversity hotspot, which supports several threatened and endemic species. The Ebo-Makombe-Ndokbou forests in southwestern Cameroon contain critical habitat for several of these species, including the Critically Endangered Preuss’s red colobus ( Piliocolobus preussi ), found only in southeastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. Hunting and habitat loss and degradation from logging and agriculture are the main threats to primates in this region. In 2018 and 2019, we conducted 571.51 km of reconnaissance surveys and recorded 12,347 h of audio data from passive acoustic sensors to assess primate relative abundance and detect acoustic evidence of gun hunting and logging activities in Makombe and Ndokbou forests. Overall primate sighting frequency was low compared with West African forests containing similar primate communities, with Cercopithecus species the most widespread and frequently encountered. We recorded no verified encounters with Preuss’s red colobus, but we detected a putative vocalization near the remote Mt. Sinai region of Ndokbou forest. Acoustic sensors recorded gunshot activity throughout the study area, with intensity highest near villages and logging roads. These patterns suggest that logging infrastructure may facilitate hunting access, contributing to reduced primate abundance and a community skewed toward smaller-bodied, more ecologically flexible species. The detection of a possible Preuss’s red colobus call indicates that a small, remnant population may persist in Ndokbou. However, the absence of visual confirmations despite extensive survey effort suggests the species is nearing local extirpation. We recommend additional surveys in the Mt. Sinai area to assess the presence of Preuss’s red colobus in Ndokbou forest. The potential extirpation of Preuss’s red colobus foreshadows the decline of the forest’s other threatened primate species. Protecting the Ebo-Makombe-Ndokbou forests is integral to primate conservation efforts in the Gulf of Guinea.

Aim The long‐term survival of many mammal populations relies on how effectively we mitigate the threat from unsustainable hunting. Yet, hunting activities are often cryptic, especially in unprotected forests. Here, we investigate whether hunting signs can help understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of hunting activities in an unprotected African rainforest and examine how landscape characteristics predict various indicators of hunting. Location Ebo forest, Cameroon, Central Africa. Methods We recorded hunting signs (e.g., shotgun cartridges, wire snares, direct sightings) systematically on 23 parallel recce lines across the Ebo forest from 2008 to 2023. We assigned hunting data and spatial covariates (e.g., elevation, distance to village) to 1 × 1 km grid cells and applied generalised linear mixed models to predict the effects of these covariates on hunting. Results We found that hunting was commonplace across the entire Ebo forest. The best‐fitting models for each hunting sign differed considerably. Shotgun cartridges and all hunting signs combined increased significantly from 2016 to 2023 and varied non‐linearly along the village‐distance gradient. We found a progressive inversion of hunting trends along the anthropogenic gradient; between 2016 and 2018, wire snares declined with the distance to road but from 2021, they increased along the road‐distance gradient. Wire snares showed a similar pattern along the river‐distance gradient. Our results also revealed differences between shotgun hunting and snaring along the altitudinal gradient; the effect of elevation was positive on shotgun cartridges and negative on wire snares. Hunting signs and trails decreased significantly with increasing terrain ruggedness. Main Conclusions Using long‐term monitoring data, we show how hunting patterns change dynamically with respect to human and landscape‐related features. We also demonstrate complex hunting patterns along the gradient of human influence, therefore questioning the use of proxies such as the distance to human settlements and even topography to account for hunting pressure. Overall, we show that hunting sign data can reveal the spatiotemporal patterns of hunting, crucial in evaluating the effectiveness of conservation interventions and guiding the prioritisation of limited conservation resources.

Primate populations worldwide are experiencing rapid declines due to habitat loss, degradation, and overexploitation. These pressures are particularly severe across sub-Saharan Africa and the Gulf of Guinea biodiversity hotspot, which supports several threatened and endemic species. The Ebo-Makombe-Ndokbou forests in southwestern Cameroon contain critical habitat for several of these species, including the Critically Endangered Preuss’s red colobus ( Piliocolobus preussi ), found only in southeastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. Hunting and habitat loss and degradation from logging and agriculture are the main threats to primates in this region. In 2018 and 2019, we conducted 571.51 km of reconnaissance surveys and recorded 12,347 h of audio data from passive acoustic sensors to assess primate relative abundance and detect acoustic evidence of gun hunting and logging activities in Makombe and Ndokbou forests. Overall primate sighting frequency was low compared with West African forests containing similar primate communities, with Cercopithecus species the most widespread and frequently encountered. We recorded no verified encounters with Preuss’s red colobus, but we detected a putative vocalization near the remote Mt. Sinai region of Ndokbou forest. Acoustic sensors recorded gunshot activity throughout the study area, with intensity highest near villages and logging roads. These patterns suggest that logging infrastructure may facilitate hunting access, contributing to reduced primate abundance and a community skewed toward smaller-bodied, more ecologically flexible species. The detection of a possible Preuss’s red colobus call indicates that a small, remnant population may persist in Ndokbou. However, the absence of visual confirmations despite extensive survey effort suggests the species is nearing local extirpation. We recommend additional surveys in the Mt. Sinai area to assess the presence of Preuss’s red colobus in Ndokbou forest. The potential extirpation of Preuss’s red colobus foreshadows the decline of the forest’s other threatened primate species. Protecting the Ebo-Makombe-Ndokbou forests is integral to primate conservation efforts in the Gulf of Guinea.