Abstract
The Western subspecies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) is the second most endangered subspecies among the four recognized subspecies in Africa today. P. t. verus is patchily distributed and numbers between 21,300 and 55,600 individuals. P. t. verus is very rare or close to extinction in four West Africa countries, including Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal. It has already disappeared from the wild in Togo and the Gambia. The subspecies is also possibly now extinct in Benin. P. t. verus, therefore, survives mainly in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mali. Guinea is probably the country with the greatest number of chimpanzees in West Africa, with approximately 17,582 (8,113–29,011) chimpanzees nationwide. It is acknowledged today that the majority (more than 90%) of chimpanzees in Guinea are living outside protected areas. A large proportion of the chimpanzee population is believed to be living in the Fouta Djallon Region of Guinea, while it is estimated that a significant proportion also inhabits the forest region of Guinea. Hunting, poaching, the bush-meat and pet trade, and habitat loss variably threaten chimpanzee populations across different regions of Guinea. As human encroachment into chimpanzee habitat intensifies, the risk of disease transmission is also of increasing concern. This chapter aims to summarize the current status of P. t. verus across West Africa, as well as in Guinea, with a special focus on current and future threats.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Bermejo M, Rodriguez-Teijeiro JD, Illera G, Barroso A, Vila C, Walsh PD (2006) Ebola outbreak killed 5000 gorillas. Science 314:1564–1564
Brugière D, Kormos R (2009) A review of the protected areas network in Guinea, West Africa, with recommendations on the selection of new sites for biodiversity conservation. Biodivers Conserv 18:847–868
Brugiere D, Magassouba B (2009) Pattern and sustainability of the bushmeat trade in the Haut Niger National Park, Republic of Guinea. Afr J Ecol. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2008.01013.x
Campbell G, Radley P (2006) Primate and bird diversity in the Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, Togo. University of Calgary, Calgary
Caspary HU, Koné I, Prout C, de Pauw M (2001) La chasse et la filière viande de brousse dans l'espace Taï, Côte d'Ivoire. Tropenbos Série 2: Programme Tropenbos-Côte d’Ivoire. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Fleury-Brugiere M-C, Brugiere D (2002) Estimation de la population et analyse du comportement nidificateur des chimpanzés dans la zone intégralement protégée Mafou du Parc national du Haut-Niger. Parc National du Haut-Niger/AGIR project, Faranah
Fowler A, Sommer V (2007) Subsistence technology of Nigerian chimpanzees. Int J Primatol 28:997–1023
Goodall J (1986) The chimpanzees of Gombe: patterns of behavior. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Goodman M, Porter CA, Czelusniak J, Page SL, Schneider H, Shoshani J, Gunnell G, Groves CP (1998) Toward a phylogenetic classification of Primates based on DNA evidence complemented by fossil evidence. Mol Phylogenet Evol 9: 585–598
Granier N, Martinez L (2004a) First survey of chimpanzees Pan troglodytes verus in the Transboundary Protected Area, between Guinea and Mali (West Africa). Primatologie 6:423–447
Granier N, Martinez L (2004b) Première reconnaissance des chimpanzés Pan troglodytes verus dans la zone transfrontalière entre le Guinée et le Mali (Afrique de l’Ouest). Primatologie 6:423–447
Ham R (1998) Chimpanzee survey in the Republic of Guinea. In: Report for the European Union
Hockings K, Humle T (2009) Best practice guidelines for the prevention and mitigation of conflict between humans and great apes. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), Gland
Huijbregts B, de Watcher P, Ndong Obiang LS, Akou M (2003) Forte baisse des populations de grands singes dans le massif forestier de Minkebe, au nord-est du Gabon. Canopee 18:12–15
Humle T (2007) Behavioral and ecological monitoring of wild and released chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the ‘Parc National du Haut Niger,’ Guinea. Progress Report. Conservational International, Washington
IUCN (2009) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. <http://www.iucnredlist.org>
Köndgen S, Kühl H, N’Goran PK, Walsh PD, Schenk S, Ernst N, Biek R, Formenty P, Mätz-Rensing K, Schweiger B, Junglen S, Ellerbrok H, Nitsche A, Briese T, Lipkin WI, Pauli G, Boesch C, Leendertz FH (2008) Pandemic human viruses cause decline of endangered great apes. Curr Biol 18:260–264
Kormos R, Boesch C, Bakarr MI, Butynski TM (2003a) West African Chimpanzees: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group IUCN, Gland and Cambridge
Kühl H, Maisels F, Ancrenaz M, Williamson EA (2008) Best practice guidelines for surveys and monitoring of great ape populations. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), Gland
Lahm SA, Kombila M, Swanepoel R, Barnes RFW (2007) Morbidity and mortality of wild animals in relation to outbreaks of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Gabon, 1994–2003. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 101:64–78
Mittermeier RA, Myers N, Mittermeier CG (1999) Hotspots: earth’s biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregions. CEMEX, Mexico City
Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853–858
Nishida T, Corp N, Hamai M, Hasegawa T, Hiraiwa-Hasegawa M, Hosaka K, Hunt KV, Itoh N, Kawanaka K, Matsumono-Oda A, Mitani JC, Nakamura M, Norikoshi K, Sakamaki T, Turner L, Uehara S, Zamma K (2003) Demography, female life history, and reproductive profiles among the chimpanzees of Mahale. Am J Primatol 59:99–121
Plumptre AJ, Johns AG (2001) Changes in primate communities following logging disturbance. In: Fimbel RA, Grajal A, Robinson JG (eds) The cutting edge: conserving wildlife in logged tropical forest. Columbia University Press, New York, pp 71–92
Sayer JA, Harcourt CS, Collins MN (eds) (1992) The conservation atlas of tropical forests: Africa. MacMillan, London
Schöning C, Ellis D, Fowler A, Sommer V (2007) Army ant prey availability and consumption by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes vellerosus) at Gashaka (Nigeria). J Zool 271:125–133
Sugiyama Y (2004) Demographic parameters and life history of chimpanzees at Bossou, Guinea. Am J Phys Anthropol 124:154–165
Tutin C, Stokes E, Boesch C, Morgan D, Sanz C, Reed T, Blom A, Walsh P, Blake S, Kormos R (2005) Regional Action Plan for the conservation of chimpanzees and gorillas in western equatorial Africa. Conservation International, Washington
Walsh PD, Biek R, Real LA (2005) Wave-like spread of Ebola Zaire. PLOS Biol 3:1946–1953
White LJT, Tutin CEG (2001) Why chimpanzees and gorillas respond differently to logging: a cautionary tale from Gabon. In: Weber W, White LJT, Vedder A, Naughton-Treves L (eds) African rain forest ecology and conservation. Yale University Press, New Haven, pp 449–462
Wilkie DS, Carpenter JF (1999) Bushmeat hunting in the Congo Basin. An assessment of impact and options for mitigation. Biodivers Conserv 8:927–945
Acknowledgments
We are particularly grateful to Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Yukimaru Sugiyama, Hiroyuki Takemoto, Makoto Shimada, David Brugière, Marie-Claude Fleury-Brugière, Janis Carter, Christelle Colin, Saliou Diallo, Christine Sagno, and Elhadj Ousmane Tounkara for all their valuable contributions to our current understanding of the status of chimpanzees in Guinea. We also wish to thank Christophe Boesch, Mohamed Bakarr, Tom Butynski, John Oates, and all the participants of the workshop organized in Abidjan in September 2002 for helping develop the 2003 Action Plan for the West African Subspecies of Chimpanzee, upon which much of the information provided in this chapter is based. Finally, we thank all the people throughout West Africa who endeavor to conserve chimpanzees and to ensure their viability in the region.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Humle, T., Kormos, R. (2011). Chimpanzees in Guinea and in West Africa. In: Matsuzawa, T., Humle, T., Sugiyama, Y. (eds) The Chimpanzees of Bossou and Nimba. Primatology Monographs. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53921-6_41
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53921-6_41
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-53920-9
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-53921-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)