KCP visits local Wildlife Clubs

An important goal for the Kibale Chimpanzee Project (KCP) is to reach out to local communities to share what we are learning about chimpanzees and to increase awareness about the conservation threats that chimpanzees are facing, both in Kibale and elsewhere in Africa.

Senior KSRP ranger, Mugisha Paul, demonstrates to members of the Kyanyawara Wildlife Club how wire snares work.

At the end of September, members of the KCP team visited local primary schools to talk with students involved in Wildlife Clubs, which are extracurricular groups that participate in various environmental activities (click here for more information about these activities).

In his presentation, KCP photographer Andrew Bernard explained what it was like to observe chimpanzees in the wild and discussed the basics of chimpanzee social behavior, emphasizing chimpanzees’ similarity to humans and why they are in need of protection. Representatives from the Kibale Snare Removal Program (KSRP) talked about how illegal snare traps – even those meant to capture animals like bushpigs – can severely harm chimpanzees and how their daily patrol work helps to rid the park of these dangers.

Wildlife Club members showed great interest in these presentations and asked many good questions. It was also an excellent opportunity for students to interact with local role models who work in the field of conservation. We look forward to working with these groups again on future educational projects.

KCP photographer, Andrew Bernard, talks to the Kasiisi Wildlife Club about chimpanzee research.

This program was carried out in collaboration with The Kasiisi Project and was funded in part by the Jane Goodall Institutes of Austria and The Netherlands.

Update on Special’s snare injury

In early Oct, Special gripped a branch while climbing a tree, a sure sign that she is recovering dexterity in her fingers (photo: Andrew Bernard).

Special was the latest Kanyawara chimpanzee caught in an illegally set wire snare, which had tightly wrapped around her right wrist, causing a severe injury. Veterinarian David Hyeroba, who works with JGI-Uganda, removed Special’s snare in late July, assisted by the KCP team (see August 15 blog post).

We are happy to report that Special’s condition has steadily improved since her surgery. Special was observed again in mid-September, and by then, had regained some use of her injured right hand. She could not put weight on it while walking, but she was using her hand to scratch herself, an indication that she had recovered partial feeling in her fingers. She was also using her right hand for support while climbing trees.

Even more encouraging, when Special was seen in early October, she was observed gripping a branch with her right hand, showing partial dexterity in her fingers. We are hopeful that these improvements mean that Special may recover full or nearly full use of her hand, making her a very lucky chimpanzee and an intervention success story.

Only a shallow scar remains around Special’s healing right wrist, which was almost completely severed two months ago (photo: Andrew Bernard).

Most chimpanzees injured in snares will not be this fortunate, however, so it is imperative that KCP continues its efforts to remove snares set within the chimpanzee range.

-entry by Andrew Bernard

Special’s snare injury

Special sits low in a tree, favoring her injured wrist (photo: Andrew Bernard).

Though chimpanzees are not usually targeted by poachers in Uganda, they sometimes get caught in snares meant to catch game such as duiker and bushpigs. On the morning of July 28^th, KCP researchers and field assistants observed a wire snare wrapped around the right wrist of Special, a sub-adult female in the study community. The injury was estimated to be about one week old and is the first one that has been observed at Kanyawara in 7 months. Special was followed closely for the rest of the day, and a veterinarian working with the Jane Goodall Institute-Uganda (JGI-U) was called to attempt to remove the wire.

The next day, researchers found Special in a large group of chimpanzees feeding in the northern part of their home range. The party spent the morning travelling, and Special’s injured wrist was obviously a severe physical and social impediment. She couldn’t use her right hand to walk, climb, or support any weight (see video here), and although she was travelling with the large party, she was often secluded, grooming herself and gnawing at the wire on her wrist. Her behavior was notably lethargic and unmotivated, likely due to the pain and her decreased feeding.

At about 12:30pm, JGI-U veterinarian David Hyeroba arrived. Special was resting on a low branch of a tree, lying with her back towards the vet – an ideal position for darting. Because the anesthetic takes about five minutes to take effect, and darted chimpanzees usually flee right away, losing Special before she fell asleep was a risk. That is exactly what happened! After Special was darted, she rushed down the tree so quickly that nobody could tell in which direction she went! The team unsuccessfully searched for her for 30 minutes, then luckily located Lanjo, a young adult male, who led them directly to Special, who was now fast asleep.

Vet David Hyeroba and KCP Field Manager Emily Otali work on Special (photo: Joel Bray).

Special’s wound was very deep, with the wire cutting down to the bone almost around her entire wrist. David thought she might still regain use of her hand, however. So instead of amputation, he opted for a thorough cleaning and stitching of the wound. Special was under anesthesia for about two hours, and after another hour and a half of recovery, she began walking at a seemingly normal pace. She travelled a bit and rested for an hour before climbing into an old low-lying nest in the early evening.

The seriousness of Special’s injury is obvious after the snare is cut off and the wound cleaned (photo: Andrew Bernard).

Special is still moving quite gingerly. She climbs trees, albeit with an exaggerated effort, and still avoids using her right hand. She has bitten out her stitches, as David expected would happen. Unfortunately, Special was also beaten quite badly on August 8^th by several adult males, which opened her wound even further. The wound bled, which is encouraging because it suggests that her hand is still vascularized. Special’s long-term prognosis is uncertain, but it seems likely she will never regain full use of her hand. This sad incident emphasizes how important it is for KCP to continue its snare removal efforts so that injuries such as Special’s can be prevented in the future.

-entry by Andrew Bernard

Students Debate Kibale Conservation Issues

The Kibale Chimpanzee Project (KCP) Debate Cup is underway! For the second consecutive year, KCP is co-sponsoring a debate competition with our collaborator The Kasiisi Project for students in five primary schools bordering Kibale National Park. Participants debate issues relevant to the conservation of Kibale and its resident chimpanzee population. The aim is to give children a public forum to voice their views on these topics. This information will also help us better understand local perceptions about the park and help inform our future conservation education efforts. The debate program was funded by a Jacobsen Education Development Grant from the International Primatological Society.

To see videos from this year’s competition, click here and here.

A student debater argues a point (photo: Amy Hanna)

Teaming up to protect Kibale’s chimpanzees

Kanyawara and Ngogo snare removal teams jointly patrol the park boundary (Photo: Andrew Bernard).

In May 2012, KCP’s snare removal program, which operates around the Kanyawara study site, hosted the snare removal team from the Ngogo chimpanzee study site, which is also within Kibale and lies 10 km to the southeast of Kanyawara. Both teams collaborate with the Uganda Wildlife Authority to remove snares set illegally within the park which can injure, maim, and even kill chimpanzees.  At the May meeting, the two teams jointly patrolled the park boundary to learn from each other’s techniques and experiences. They also met with Kibale officials to discuss the current state of snare patrols in the park.  This meeting marks the beginning of increased collaboration between the two projects that will hopefully translate into increased protection for all of Kibale’s chimpanzees and other resident wildlife.

Participants in Kanyawara-Ngogo snare removal team training day (Photo: Andrew Bernard).

What sparks fights between chimpanzee communities?

Since the 1970s, researchers have known that male chimpanzees defend
group territories, and that fights between groups can be deadly.

But what triggers these fights? Do chimpanzees go looking for trouble? Do they get into fights over mates or over some other resource, such as food? And when they do meet the neighbors, what determines whether they fight or flee? Are they more likely to respond aggressively if they are defending mates, or young infants, or food? Or does strength in numbers matter more?

A study that appears in this month’s issue of the journal Animal Behaviour sought answers to these questions using 15 years of behavioral and ecological data collected on Kanyawara’s chimpanzees.  The study, led by Michael Wilson, found that intergroup encounters occurred most often when key foods attracted chimpanzees into border areas. Once Kanyawara chimpanzees detected their neighbors, though, their response depended mainly on strength in numbers, rather than the presence of food resources or
mates.

Read the full article here.

Kanyawara chimpanzee behavior profiled in National Geographic

Wangari, an adolescent female, carries a stick while traveling and feeding in a fig tree (photo: Alain Houle).

Kanyawara juveniles – especially females – carry sticks in a manner suggestive of a rudimentary form of doll play (see May 8, 2011 post). A photo of chimpanzee “dolls” appears in the Sept 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine. Click here to view the photo.