Finally this thesis shed light upon Baka perceptions on wildlife changes and conservation measures, a process that is mostly negatively perceived by the Baka, who express feelings of marginalisation and fear due to the use of force and abuses from conservation agents. Previous patterns of status attribution to hunters are, however, being altered arguably because of the decrease in bushmeat sharing, notably by elephant hunting specialists. Variations in hunting practices relate to variations in hunting knowledge and skills, which in turn are reflected on different social status. Hunting is not equally practiced by all the Baka: while most Baka have relatively low hunting outputs, some others –pushed by economic incentives and the unregulated presence of shotguns in the area– seem to be largely involved in bushmeat trade. Nowadays, the Baka hunt and consume mostly small mammals, notably rodents, in a landscape seemingly depleted due to past over hunting. For the Baka, the acquisition and sharing of wild meat remains a critical symbolic and social practice, although the context of hunting seems to have changed to what was previously described. These data are associated with information from semi-structured interviews and from insights generated during long periods of participant observation.
Specifically, I used systematic surveys to collect data on informants’ (n=269) socio-economic characteristics, hunting outputs, hunting knowledge, status, and meat consumption. Through the different chapters of the thesis, I used an ethnoecological approach and combined data collected through qualitative and quantitative methods. To do so, I analysed the way Baka hunt, consume, and commercialize wild meat, but also how they interpret environmental changes and their potential impacts on social structure and wellbeing. This thesis provides a broad view of how the Baka society reacts to a fast changing context where fauna has become a major stake. The Baka "Pygmies" live in a context polarized by conservation measures on one side and economic incentives for bushmeat trade on the other. This thesis explores the socio-cultural aspects of hunting and wildlife crisis through data collected during 14 months of fieldwork in two Baka villages of southeastern Cameroon.
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