Abstract
The royal palace museums of the Grassfields’ Kingdoms of West Region of Cameroon are well recognized for the preservation of culturally significant objects and practices. To date, the role of palace museums in wildlife conservation has received little consideration. Herein, a preliminary study into the animalbased artefacts of palace museums from a wildlife conservation perspective is presented. A total of 11 chiefdom palace museums in the West Region of Cameroon were surveyed and the animal species represented in their exhibitions recorded. Parts of 32 different animal species, including locally extinct large mammals such as lion, cheetah, chimpanzee, and elephant were found. The primary purpose for inclusion of specimens in palace museums was for preservation of culture. However, potential wildlife conservation focused uses to which palace museums may also put their collections are discussed herein.
 KeyWords: Grassfields, Bamileke, Bamoun, Culture, Education, Mammals.
 
 Les musées du palais royal des royaumes des Grassfields de la région de l’Ouest Cameroun sont bien connus pour la préservation d’objets et de pratiques culturellement significatifs. À ce jour, le rôle des musées de palais dans la conservation de la faune a été peu pris en compte. Ici, une étude préliminaire des collections animales de ces musées du point de vue de la conservation de la faune est présentée. Onze musées de palais de chefferies de la région de l’Ouest Cameroun ont été étudiés et les espèces animales représentées dans leurs expositions ont été enregistrées. Des parties de 32 espèces animales différentes, y compris de grands mammifères localement disparus comme le lion, le guépard, le chimpanzé et l’éléphant ont été découverts. Le but principal de l’inclusion de spécimens dans les musées du palais est la préservation de la culture. Cependant, les utilisations potentielles axées sur la conservation de la faune auxquelles les musées de palais peuvent également mettre leurs collections sont discutées ici.
 Mots clés:
Highlights
The Grassfields region of western Cameroon is renowned for its traditional chiefdoms, represented by Kings or fall under the leadership of traditional Chiefs (Fons), and in particular their royal palaces and treasuries
In total 32 animal species were recorded in the collections of royal palace museums
Notable other large mammal species recorded in museums that have been extirpated or are generally believed to be absent from the highland Grassfields region included, amongst others, lion, cheetah, chimpanzee, and elephant (Table 1)
Summary
The Grassfields region of western Cameroon is renowned for its traditional chiefdoms (chieftaincies), represented by Kings or Fons, and in particular their royal palaces and treasuries. The presence of treasuries in royal palaces pre-dates colonial conceptions of museums in Cameroon and speaks to a tradition of the preservation of artefacts and objects of cultural significance amongst Grassfields Kingdoms (Fubah, 2016a). Royal residences of the chieftaincies were traditional centers of political, economic, and social affairs (Ghomsi, 1985). Colonial and post-colonial administrations have brought considerable changes in governance to Cameroonian society, local kingdoms and their associated chieftaincies continue to have contemporary cultural and political significance in western Cameroon (Rowlands, 2011; Grace, 2015). Traditional royal treasuries have been considered to be a representation of the power base of kingdoms through display of material and religious objects (Fubah, 2016a). The roles of treasuries and religious shrines are traditionally intertwined; as places to cater for secret societies and the gods of the land and containing works of art and depictions of the evolution of that particular society (Talla, 2003)
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