林贝野生动物中心(Limbe Wildlife Centre)坐落在喀麦隆山西南脚下的海滨小镇林贝,距离最大城市杜阿拉(Douala)大约 80 公里车程。这里并不是一家传统意义上供人娱乐的动物园,而是一处由喀麦隆林业与野生动物部(MINFOF)与潘德里勒斯基金会(Pandrillus Foundation)共同管理的灵长类保护救助站。自 1994 年成立以来,这片占地面积虽不算宏大但植被茂密的区域,成了非洲中西部森林中那些因非法贸易和栖息地丧失而无家可归者的避风港。
在 1994 年以前,这里曾是一家条件简陋的维多利亚动物园。随着保护意识的觉醒,林贝野生动物中心接手了这一场地并将其彻底转型。如今的中心更像是一个兼具康复、教育与社区发展的综合机构。走进大门,你首先会感受到这里湿润的空气中夹杂着雨林特有的泥土气息。这里的核心任务是救助被非法捕猎或作为非法宠物饲养的动物,最终目标是在条件允许的情况下将它们送回野外。目前中心常年庇护着超过 15 种灵长类动物,总数超过 100 只,其中很多是年幼时就失去了母亲的可怜小家伙。
这里不仅是西部低地大猩猩和黑猩猩的家,更是全球范围内观察钻头猴(Drills)最重要的场所之一。由于偷猎压力巨大,这些灵长类动物在喀麦隆境内的野外生存状况不容乐观。中心不仅仅提供食物和住所,更致力于模拟自然的社会群体结构,让这些高度社会化的动物能够重塑正常的族群行为。看着饲养员定时分发果实,不同年龄段的猴子在树丛间穿梭打闹,这种充满生命力的场景比在铁笼里看它们发呆要震撼得多。
如果你是灵长类动物爱好者,林贝野生动物中心绝对能让你大开眼界,因为这里拥有世界上数量较多的圈养钻头猴群落。钻头猴长相极为特殊,黝黑的面部和结实的体格让它们看起来威严而神秘。这些动物主要分布在喀麦隆和尼日利亚交界的狭窄地带,野外数量极为稀少。在林贝,你能近距离观察到雄性钻头猴那色彩斑斓的臀部和极具攻击性的犬齿。由于它们生性警觉,在野外几乎不可能看清全貌,但在林贝的围栏区,只要你有足够的耐心,就能记录下它们精妙的社会互动。
大猩猩展区永远是人头攒动的地方。这里的西部低地大猩猩大多有着令人心碎的背景,它们的母亲往往死于非法野味贸易。在工作人员的悉心照料下,这些大猩猩学会了重新信任人类和同类。观察这些庞然大物时,你会惊讶于它们那极具人性化的眼神。不少游客在这里停留超过一小时,只为看一眼那些幼年大猩猩如何在成年大猩猩的看护下翻滚嬉戏。这里没有马戏团式的表演,有的只是动物们在相对自由的环境中展现出的本能行为。
从杜阿拉出发前往林贝通常需要 1.5 到 2 小时。建议在杜阿拉租一辆带司机的越野车或者乘坐前往林贝的小巴。路况整体尚可,但如果你在雨季出行,道路可能会因为暴雨变得湿滑难行。到了林贝之后,野生动物中心就在靠近植物园的区域。如果时间充裕,可以顺便去林贝特有的黑沙滩吹吹海风,那里由喀麦隆山火山灰堆积而成的沙滩在非洲大陆非常罕见。钱的问题也得算清楚,对于外国游客,目前门票价格通常在 5000 西非法郎左右,建议携带小额零钱,因为售票处有时很难找零。
清晨或者午后是最佳的参观时段,因为正午时分气温极高,很多灵长类动物会躲进茂密的树丛中纳凉,你可能只能看到空荡荡的草地。林贝的气候常年闷热潮湿,短袖长裤是标配,长裤能有效防止蚊虫叮咬。记得随身携带一瓶矿泉水,中心内部的自动贩卖设施几乎不存在。要是你打算拍摄高质量的照片,虽然不用像去远距离驱车游猎那样准备超长焦镜头,但 200mm 左右的长焦端依然能帮你捕捉到动物神态的细节。千万不要在围栏旁大声叫喊或者试图投喂食物,这在当地是非常不礼貌且违规的行为。
林贝野生动物中心的门票收入以及游客的捐款主要用于动物的日常口粮支出和兽医耗材。据统计中心每年需要消耗大量的本地水果和蔬菜来喂养上百只灵长类。由于政府拨款有限,门票收入对于维持救助站的日常运转至关重要。
普通游客通常花费 1.5 到 2 小时就能走完全部开放区域。由于中心内部步道相对集中,不需要高强度的体力消耗。如果你是专业的自然摄影师或者想通过信息牌了解每一个品种的背景,建议预留出一个上午的时间。
如果是直接从杜阿拉市区包出租车往返林贝,费用通常在 30000 到 50000 西非法郎之间波动,具体取决于你的议价能力。对于预算有限的背包客,去杜阿拉的 Bonabéri 车站乘坐共享出租车会划算很多,单程票价通常不到 5000 西非法郎。
这里并不提供狮子、大象或水牛等大型陆栖哺乳动物的观赏。它的定位是灵长类救助中心。如果你想看非洲五霸,建议前往喀麦隆北部的瓦扎国家公园(Waza National Park),两者的观光体验完全不同。
Gündüz Kalender The Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) is a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation education project in Cameroon. It was founded 1993 and is managed by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) and the Pandrillus Foundation. Pandrillus aims to protect Cameroonian wildlife in collaboration with the government to enforce wildlife law, inspire a new generation of conservationists and bridge the gap between welfare and conservation.
Jitiz Louis Even though I expected to see more variety of wildlife in the facility but didn't, I was still totally impressed by the selfless work they do. Besides, they're not a zoo and can only have animals they rescued. The few animal species we saw there are kept in spacious and airy conditions with few installations that help them play and climb. There are equally signs and messages at every corner of the center raising more awareness on wildlife protection. As an environmentalist and conservationist myself, I definitely rate them highly.
Sally Tabe The reception was warm, it had a variety of monkey species, crocodile. Though I didn't see lots of other animals I had expected but I loved the environment. Their pizza tasted amazing, my kids had a great time running around.
Eleanor Fonji the environment is serene. Chimpanzees, monkeys and mandrills are the main animals there.There are also artifacts which you could get. Taking pictures aren't restricted and the entrance fee is 500frs. So I'll give it an overall 8/10
Bodas Djoumessi I see why they emphasize on the Wildlife center as the name rather than zoo. For the first it's okay - a bunch of wild animals in a cages is a wild life center. But for a zoo this thing is no where near. Unfortunately I was after a zoo experience so you guess my disappointment. It's quite good, 90% mammals and just still as scanty as it was 12 years ago when I first visited as a little boy. I hoped lots would have changed in 12 years but well...! However something changed at least, some confiscated gorillas were new on scene. Unless my memory fails me, I think there were fewer mammals and animals in total than before... how sad! Overall I can't say it wasn't exciting all the same... Relax my mind a great deal! Thanks!