Gorilla Hunter to Gorilla Saver, Tankoh Solomon Tayem

Meet ERuDeF’s Conservation Heroes

This is going to sound too good to be true, but there is always a soft spot in a tiny room even in the heart of a man who grows up killing animals for food and possibly money. Thus, after years of armed raids into the forests of Lebialem – Nkong, Besali, Bechati, Fossimondi, Bamumbu – hunting down the Cross River gorilla and the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee along with other wildlife species, Tankoh Solomon Tayem finally laid down his hunting gear. He had no doubt he was about to ‘repent’ and begin to protect his former victims. Solomon, as if by divine intervention, received encouragement and the technical catechism needed to transform him and convert him to the religion of wildlife conservation from ERuDeF.
By Ngueping Samuel & Che Azenyui Bruno
It is virtually a household name in every quarter in Nkong, Besali, Bechati, Fossimondi, Bamumbu and other Tofala adjacent communities.
Solo, as he is fondly known, had combed the length and breadth of the forest area now ‘conservationally’ called the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.
The hunter-turned-conservationist was born some 35 years ago in the small farming community of Besali in Wabane Sub-division.
Solomon Tankoh lived much of his youthful and even adult life hunting wildlife species in the forests of Besali and neighbouring villages. A hunter who never missed going back home with furry bundles of the White Monkey, the Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee and the Cross River Gorilla after every hunting expedition.
In 2012, following the launching of the project that culminated in the eventual gazettement of the forest into a wildlife sanctuary, Solo, like the Biblical Saul negotiated a U-turn, gave up hunting and decided to dedicate his time, resources and energy to saving the last available Great Apes within the sanctuary.
Today, although with just a smattering of book knowledge, Solo is an expert bio-monitor. He knows all the entry and exit points of the sanctuary and he readily identify and distinguish virtually all animal trail signs in the sanctuary.
Since 2012 he has been ERuDeF’s main bio-monitor of the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary regularly guiding volunteers and tourists.
“It has been a mixture of laughter, excitement and adventure accompanying ERuDeF staff, volunteers and tourists up the Tofala Hill and into the sanctuary. There are those who will start sweating just at the mention of a hill to climb into the sanctuary, while there are others who will come right along with you into the heart of the sanctuary without showing any signs of fatigue,” says Solo, who has the knack for identifying the strong and weak points of each volunteer.
A polygamist with six children, Tankoh admits that quitting his lucrative hunting career to depend on farming and bio-monitoring to sustain his family was indeed a difficult decision to make.
“I had to endure the hardship just so the children of these my six children can grow up tomorrow to see these animals and discover the wonders of God’s creation through them,” Tankoh says.
He says his vision of Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in the next five years is to see a sanctuary with about 300 Cross River gorillas and countless numbers of chimpanzees.
“I see a sanctuary whose adjacent communities shall, with limited or no external support, engage themselves in saving the wildlife species God has blessed this Lebialem Division with. Above all, I see a sustained improvement in the living conditions and standards of living of the people of Lebialem not just as hunters, small-scale farmers and trappers,” says Solo.
His best moments, Solo says, include sharing his experiences with people of varied nationalities while he leads them into the sanctuary.
His challenges: “I still have a problem equipping my campsite in the sanctuary, my tents are getting old and worn out and generally, just like any other person, I must say I need more.”