The Dja faunal Sanctuary, covering more than five thousand square kilometres, is situated in the south of Cameroon. It's called after river Dja, which giant curve makes up almost three quarters of the Reserve's boundaries. The Sanctuary was created in 1950 and has been recognized by UNESCO as a "World Heritage Site" since 1987. It has also been classified as a "Biosphere Sanctuary" because of its outstanding high density of species in danger of extinction, especially including large ape species. In the proximity of the Dja faunal Sanctuary there are several other protected areas, also within the tropical rainforest zone, like the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and Minkébé NP in Congo and Gabon respectively. These three together are known as the zone "TRIDOM" (the Dja, Odzala and Minkébé TRI-national).
The Cameroon south is situated in the tropical rainforest zone and is sparsely populated - local populations include several pygmee tribes. Still, as many other game reserves worldwide, the Dja Sanctuary is continuously menaced by illegal exploitations like hunting (poaching) and timber logging as well as mining activities. The Sanctuary is thus surveyed by rangers, here known as "eco-guards" - in service of the Cameroonian ministry of Forests and Faune (MINFOF).
It's raining all year round in this part
of Cameroon, but two seasons can be distinguished with a pronounced precipitation, that are the small rainy season
from early March till mid June and the great rainy season from early September till mid November.
The Sanctuary hardly has any motorable roads - it is primarily accessed on foot. The Sanctuary's best known entry is located near Somalomo village at the northern boundary.