Hunting Pressure and Wildlife Decline around Lomami National Park (DR Congo): Hunters’ Perceptions and Conservation Challenges

The periphery of Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is under increasing hunting pressure, driven by both local subsistence needs and growing urban demand for bushmeat. This alarming context highlights the urgent need to understand wildlife population dynamics, particularly through the lens of local actors. This study aimed to assess hunters’ perceptions of the current availability of mammalian fauna around the park, in the absence of comprehensive ecological data. From October to December 2023, a snowball sampling method was used to conduct surveys with 60 hunters from nine villages surrounding the park. Sociodemographic profiles and hunting practices were analyzed using relative frequencies and Fisher’s exact test. Frequently cited species were used to assess perceived abundance and disappearance, and species similarity between near and distant zones was evaluated using the Jaccard index. Findings reveal that hunting is an exclusively male activity, predominantly carried out by individuals aged 30–40 years. Firearms are the primary hunting tools, and hunting is strongly influenced by seasonal patterns. It is practiced both in the park’s buffer zones and within its core protected area. This activity has led to the disappearance of key species such as Loxodonta cyclotis, Syncerus caffer, and Panthera pardus pardus, and to the significant decline of several Cephalophus species, once abundant in the region. These findings highlight a persistent pattern of overexploitation, resulting in a marked reduction in wildlife availability and posing serious threats to both biodiversity and local livelihoods. Urgent action is required, including enhanced monitoring, stricter enforcement of anti-poaching laws, improved ranger support, and the active involvement of local communities. This should be achieved through awareness-raising and the promotion of sustainable alternative livelihoods such as livestock farming, aquaculture, and agroforestry.