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Common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibiusÍ? hereafter hippo) populations are declining in many African countries, with West African populations most at risk. In Gabon, population numbers are largely unknown, but are believed to be in decline despite national protected status, mainly due to poaching due to poor law enforcement. The Gamba Complex of Protected Areas (GCPA), in southwest Gabon, has been identified as an important area for hippo conservation. However, the last hippo survey in this area was conducted in 2011, making the current status of the hippo population in this area uncertain. Our study aimed therefore to estimate presentday numbers and occurrence of hippos in the southern part of the GCPA and to resample some of the locations of the 2011 survey in order to compare population trends in these selected areas. The results of our spatially targeted hippo survey indicate that hippos are still widely distributed in the southern part of the GCPA, especially along the coast. However, population numbers are rather low, with the exception of the Nyanga region (Nyanga and Mouambi rivers), which revealed stable population numbers (61 individuals) since the last survey in 2011 (56 individuals) and thus remains a key area for hippo conservation in the GCPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]