Assessment of the Status of Chimpanzee Populations in Western Tanzania

Abstract

Surveys were made in 1989, 1990, and 1991 to assess the status of chimpanzee populations in western Tanzania outside of the Gombe and Mahale Mountains National Parks. The survey area covered 30 transects of varying lengths amounting to 564.4 km. A total of 106 chimpanzee beds were counted. Six direct encounters were made in the Ugalla area east of Busondo and eight near Mukuyu Village in the Kabogo area. A total of 21 different groups of chimpanzees were identified. The presence of chimpanzees in the Ugalla area east and west of the Mpanda-Uvinza main road, the area northeast of Kabogo Point, east of Kabogo near Mukuyu Village, in the Mukuyu Hills and Mt. Karumpeta was confirmed, indicating that the more centrally located habitats of Kasakati, Makolongo, Filabanga, Masangwe, and Ishanda escarpment remain inhabited by chimpanzees. Signs of chimpanzees were also noted in the areas north and south of the Mahale Mountains National Park, with possible habitat corridors to these areas. On the other hand, Gombe National Park appears to have been cut off from the small isolated habitats of Kwitanga and Kalinzi which were identified to have chimpanzees. The habitats selected by chimpanzees are dominated by natural forests in rugged, hilly terrain well interspaced with rivers. Shifting agricultural practices, uncontrolled bushfires and habitat fragmentation were identified as the major threats to the survival of chimpanzee populations found in Western Tanzania outside the two national parks.