Thierry Aviti, head of freshwater habitats and researcher at the University of Douala, looks on from a boat on Lake Ossa, in Dizangue, on December 10, 2024. Ever since his first hard-won sightings of African manatees, award-winning marine biologist Aristide Takoukam Kamla has been devoted to protecting the little known and at risk mammals. African manatees are found in fresh water along the coast of western Africa, such as in Cameroon's vast Lake Ossa where the researcher first saw them more than 10 years ago. (Photo by Daniel Beloumou Olomo / AFP)