Chimpanzees

WCS has been surveying chimpanzee populations in Uganda (Andrew Plumptre), eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (John Hart), Rwanda (Michel Masozera) and Tanzania (Tim Davenport). As such, we have more information about this species in the Albertine Rift than any other conservation organisation. 

Chimpanzees are a good indicator of the health of an ecosystem and a good measure of conservation success. They are at increased risk of becoming extinct at a site because they live at low densities and have a very slow reproductive rate (one infant born every 5 years on average).

Chimpanzee numbers in Uganda. Circle size is proportional to population size. ©A. J. Plumptre

In Uganda WCS worked with the Jane Goodall Institute, Uganda Forest Department, and Uganda Wildlife Authority to survey all forests where chimpanzees occur and to estimate their numbers. Chimpanzees only occur in the west of the country. The results of this survey were published in the Albertine Rift Technical Reports Series (No. 2) (3MB).A total of 4,950 chimpanzees were estimated for Uganda. This was higher than had been predicted which was encouraging. However,  only four forests had populations greater than 500 individuals, a number that is often thought to be a minimum requirement for a population to be viable in the long term. There is a need to protect contiguous forests and natural habitats with corridors to form landscapes to ensure the long term survival of this species in Uganda.

Chimpanzees are not hunted much for bushmeat in Uganda, unlike in much of Central Africa, and this makes Uganda one of the easiest places to see chimpanzees as a tourist. Densities here are much higher than in the lowland forests of the Congo basin, reaching 2-3 individuals per square kilometer.