Cameroon

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Geography
Cameroon is often described as "Africa in miniature" because it exhibits all the major climates and vegetation of the continent: mountains, desert, rain forest, savanna grassland, and ocean coastland. Cameroon can be divided into five geographic zones. These are distinguished by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features. At 183,568 sq mi (475,440 km2), Cameroon is the world's 53rd-largest country. of water. Geographic coordinates: 6°N 12°E .

Cameroon's coastal plain extends 10 to 50 miles (16.1 to 80.5 km) inland from the Gulf of Guinea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) to the edge of a plateau. In the former western state, however, the mass of Mount Cameroon reaches almost to the sea. Exceedingly hot and humid, the coastal belt includes some of the wettest places on earth. For example, Debundscha, at the base of Mt. Cameroon, has an average annual rainfall of 405 inches (10,287 mm). contiue reading


Ethnic Crossroads
The country has been described as an “ethnic crossroads” because of its more than 200 differentethnic groups. There are three main linguistic groups: the Bantu-speaking peoples of the south, theSudanic-speaking peoples of the north, and those who speak the Semi-Bantu languages, situated mainly in the west. The first Bantu groups included the Maka, Ndjem, and Duala. They were followed at the beginning of the 19th century by the Fang (Pangwe) and Beti peoples. The Sudanic-speakingpeoples include the Sao, who live on the Adamawa Plateau; the Fulani; and the Kanuri.

The Fulani came from the Niger basin in two waves, in the 11th and 19th centuries; they were Muslims who converted and subjugated the peoples of the Logone valley and the Kébi and Faro river valleys. The Semi-Bantu groups mainly consist of small ethnic entities, except for the Bantu-related Bamileke, who live between the lower slopes of theAdamawa Plateau and Mount Cameroon. Other western Semi-Bantu-speaking groups include the Tikar, who live in the Bamenda region and in the western high plateau. Continue reading


Settlement patterns
In general, there is a cultural division between the north and the south. The northern savanna plateau is inhabited by Sudanic and Arab pastoralists who migrate seasonally in search of grazing land, whereas the forested and hilly south is peopled by Bantu agriculturists living in permanent villages. The north is predominantly Muslim, whereas the southern peoples adhere to Christianity and traditional African religions.

The oldest inhabitants of the country are the Pygmies, locally known as the Baguielli and Babinga, who live in small hunting bands in the southern forests. They have been hunters and gatherers for thousands of years, although their numbers have consistently diminished with the decline of the forests in which they dwell.

Almost one-fourth of the population continue to adhere to traditional religious beliefs. Nearly half of the population are Christian; slightly more than half are Roman Catholic, while the remainder are Protestant. Sunni Muslims account for about one-fifth of the population.

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News from Cameroon

Chimpanzees’ grief caught on camera

A group of chimpanzees have been photographed seemingly grieving for the death of one of their own in Cameroon. More than a dozen chimps stand in silence watching from behind their wire enclosure as Dorothy, a chimp in her late 40s who died of heart failure, is wheeled past them. The chimps are from the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon. Locals from the village work as ‘care-givers’ for the orphaned animals whose mothers were all killed for the illegal bushmeat trade. The photo was taken by Monica Szczupider, who was working at the centre. Speaking about Dorothy, Miss Szczupider, 30, said the chimp was a “prominent figure” within a group of about 25 chimps. “Chimps are not silent.

Chimpanzees

They are gregarious, loud, vocal creatures, usually with relatively short attention spans”, she said.”But they could not take their eyes off Dorothy, and their silence, more than anything, spoke volumes. “The scene, which can be seen in November’s issue of National Geographic, is reminiscent of the gorilla Gana, who grieved of the loss of her baby in her compound at Muenster zoo in northern Germany. Gana fiercely held on to the corpse of her three-month-old baby Claudio until zoo keepers were eventually able to retrieve his body.

Scientists have previously discounted opinions of those who claim animals feel emotions as overly anthropomorphic. But a number of have also recognised that we must be anthropomorphic when discussing animal emotions. Dr Marc Bekoff, of the University of Colorado, previously wrote for The Telegraph: “That animals and humans share many traits including emotions is merely an extension of Charles Darwin’s accepted ideas about evolutionary continuity, that the differences between species are differences in degree rather than differences in kind. The seemingly natural human urge to impart emotions on to animals, far from obscuring the “true” nature of animals, may actually reflect a very accurate way of knowing.”

He has previously published observations of a magpie ‘funeral’ where a group of four magpies took it turns to approach the corpse of a dead bird, before two flew off to return with a piece of grass and lay it down beside the body. He also claims to have seen emotions in elephants. read more...


UB Freshmen Told To Be Citizen-intellectuals

Close to 6000 freshmen admitted into the University of Buea, UB, for the 2009/2010 academic year, have been told to be citizen-intellectuals. UB Vice Chancellor, Prof. Vincent Titanji, was addressing the students during the 17th matriculation of freshmen Saturday, October 31.

Fresh Men Titanji explained that citizen intellectuals are citizens are those will take Cameroon to higher heights. “To succeed, you must remain focused and work very hard, but also take time to relax and avoid bad friends,” he noted. While entreating the freshmen to gear their activities towards results-centered, Titanji cautioned them to be vigilant and guard against detractors of all types. In an academic discourse christened Let’s Be The Change, IT Consultant and Junior Chamber International Executive Vice President, Roland Kwemain, told the students to have desire for positive and peaceful change. Kwemain told the freshmen their successes and failures depend on them, but there are some ingredients of success, which include; exploiting leadership skills, show fellowship and the ability to be socially responsible. Earlier, UB Chaplains, drawn from the Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist and Muslim denominations, prayed for the freshmen and UB administration to be ambassadors of peace and agents of development. A freshman, Philomene Michelle Atabong, of the Department of Zoology, expressed confidence that her success in UB has begun with the matriculation exercise, which she described as inspirational.
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