May 2001 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 Page 1

Volume 4, Number 1 May 2001

Editorial by Vernon Reynolds

Welcome to another in our BFP Newsletter series. assistant Alfred report In this issue we look back to the “good old days” (or good progress with finding were they bad?) with a contribution from Bob Plumptre out where these chimps (Andy’s father) on the pre-Amin days. Another old- range, and whether they return timer, Patrick Boston, returned to Budongo recently to the main forest block. and writes about his new project on butterflies. And We had some preliminary discus- we have some further contributions from recent visi- sions in September 2000 with Kinyara Sugar Works about tors to Budongo. I await articles from our Ugandan how to set up a buffer zone between the ever expanding students – please write – what do you think of Sonso sugar fields and the forest, to protect the wildlife from snares camp? Tell us about your projects and experiences. and traps, and to protect the sugar crop itself. Geresomu has We also discussed joined Zephyr at with the local people Nyabyeya For- and with Frank estry College, both Turyatunga of EPED are training for the how to replant a cor- Forestry ridor of trees along Technician’s Cer- the Kasokwa river, to tificate. Thanks to re-join the Kasokwa the generosity of forest reserve to the Cleveland Zoologi- main Budongo block. cal Society, we are Both these are tricky able to continue our issues and will cost staff development money, and we’re a programme and we long way from achiev- are very proud of ing them but at least this. Photo: J. Wallis the ideas are now tak- Our snare re- ing shape. moval programme The Staff of the Budongo Forest Project. Vernon displays the plaque Following the has re-started and awarded from the American Society of Primatologists Norad conference in we hope this will September 1999 we benefit our chimps eventually - but they continue to had a second one in September 2000, with a greater focus on suffer. Last September, Zefa, now a fine young adult local issues – protection of the forest and its wildlife, in- male, appeared after a week’s absence with a snare come generation, tree planting, ecotourism and crop-raid- around all the fingers of his right hand. We discussed ing. We enjoyed a half-day visit to the impressive visitors’ whether to intervene (Wayne Boardman was willing to centre at Busingiro (Budongo Forest Ecotourism Project). try and dart him to remove the snare) but as he was The conference was followed by a Training Course in March feeding well and the hand did not appear to be infected, 2001, the agenda for which was determined by the local we decided against. The danger would be that he might community. Villages in Budongo sub-county sent represen- climb after being darted and fall and injure himself. tatives for a week’s training (see Latest News box These snares are an awful problem. on page 3). Many thanks to DFID for funding these events, We’ve extended our chimp studies to Busingiro and and to all at Nyabyeya Forestry College for being such Kasokwa. At Busingiro the chimps remain afraid of excellent hosts. humans – we think this is a result of the continued BFP is now 10 years old! We had our 10th anniversary illegal pit-sawing there which happens at night. At party in September 2000 and enjoyed ourselves. It was nice Kasokwa (near Masindi) Richard Kyamanywa and his to see former staff members there – Joy and Francis, Dissan and Priscilla – who now live and work at Kinyara. Last but not least I must mention the awards we re- ceived in our 10th year – the President’s Award from the American Society of Primatologists which Janette Wallis presented at the September party, and the Chairman’s Award from the National Geographic Society which was presented in Washington in November 2000. And there was another nice surprise – a plaque from the Project’s Steering Com- mittee. It’s fine and gratifying that our efforts are appreci- ated both locally and internationally. Thanks to you all. BFP is forging its own destiny. We are not following any known pattern. We try in our own small way to do high quality research with a human face – to always remember the hopes and ambitions of our staff as well as those of our students, and to remember also that we

Photo: J. Wallis don’t exist as an “ivory tower” in the midst of poverty, but Sonso chimpanzee, Kalema, and her newborn that we are part of the local scene, we have a duty to assist daughter Kumi. Kumi means “ten” in Kiswahili; the the good people living nearby in any way we can. Some of infant was named to commemorate the Budongo Budongo Forest Project Forest Project’s Tenth Anniversary. our recent initiatives are moving closer to this objective. Page 2 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 May 2001 Budongo Before Amin by Bob Plumptre I was first posted to Uganda in January River, topping them and hand winching them bought by the Patel family who still own it. 1957, as a young and very raw forest officer into place before putting on the decking. The They installed a pressure treatment plant with no tropical experience other than spend- winch plus cable was left in the forest over- and then a particle board mill to use sawmill ing the first six years of my life in India. night and by the morning the cable had lost residues. Preservation made it possible to Within two weeks, equipped with a new several strands. Snaring animals in the forest use most non-durable species, as almost all Land Rover, I was sent up the road to is not new. of these were easy to treat, and the particle Budongo to relieve Arnold Beaton, for 5 board mill made it possible to use slabs and months, as District Forest Officer at offcuts, which formerly had been sold very Busingiro; he was going on leave. The house cheaply as firewood, to make a moderately was set in a beautiful garden on a hill facing valuable product. It was used in making par- West; it looked over forest and savanna, with tition walls, ceilings and in furniture. Late in a strip of Lake Albert visible at the foot of the ‘60s, they installed a mosaic parquetry the 8,000ft high Congo mountains some 30- manufacturing machine to convert muhimbi 40 miles away. The District Forest Office flooring strip into finished parquetry squares was in the garden, 10 yards from the house, and parquet blocks for traditional herring so commuting to work was not an insur- boned parquet floors. By 1970, the only mountable problem. After the 5 months I major equipment lacking for good utilisation was posted to Fort Portal for two years and of muhimbi at Budongo was a timber drying then back to Busingiro for a year and a half, kiln to dry the timber fully to 8-12% mois- this time as Assistant Principal of the For- ture content before it was made into the fin- est School at Nyabyeya but working with ished parquetry product. students on practical work in Budongo. The Siiba block and most of the Biiso From then on I was based in other parts of block of the forest had been completely felled Uganda; from 1963 until 1971 I was Forest by 1957. In 1968, after a competitive ten- Utilisation Officer at Nakawa Forest Sta- der, a concession was given to Sikh Saw- tion, Kampala, dealing with forest products mills (SSM), to construct a new sawmill in research and forest industry development Bob Plumptre - in the early years Hoima and start a second felling in the Siiba throughout the country; this job took me on block, some 30-40 years after it had origi- regular visits to Budongo. The Ecologist in the ‘50s and early’60s nally been felled. The conditions of the SSM The forest had been explored and many was Colyear Dawkins who had established licence required a large number of species to species identified as early as 1904 by Dawe numerous research plots; he usually in- be cut and modern sawmill equipment and and then by various foresters including spected them at the double which left me advanced layout to be used; this included a Eggeling and Dale. By 1957 “The Indigenous well behind, mentally and physically; these log turner (to make it easier to use defective Trees of the Uganda Protectorate” had al- plots included trials of various arboricide logs and get better quality timber from good ready been written and working plans were treatments to kill “weed species,” i.e., those logs) and a pressure preservation plant; the in force. Budongo was a Central Govern- which could not be felled and sawn economi- ratio between forest fees tendered for ma- ment Forest. In 1965, Martin Rukuba be- cally at that time and which were preventing hogany and the lowest priced timber came head of the Central Government For- the regeneration and growth of “desirable (muhimbi) was 35:1, indicating the wide dif- est Department, taking over from George species” (the four mahogany species, muvule ference in sale value between species. There Webster. The DFO was in direct charge of (Milicia excelsa) and a number of other spe- was plenty of mahogany but other species all Central Government Forest and acted as cies). Muhimbi (Cynometra alexandri) was were also used extensively. SSM had sea- an adviser to the Local Government Forest by far the most abundant weed tree, with soning kilns in Jinja, but they were a long Service. Small areas surrounding Budongo some 1.4 million cubic metres of standing way from Hoima. were classified as local government forests volume in Budongo and Bugoma at that time; Parallel to the developments in utilisation and were under the control of Matthew other common weed trees were the dense of different species, trials were made in re- Byabazaire, head of the Bunyoro Local Gov- foliaged understorey species such as ducing the damage caused by felling and log- ernment Forest Service during the mid ‘60s. Funtumia and Bosquiea (now Trilepisium), ging. A wheeled logging tractor was obtained Budongo forest, in the ‘50s and early both easily utilisable species if preservative through Canadian aid for the Nakawa re- ‘60s, was being selectively felled by treated. Muhimbi and the other very hard search mill. It was used mainly for trials in Buchanans Budongo Sawmills whose man- timbers or the very soft light timbers like Kifu forest, where that mill was felling, but ager was Robin Knight. Annual coupes were Ricinodendron heudlottii presented more of also for demonstrations elsewhere. Budongo allocated by the DFO’s office and felling of a problem but the latter is a very good balsa Sawmills continued to use crawler tractors “compulsory species” had to be completed substitute. Muhimbi is a very dense, close but logging damage was reduced consider- before the mill was allowed into the next grained red timber with an unobtrusive but ably by training in directional felling and log- coupe. Early in 1957 Robin complained that very attractive figure; it makes a top class, ging organisation given by a German expert the heavy rain had made it impossible to log very hard wearing floor and was used for the from ILO in about 1966; he spent several in his main coupe and he wanted to use the floor of the Festival Hall in London in 1952, months in the country training a team, which wet weather one allocated to him. In happy supplied by Budongo Sawmills. I have not then went round training workers at saw- ignorance I agreed, but the next day he casu- checked but I am fairly sure it is still there. mills. By the late ‘60s, a procedure had been ally mentioned that he was about to fell some By 1970 arboricide treatments had been dis- introduced for most mills whereby all felling large trees, with white rings painted round continued throughout the country as most coupes were enumerated and the tree loca- them, in an area near the mill; did I need to species were being used. tions were mapped before felling took place. think again? It was a research plot near the Budongo sawmill was the largest in the Each tree to be felled was thus marked on a natural forest conservation area next door to country and progressively cut more species map and logging trails were planned on the the Budongo Project camp. I sheepishly as time passed but it was less successful in map before felling started. Felling and cross agreed that I did. using large numbers of species than mills cutting was done by chain saw but planking Later that year we built a bridge by fell- working nearer Kampala, in forest less rich with chain saws was not allowed, or prac- ing two muhimbi trees across the Sonso in mahoganies. In the early ‘60s the mill was tised illegally, as few knew how to use them. May 2001 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 Page 3

Silvicultural and ecological research was With this technology available, what do What is the present position in Uganda carried out in both natural forest and planta- you end up doing? Hopefully, in natural pro- regarding industrial wood products? Current tions. Extensive research was done, with duction forest, you tailor your harvesting methods of using the natural forest timber varying degrees of success, into getting good intensity, as far as you are able, to obtain resource are inefficient and wasteful. Some natural regeneration of a range of species in sustainable timber production from most, if species like the mahoganies have been grossly Budongo. Trials of enrichment planting with not all, of the species already there. In doing over-exploited while others (including Celtis, mahogany striplings 6-8ft high were made this, you conserve as much as you possibly Cynometra, Mildbraediodendron, in felled forest in the Biiso block; they were can of the wide variety of wildlife in the Erythrophleum, Ricinodendron species and planted in lines through the forest from 1949 production forest, helped by nearby strictly most of the smaller understorey species) have for about 4 years but were discontinued as reserved conservation areas; it needs to be been left. Only large logs are sawn. The non- elephants strolled down the lines destroy- remembered that even untouched forest durable species are seldom preservative ing a very high percentage of the trees. changes and as it changes it favours some treated. Virtually no timber is properly dried Greater success was obtained with smaller species of animal against others. You, there- before being used and large slabs which could seedlings, mainly Maesopsis but also some fore, select how many trees, of carefully con- provide timber are left in the forest. Uganda Khaya in Mengo forests where the elephant trolled sizes, you remove in each location, may be green and apparently well treed over population was lower. If you protect el- doing as little logging damage to the forest as much of the country but currently it only ephants in the Murchison Park just North possible in the process. If your harvesting, has enough production forest to supply of Budongo maybe the elephants are happy conversion and marketing technology is good about 3% of the (sustainable) production of but the mahoganies suffer, whereas if you you can do this profitably and a pretty good the 2 million hectares of plantation in the allow the army to shoot the elephants, as stab was made at it in the late ‘60s. In the United Kingdom. It has only 14,000 hect- Amin did, maybe the mahoganies cheer? process you get quite high volumes of tim- ares of softwood plantations which are cur- However, elephants unfortunately benefit ber out of the forest per hectare harvested, rently supplying a substantial proportion from the “Dawkins furry animal syndrome”! without over-cutting any one species. The of the construction timber used. UK only By the time Amin took over, the knowl- volumes you can get this way far exceed produces 20% of what it needs and imports edge and equipment were available to use volumes you will get from currently used the rest at a cost of about £10 billion per and make a saleable product from all except methods of pitsawing. What you do to ani- year. My guess is that the pressure on the about three natural forest species of sawable mals and wildlife in general has been studied forest in Uganda is going to be very serious size. Sawing trials with small logs had shown in much more detail by the Budongo Forest very soon. Fiddling around with inefficient it was possible to saw trees down to 25cm Project than it was before Amin. It was as- pitsawyers who are not encouraged to de- diameter (1ft dbh producing some logs down sumed that the wildlife would survive if the velop into efficient sawmillers does not seem to 9 inches diameter) and obtain a good tim- multispecific nature of the forest was re- to be a sensible option. It is a 19th century ber recovery so under-storey trees could be tained, gaps are relatively small and sustain- answer to a 21st century problem. - Bob felled down to this diameter if desired. able management for timber was practised. Plumptre, rPlumptre@compuserve. com.

Latest news… The result was a Training Course, which catching vermin (chimps can be released from was held on March 19-23, 2001. Twelve vil- this trap), and a visit to the NFC apiary The Budongo Forest Project has been lages from Budongo Sub-county elected rep- where we were introduced to the Langstroth making greater efforts recently to work with resentatives and were joined by five addi- hives being made and used at the college as the local community. We have always tional village representatives of BUCODO well as to more traditional bee keeping meth- wanted to do this but hitherto we have not (Budongo Community Development ods. had funding for anything other than some Organisation), and spent a week at This training course was a great success, assistance to local schools and villages. In Nyabyeya Forestry College on the course. and it will be of interest to see if, in the 2000, we obtained a grant from DFID (De- The villages had themselves selected five coming months, the new ideas and initia- partment for International Development) to topics for training, one topic each day from tives we talked about so enthusiastically bear run a conference and a training course. This Monday to Friday. The topics chosen are fruit. A Report on the Training Course has was our second conference and it took place featured in the box. been written by Dr. Chris Fairgrieve and is on 7-8 September 2000 at Nyabyeya For- The training talks were followed by available from BFP. estry College, just one year after our first breaking into small discussion groups, which Many thanks to all who helped with conference. The title was “The 2nd Budongo then re-convened with further items for dis- organising the meeting – the staff of NFC, Conference: Development through Conser- cussion. There was a non-stop flow of ideas the trainers, members of BFP, especially Mr vation” and it was organised in collaboration and discussion, with many questions from Mnason Tweheyo, and a big thank you to with the Faculty of Forestry and Nature the floor. Practical events included: on-site Mr. Fred Babweteera who put a huge and Conservation at Makerere University. Be- instruction at the NFC tree nursery, a dem- sustained effort into making this course the sides relevant people from Kampala, this onstration of a new type of live trap for success it was. - V.R. - (May 2001) time we included members of local commu- nities living around Budongo Forest. Three • Poverty, Micro-finance and Group formation – training given by Mr. Samuel papers were presented, on tourism, collabo- Kyaligonza of Kigumba Cooperative College and Mr. Benson Turamye of Envi- rative forest management, and research. We ronmental Protection and Economic Development (EPED), Masindi. visited the Budongo Forest Ecotourism • Seed collection, Nursery work, and Tree planting – training by Mr. William Project site at Busingiro where we received Mugume and Mr S.P.M. Okellowanje of Nyabyeya Forestry College (NFC). a lecture about the centre’s activities. On the • Vermin control and Crop raiding – training by Mr. Christopher Byarugaba of final afternoon, suggestions were invited the District Wildlife Management Unit, Masindi (DWMU) and Dr. Kate Hill of from local people as to how we should Oxford Brookes University. organise the training course. All contributed • Bee keeping – training by Ms. Khamiat Kusiima of Nyabyeya Forestry Col- ideas which were then followed up over the lege (NFC). next few months by Fred Babweteera. A • Collaborative Forest Management and Legal Aspects of Forest Manage- conference report has been written by Dr. ment – by Ms. Fiona Driciru (Forest Dept, Kampala) and Mr. Martin Alomu Janette Wallis, and is available from BFP. (District Forest Officer, Masindi). Page 4 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 May 2001 Getting Genes from the Budongo Forest Chimpanzees by Andrew Brownlow By 1996, over a dozen chimpanzee com- them. Not for the last time, we managed to munities in Africa had undergone some sort get a bit lost! During our walk, though, we of genetic analysis and the time had come did come across two of the Sonso field as- for the Sonso community to be surveyed as sistants, Zephyr Kiwede and Geresomu well. Muhumuza, quietly observing a party of In order to analyse wild chimpanzee genes chimpanzees. These were the first wild we first have to obtain tissue samples. Blood, chimps I had ever seen but I only managed food wadges, faeces and hair are all possible to see some black shapes moving through sources. Chimpanzee hair is mostly made the undergrowth as they disappeared si- from a protein called keratin but at the base lently into the thick forest. of each hair the follicle is made of living cells, It turned out that it was Geresomu who which contain a small amount of the requi- was to work with me in collecting the nest site DNA. As chimpanzees shed hair much hairs over the coming months. In the first as humans do, hair is a relatively accessible few weeks I was totally dependent on him

source of genetic information from wild chim- to identify the chimps and even to show the Wallis J. Photo: panzees. way into and out of the forest. How feasible would it be to track a group of chimps to An occupied chimp nest. Research in Budongo Forest their nests at dusk and to retrieve hairs from the nests at dawn? We simply did not know. showed selection of particular tree species I arrived at the Sonso site in the back of a However, early on both Geresomu and I for nest building and a preference for pickup at sunset in late August of 1996. At realised that we were going to collect a lot of Cynometra alexandri and other tree species the time I had something of a plan as to how very detailed information about chimpan- that are mainly found in unlogged forest. I to collect hair samples from the chimps. I zee nests over the course of the three found that male chimpanzees nested lower had read at least two accounts of hair months, and from the start we took detailed than females, this difference being exagger- sampling from other researchers in Africa. records of each nest. ated in the case of injured individuals. Nests The best way to gather enough hair from the By the time Stany arrived 3 weeks later that were made during the day were found chimps was to watch where they built their we were able accurately to note down an to be structurally simpler than nests made nests each night and then climb up in the entire party of chimps as they nested – not at dusk. The day nests were built in tree morning to comb the nests for hairs. As I a simple task, deep in the forest at dusk. species that were used for feeding and built had not climbed a This was important, as at the same height as feeding episodes. All in tree since my we had to match the all, the analyses suggested that day and night childhood, I was hairs to the nest occu- nests serve very different functions for chim- relieved when pant in order to obtain panzees. Vernon Reynolds useful tissue samples. suggested the name Stany, though, was www.budongo.org of a man in Entebbe equally vital, and it was who might climb only after he arrived After I had finished the analysis, in search trees for me. Some that our work began in of money as much as anything, I got a job at days before my earnest. He used a rope an e-commerce company – and I still work arrival at Sonso I had and a panga knife to in that field. My web design experience put visited this climber, climb fifteen or twenty me in a great position to help Vernon with Stany Nyandwe, at metres into the trees the fledgling Budongo Forest Project website the Uganda Wildlife and he would either and now the Project has a cyber-presence at Education Centre pick out the hairs there www.budongo.org. (UWEC) on the and then, or chop down shores of Lake the nest for us to pick Genetics of the Sonso community Victoria in Entebbe. through on the ground. He had agreed to The chimps themselves Tycho Peterson, an MSc student in Ox- climb for me, but did not seem overly ford, analysed the genetics of the chimp hairs could not get time Reynolds V. Photo: worried at our strange that I brought back. His work gave us the Andrew Brownlow off from his work at interest in their nests, first glimpse into the genetic structure of the the Centre until the apart from once, when Sonso community. His results showed that 13 September. This was an important time Stany climbed up without checking that the the Sonso chimpanzees form a cluster when for UWEC, as the chimps were getting chimp had risen, and both of them got the their mtDNA is compared with that of other ready for their transfer to an artificial island shock of their lives! In all we gathered data chimpanzees in East Africa and further afield. environment inside the Preserve, and so I on 201 nests over the three month period. He showed that genetic diversity in the am indebted to Stany’s employer, Debbie Thanks to Stany we got hairs from 56 nests Sonso community was higher than that of Cox, for giving him time off from his vital – a wonderful result given the difficulties (European) human populations but slightly work with the chimpanzees there. and uncertainties of the work. lower than that of other East African chim- As I waited for Stany to arrive at Sonso, panzees. I very much hope that this study I used the time to explore the forest and to Nest analysis in Oxford is the first of many that will shed light on familiarise myself with the individual chim- the history and behaviour of the forest chim- panzees. When I first got to the Sonso site, After I got back from Budongo Forest I panzees. Further studies may show, for ex- I met Harriet Bennett and her friends, at the analysed the findings about nests at the In- ample, the kin relationships between the end of her study of kinship in chimpanzees, stitute of Biological Anthropology in Ox- chimpanzees. - Andrew Brownlow, London, and my first trek into the forest was with ford. An analysis of the location of the nests [email protected]. May 2001 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 Page 5 Budongo Revisited by Patrick Boston In 1964, I ings of the life cycles are at the Natural His- Some memories started tory Museum, London. An edited version A distant voice could be heard as I ap- teaching at of her early diaries entitled ‘Love Among proached the Nature Reserve. On approach- King’s College, The Butterflies’ was published by Collins in ing more closely I thought that someone was Budo near Kampala. 1980. addressing a public meeting, the voice was During the next ten years, I In the 1960s, I made sorties into the for- so loud and oratorical. Soon I came upon a visited Budongo Forest many est from the Forest Station Rest House. The field assistant by the name of George, a large times. At that time there were three tracks were then kept open and it was pos- and exuberant man, who was assisting a main places to stay: the Budongo Forest Sta- sible to drive for miles in a robust car. Only Ph.D. student from Bristol, named Angela, tion near the foot of Busingiro Hill, the once did I see an elephant which filled the in recording the activities of squirrels. He Makerere Field Station on the far side of the track, fortunately at some distance. The main spoke into a dictaphone while radio-track- hill, and Baggaley’s Small Hotel at the edge reason for my forest visits, apart from some ing their behaviour. Angela could not per- of the forest on the Butiaba Road. tape recording, was to obtain forms of the suade him to talk quietly and so there he In the 1930s, W.J. Eggeling described his polymorphic swallowtail butterfly Papilio was booming into the forest and very early days as a forest officer in Budongo. He dardanus for Professor Clarke of Liverpool. pleased to see anyone. He claimed to work tells of the construction of the first Forest C.A. Clarke and P.M. from dawn till dusk – with one Station at Busingiro and how the Lake Albert Sheppard produced or two breaks. Hotel (later The Makerere Field Station) was many papers on the ge- Twenty three people, includ- acquired as the Provincial Headquarters of netics of polymorphic ing several children and a baby, the Forestry Department. Eggeling describes butterflies. The yellow plus their luggage, plus several the view over the forest from the veranda of and black male of large sticks of matoke plus two the Forest Station where he spent many P.dardanus occurs only large bags of rice, squeezed into happy evenings and from where he would in this form which has a Mitsubishi pick-up truck, often see elephants, chimpanzees and other tails. The males can fre- which swaying dangerously, animals. He describes the ‘terrific view’ with quently be seen in the made its way along a wet murram wooded savannah running down to the Lake forest. The females, road to Nyabyeya. The crack of Albert rift and Lake Albert itself with the which occur in a variety lightning and thunder came very Congo Hills in the distance. On this site he of colour forms, do not close, soon followed by the tells of a leopard seizing a terrier from under have tails. They are less most intense rain I had experi- the nose of its owner while he sat reading. frequently seen because enced. A mist arose and the for- In the 1930s, Eggeling describes the they seek food plants est sprung to life with the calls shooting of elephants, buffalo and other amongst the vegetation. of countless tree frogs, as if that game. A game licence was £5 per annum, an The female forms Patrick Boston was the moment they had been elephant licence was £10 for two and £20 mimic the generally dis- waiting for. It was a magic mo- for three, but one could walk for 400 miles tasteful species of Acraeinae and Danaidae. ment. On our way back we found several to obtain a good pair of tusks. My task was to catch and send live butter- newly fallen branches across the path. Those days are now gone, but in the 1960s flies to Liverpool. They were fed on a dilute On one occasion safari ants invaded my I visited both Forest Department sites and sugar solution and sent post haste in a poly- room at night. Fortunately, I was awake and Baggaley’s Hotel. All were delightful places styrene container. Many survived for up to so I heard them approaching. There was rus- to visit for a few days; chimpanzees could a week. This hobby started a life long inter- tling and scurrying. The rustling was due to often be heard from the Forest Station Rest est in butterflies. the thousands of ants and the scurrying due House and the views from both Forest De- After the establishment of the Budongo to the animals fleeing from them. I quickly partment sites were undiminished. Forest Project in 1990, I was given the op- rose and awoke the young Norwegian stu- In 1996 I returned to Budongo and, with portunity to undertake a more serious study. dent, Rune, who slept next door. This was the help of transport provided by Chris My aim was to compare the butterfly popu- difficult because he slept with ear plugs, he Bakuneeta, both Rune Solvang, a student lations in the selectively logged forest, N3, thought that the army was coming. Local from Norway studying forest birds, and I with those in the Nature Reserve, N15. On people use ash or paraffin to stop the ants, were able to visit the remains of the Forest site in 1995 there were expected and unex- fortunately there was paraffin nearby. We Station. It had been plundered for building pected difficulties, eg., essential materials sprinkled the floor and walls with paraffin materials. Due to lack of time we were un- were temporarily unavailable, an assistant and this eventually stopped them. I spent able to locate the Makerere Field Station, proved unreliable, and there was insufficient the rest of the night in an atmosphere of but I understand that it had also been ran- time to have a trial run before starting field paraffin with the light on - in case ants came sacked. Baggaley’s former hotel appeared to work. Then there was the rain – an unsea- through the ceiling. be a drinking site. Despite the partial de- sonable amount? – that is open to question, One afternoon at camp I noticed that struction of the buildings, these sites still but it was discouraging for the study of but- Thomas Wagner, a visiting research ento- have the potential to be most attractive for terflies. However, the additional rain resulted mologist from Germany, was at his open Eco-Tourism; both Forest Department sites in useful data to compare with data obtained window and below was a group of small are very well situated with tremendous views during the next dry season in 1996, and by boys. Some had jars, others had folded leaves and they are close to the Butiaba road. that time I had found a very good assistant, and within them was a variety of beetles. Eggeling also described the visit of a re- Bernard Onenarach. The overall results of Some were large, even enormous, others re- markable woman, Miss Margaret Fountaine, the study showed that the numbers of some vealed a miscellany of different shapes and who was a passionate butterfly collector. species varied considerably between sites colours. All beetles had their price but the She not only collected butterflies, but she and between seasons and that a few species supply eventually exceeded the demand and bred many species and recorded their life were found only in one site or the other. the thriving market disintegrated as quickly cycles. Her large worldwide collection is at Some recent work in DRC confirms the data as it had formed. - Patrick Boston, 34, Witney the Castle Museum, Norwich and her paint- for at least one species. Lane, Leafield, Witney, Oxon, OX8 5PG, UK. Page 6 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 May 2001 Male Dominance Hierarchies and Competition by Benedict Dempsey My fieldwork in the summer of 1999 presence of a sub-adult. In my dissertation, was intended to look into affiliative I tried to relate this observations to other behaviour in relation to political relationships examples of young males ‘latching on’ to of the high ranking male chimpanzees. As it high-ranking males. Goblin rocketed up the turned out, my dissertation ended up largely hierarchy in Gombe because of his relation- as an account of the behaviour of Maani ship with alpha male Figan, for example. during my study period, and the effects of Sobongo, in Mahale’s K Group, also appar- his actions on those around him, especially ently benefited from his unusually close re- Black, Duane and Zefa. lationship with the old male Kamemanfu. When I arrived in Budongo in July 1999, I think it will be interesting, if Maani and beta male Vernon had already been missing Zefa’s apparently close relationship contin- for almost two months, so Black had moved ues and was not simply a feature of the short up to beta by default. Maani was ranked duration of my research, to see how Maani third and Duane was secure as ever in alpha behaves during Zefa’s progression in the male position. Over the period of my study hierarcy. though, ending in mid-September, Maani The other main area of interest with re- displaced Black for the second-ranking po- gard to Maani’s rise in status was his rela- sition, and I devoted much of my disserta- tionship with Duane. I hypothesised that a tion to my observations of how this could major reason why Maani managed to dis-

have come about. place Black was his close relationship with Reynolds V. Photo: One of the most interesting aspects of the alpha male following the disappearance Zephyr Kiwede and Benedict Dempsey Maani’s rise in status was the behaviour of of Vernon, Duane’s closest ally. I specu- sub-adult Zefa. When I arrived in Budongo lated that Duane cultivated a close relation- Zefa had been missing for several weeks, and ship with Maani to consolidate his own po- situation. We found several chimpanzees he was not seen by any observers until the sition and to protect himself from Black, feeding on a rotten raphia palm trunk. They end of August. During the whole of August who had a history of trying to rise in rank. had gouged a hole in the base and were eating we saw no agonistic interactions between However, I also think that once Maani him- the pulp. When we found them, Duane was Maani and Black. But within days of Zefa’s self rose in rank, Duane became more wary sitting in the best position, next to the hole. return Maani’s behaviour changed. Between of him and their relationship became less Next to him was Jambo. Maani was present, 31st August, when Zefa reappeared, and 15th close. but could not get close to the tree. Theoreti- September when my study ended, Maani Apparently, Maani’s position as beta cally, as the beta male, he could have sup- was sighted on 11 occasions and was seen to male did not last long after the end of my planted Jambo and taken his position. He display 13 times. Four of these displays were study, which would be consistent with the did not do this and it seemed that he was definitely directed at Black and two were idea that once he became too ambitious, wary of Duane, who was right next to actively supported by Zefa. Another two Duane withdrew his support. Jambo. Maani ran around and screamed but were conducted while Black was in the group, I used two episodes to suggest this change did not try to force his way next to the raphia suggesting he could have been the target. in Duane’s attitude to Maani. The first was palm. Eventually Jambo held out his hand I compared the presence of Zefa during an example of meat sharing observed by Kate to Maani, who joined them eating the pulp. Maani’s aggressive behaviour with their Arnold on 19th July. Duane was in posses- But when Duane got up and left, followed record of affiliative interaction. Using Kate sion of the lion’s share of a dead blue duiker. by Jambo, Maani did not go with them. Arnold’s data from earlier in the year, it was Several other individuals were present, in- The impression was that Maani was very clear that Maani and Zefa had a close rela- cluding Maani and Black. However, Maani wary of Duane during this period, unlike in tionship before Zefa disappeared. For the was the only adult male to be allowed to July when he had freely taken meat from month of June, for example, Maani and Zefa take meat from Duane. He took some from Duane’s mouth. were seen together 81% of the time. This Duane’s hand, from his mouth, and was also I think this change came about because it also fitted with my own data on affiliative actively given a piece of the carcass. Black is in Duane’s interests to prevent any other behaviour, in which Zefa frequently groomed sat nearby and received no meat at all. It adult male from becoming too strong. I think Maani and was his closest associate. In fact, seems Maani was enjoying a good relation- he associated closely with Maani after during the morning on which Maani first ship with Duane at this time. Vernon disappeared because he was wary of demonstrated his superiority to Black, Zefa In contrast, an episode we observed on the aggressive Black. But when Maani had been closely associating and grooming 7th September seems to indicate a different emerged as his highest-ranking rival, he be- with Maani. gan to treat him in a much less friendly fash- My results are too short ion. Maani’s subsequent fall back to gamma term and small scale to be able position would reflect this. to draw any firm conclusions, Although much of this interpretation is but I found it interesting that speculation, it would be very interesting if not only were Maani and Zefa alpha males were able to manipulate the close associates, but that Zefa’s political situation not just by overt aggres- reappearance seemingly pro- sion and displays, but by more subtle asso- voked such a dramatic change ciations with other adult males. I think it in Maani’s behaviour. This would also be interesting if sub-adult males suggests perhaps that this was were able to have an impact, as perhaps Zefa not simply a case of a young did, on the workings of the upper echelons male joining in for the sake of Photo: J. Wallis of the adult male hierarchy. - Ben Dempsey, it, but that the senior male’s ac- Maani being groomed by Duane London UK, benedictdempsey@ tions were influenced by the hotmail.com. May 2001 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 Page 7 To Everything There is a Season by Janette Wallis It all Started … eaten by chimpanzees. Conversely, the best Lori Oliver, and Mnason Tweheyo doing I first became involved with the Budongo evidence for a substance that might inhibit their thesis work. Also present were Jeff Forest Project when Vernon emailed to ask gonadotropin action (and thus interfere with Donne and Lesley Ambrose, helping Fred advice on assessing the long-term records of estrous swellings) was found in two samples with the conference preparations. We also the Sonso Chimpanzee Community. Now that were eaten by chimpanzees. When Pat were joined briefly by Jenny Greenham (see that the Project had collected several years gave me these results, I think she thought I page 12). Jenny and I stole Richard and the of data, Vernon was eager to examine some was going to be disappointed. However, I truck for a quick and unforgettable visit to of the same reproductive parameters I’d in- hadn’t filled her in on the chimpanzees’ Murchison Falls. vestigated from records of the Kasakela Com- sexual patterns and the all-important factor munity at Gombe. Vernon had lined Some Bad with the Good up a student to dig through the Although most of my September records. After a short time, it turned visit was enjoyable, toward the end of out that the student had developed my stay there was a very sad event. new career goals. Vernon then lo- The young adult male chimpanzee, cated yet another student, but that Zefa, had been missing for a few days. one also fell through. Finally, I When he finally reappeared, he was emailed Vernon saying, “Just send sporting a fairly fresh snare wound ME the records. I’ll do it!” Almost (see photo). I recalled that one of the immediately, I had a return email first things I was told about Zefa when from Vernon, “The records are in I saw him in April was that he was the mail!” (Something tells me he considered a potential future alpha was just waiting for me to ask for male. His temperament and size made the data.) him a great candidate for leadership. It Since then, we’ve come up with is unknown whether or how the wire many interesting discoveries about Photo:J. Greenham will eventually fall off and which of Janette Wallis shows the Budongo kids photos of primates on the Budongo chimpanzees and how his fingers may survive. However, it her notebook computer. Student Lori Oliver looks on. they compare to those living else- seems clear that his alpha candidacy where. For example, the chimpanzees of of timing. You see, the flower samples Pat has been ruined. As a follow-up comment to Gombe show a distinctly seasonal pattern analyzed were collected from mid-January Ben Dempsey’s article on page 6, I should in the occurrence of females’ estrous swell- to early April, 2000. Considering the ex- note that the primary companion at Zefa’s ings and, consequently, the observation of pected time delay of phytochemical action side in September was the adult male Maani. sexual activity and related reproductive and the seasonal pattern of sexual activity On one occasion, I saw Maani come down events. One of the first things I wanted to seen at Budongo, it stands to reason that from a tree and wait patiently on the path learn about Budongo, therefore, was whether “anti-estrogenic” foods eaten in January to until his friend Zefa struggled to come down the Sonso chimpanzees also exhibited these April may take a while to show suppressed from a tree himself. Once safely on the trends. Surprisingly, I’ve learned that cycling - perhaps explaining the low sexual ground, Zefa followed his friend down the Budongo is even more under the influence of activity in May to September. path, walking slow and tripedally to an un- the seasons. The months of October and No- In the future, we hope to examine a wide known future. vember mark a huge increase in the occur- range of food samples from Budongo (not During both my April and September rence of sexual activity, whereas May just flowers) and assess in detail the nutri- visits, I was able to get a fair amount of good through September (in most years) show tional and phytochemical content of the videotape footage of Zefa and other snare- very little presence of estrous females (and Sonso chimpanzees’ diet. injured chimpanzees. With some additional sex). Pity the poor student who spends the input from Vernon and Julie, I’ve created a summer at Budongo, hoping to study chim- Finally – A Visit short “Snare Video” – to be used to increase panzee sex! After working with the data for a couple awareness of this sad problem of snaring. My studies at Gombe led to the theory of years, I finally had the pleasure of meet- that seasonal patterns in reproductive be- ing the chimpanzees and people of Budongo Future Plans havior may be attributable to seasonal fluc- Forest. I first journeyed to Budongo in April Whether through study of chimpanzee tuations in diet. Of course, we may find that 2000. On hand were Julie Munn and Jeremy reproduction, fighting the snaring problem, variability in nutritional content can play a Lindsell, each conducting research projects. or trying to learn more about the behavioral role in chimpanzee health – but my thinking Vernon and I arrived with Sally Seraphin who ecology of the forest fragment chimpanzees is that it is literally the chemical makeup of was also there to set up her thesis study. of Kasokwa, I hope this is just the beginning the diet that holds the key. Phytoestrogens Toward the end of our stay, a survey team of a long association with Budongo. - Janette and other plant compounds may interact came through to conduct a Uganda-wide cen- Wallis,Uni. Okla., [email protected]. with the females’ own hormones to either sus of chimpanzees (see Jeff Donne’s enhance or suppress reproduction. article on pages 10-11). While in camp, I pored through the You Are What you Eat records and proclaimed Kalema preg- To investigate this theory, we are ana- nant, due in September in time for the lyzing the diet of Budongo’s chimpanzees. celebration. Thus, the infant (actually Early last year, we asked the Field Assis- born in late August) was named Kumi tants to collect flowers from the forest – (“10”) in honor of the event. whether eaten by the chimpanzees or not. In September, I returned to We sent these samples to the laboratory of Budongo again and participated in both Dr. Patricia Whitten, of Emory University. the 2nd Budongo Conference and a cel-

Preliminary results indicate that we may be ebration of the Budongo Forest Photo: J. Wallis on to something. The best evidence for Project’s Tenth Anniversary. I was Zefa, the day his snare wound was detected. All phytoestrogens were found in samples not welcomed this time by Kim Duffy, four fingers on his right hand were ensnared. Page 8 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 May 2001 Kasokwa Chimpanzees by Richard Kyamanywa From my childhood in the early 1980s, I ests is unclear. Most landlords next to these noticed the presence of chimpanzees around forests tend to take advantage of ownership, my home village. Their population was en- hence utilising the resources at an uncon- couraging and their habitat still intact. After trollably rampant rate. more than 1½ decades, their habitat has been Other wildlife in this study area include: degraded and encroached. As a conservation- black and white colobus monkey (Colobus ist, I aroused concern to try and find out guereza), red tailed monkey (Cercopithecus their status and habitat. ascanius), olive baboon (Papio anubis), From 1st May 1999 to September 1999, vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops), I carried out a baseline study in order to blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis), spotted establish the status of these chimps and their necked otter (Lutra murcurlicos), tree hyrax habitat and thereafter laid up strategies of (Dendrohyrax arboreus), climbing squirrel, giving them better protection. My results blue and red turaco, hornbill, parrots (grey revealed that a community of 13 chimps was and brown), hammerkop, and butterflies.

isolated in small riverine forest patches both To establish the activity patterns and Photo: J. Wallis J. Photo: on forest reserve and communal forests and behaviours of the chimpanzees, their status Richard shows sugarcane wadges left by their lives are threatened to extinction if no and habitat state, the attitude of the local chimpanzees in the forest fragment immediate action is taken. people, I applied the following methods: 1. I notified the District Environmental Direct field observations of the chimps and crops, e.g., sugar cane or pawpaw, especially Officer, Mrs Doreen K. Wandera about the their habitats and data collection while fol- that which is grown alongside their habitats. chimps’ situation who in turn introduced lowing the chimps in morning and afternoon As with other wild chimpanzee commu- me to Professor Vernon Reynolds of hours; 2. Administration of interviews to nities, this Kasokwa community has adapted Budongo Forest Project (BFP) and later to the local people with emphasis on the ones their feeding habits to their habitat. They Dr. Frank Turyatunga, Director of Environ- settling along the habitats and meetings with spend 55% of the day feeding, with morning mental Protection and Economic Develop- sugar cane out growers, tobacco growers, and afternoon peaks. ment (EPED) project. As a result, I started local leaders and stake holders; 3. Collection As the forest corridor is predominantly following this community of 13 chimpan- of chimps’ dung samples for genetic study. riverine forest, the most common tree spe- zees while collecting data funded by the cies include Pseudospondias microcarpa and National Geographic Society through BFP. Status of Habitat Phoenix reclinata. Both are typically found Small chimpanzee communities are iso- in wet areas. The most common fig tree is Description of Study Area lated in different forest patches. In addition, Ficus vallis choudae. These chimps feed on The current study area is on the Kasokwa squatters who come from the north and rids (elephant grass) – pith; and Acanthus Central Forest Reserve and Ibohe, Nyabigata, northeast of Uganda with the aim of getting sp. especially during times of food scarcity. Nyakabale Nvohe and Kasokwa Communal employment with Kinyara Sugar Factory They have been observed feeding on the meat forests which together constitute the habi- have encroached on Kasokwa Central For- of colobus monkey only once. tat of 13 chimpanzees. Kasokwa Central est reserve next to Kinyara Sugar Estates. Forest Reserve runs along the Masindi- This community of squatters are quite diffi- Human and Chimpanzee Interaction & Kinyara road and is 7.3km while the Com- cult to deal with as they settle directly in the Snaring Problem munal forests cover approximately 29km in forest. As a result, one lost a baby in July The communities living around the total. 2000 when chimps carried the baby into the Kasokwa forest area are mainly subsistence This habitat is predominately riverine forest. The cause of death was unclear, al- farmers engaged in food and cash crop pro- forest corridor. Apart from the reserve, there though it seems to have been suffocation. duction. A limited number are sugar cane is no protection status. These riverine for- The intention of the chimps carrying the out growers for Kinyara Sugar Factory and est corridors are part of the Budongo forest baby is also still not clear. But they appeared others are tobacco growers. Others are en- system and the two were formerly linked as not to have intentions of eating the baby gaged in charcoal burning and timber har- one. They are therefore rich in biodiversity considering the time they spent with it. The vesting. In search for land to expand agricul- with abundant plant, animal, bird and insect baby was only 6 months old. tural production by the indigenous commu- species. Out of meetings held in July and Sep- nity, and for settlement and cultivation by Deforestation is the major problem, tember 2000 by all stakeholders, the district immigrants to the area (mainly ex-cane cut- caused by population pressure. The local forest department re-demarcated the forest ters brought in by Kinyara Sugar Factory), population cut down forests to form farm boundaries as they were not clear. The the natural forest has been significantly en- land, especially sugar cane and tobacco grow- boundaries were opened early October 2000 croached and degraded to the extent that the ing; charcoal burning; and timber harvesting. and encroachers identified. chimpanzees’ habitat is shrinking, forage is The protection status of the Communal for- Kinyara agreed to look for space on their becoming scarce and movements of chimps land and re-settle these squatters (25 fami- across other forest patches is seriously com- lies, with 81 people). If this fails, the squat- promised. ters will be ordered to leave the forest and With chimpanzees’ natural food source either go back to their original homesteads being depleted, coupled with the existence or rent nearby if they still need to work with of an attractive human-grown food crop and Kinyara Sugar Factory. sugar cane, crop raiding has become ram- pant to the extent that chimpanzees now Chimpanzee Feeding Habits feature in the focus of the current human- The Kasokwa chimpanzee feeding hab- wildlife conflict; a position formerly occu-

Photo: J. Munn J. Photo: its vary depending on seasons. When their pied by baboons, other monkeys and bush Richard says good-bye to Kigere natural food is in abundance in the forest pigs. The chimpanzees are now frequently fragment, they tend to ignore raiding human harassed, trapped, snared and killed as a re- May 2001 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 Page 9

sult of this conflict. For instance, on the 18th Local Government (DLG), Jane Goodall In- There is growing evidence that authority im- June 2000, the alpha male (Kigere) died of stitute (JGI), Forest Department (FD) and posed from above is less effective than au- gangrene (according to UWA post-mortem held the first meeting on the 13th April 2000 thority accepted from below and that goal report) after being caught in a metal trap at Masindi Hotel to discuss the plight and congruence is enhanced when there is a more which was laid near someone’s garden. Be- survival of these chimps. It was agreed in participative management style rather than fore this, Kigere was already missing his right this meeting that chimps should be protected the traditional style of management with its foot. He carried around this metal trap for a in their current habitat. As a followup, two emphasis on hierarchy and authority. week before he died (see photo). more meetings have been held quarterly to Initially, the local community lacked review work plans and progress of the ac- Acknowledgements knowledge about the importance and pro- tivities of this project. Currently, two wild- I wish first of all to express my thanks and tection of wildlife, in particular endangered life guards – from the District Wildlife Man- gratitude to Professor Vernon Reynolds, Dr Janette Wallis, Mr Fred Babweteera and the species. They only focussed on the negative agement Unit – have been deployed (em- entire staff of Budongo Forest Project (BFP) aspect of wildlife (crop raiding), forgetting powered by Forest Department) to stop for your continued support in my research. that wildlife is part of the natural ecosys- further forest encroachments funded by JGI Without your support, dedication and com- tem. As a result of my intervention in since 1st June 2000. Since August 2000, the mitment, I would never have succeeded in this sensitisation during my course of research, American Society of Primatologists is fund- research. My special thanks go to the Na- in and around the Kasokwa forest area, the ing one field assistant to help me in research. tional Geographic Society for your generous support in funding this research. As I am look- local community now recognises the impor- In addition to the Kasokwa chimpanzee ing forward to continue with chimp research tance of these chimps and is now determined community, there are other isolated chim- in Kasokwa forest area and extend to other to protect them if guided and assisted. As a panzee communities in forest patches which localities linked to Kasokwa, I still need your result, I founded a community-based asso- were formerly linked to Kasokwa forest area support and co-operation in order to provide ciation, Nature Conservation and Promotion and are facing the same plight and seem to be for a sustainable management of endangered Association (NACOPRA) with the aim of occasionally interacting with each other. species. I should like to express my gratitude to Dr Janette Wallis for assistance with prepa- incorporating the local communities under ration of a map of my study area. I am also one umbrella for easy mobilisation in the Conclusion indebted to all stake holders who have shown protection of chimpanzees and their habi- There is a need to support the local com- interest and support in the protection of these tats. munity initiative in the protection of these chimps. These include: UWA, JGI, FD, EPED, In conjunction with Budongo Forest chimpanzees and their habitats. Furthermore, etc. Your commitment and dedication is highly Project (BFP), I drew the attention of it is important to support and motivate the appreciated. - Kyamanywa Richard, PO Box 496, Masindi, Uganda. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), District local people in the protection of wildlife. Nocturnal Investigations by Siddhartha (“Sid”) Singh Nocturnal copulations have been wit- tapes were tied around various branches, nessed in the chimpanzee and the bonobo situated in such a way that when one – although there have not been enough looked between the areas marked by the vigils to know whether this is a regular or tapes, one would be looking in the ap- rare phenomenon. Clues as to its occur- proximate direction of the nests. Also rence also exist for a whole range of multi- used were two infrared torches which male-multi-female primate societies where supplemented the night-vision goggles. Sid Singh - relaxing in his own nest sperm competition is an avenue of sexual Now, infrared is visible through night vi- selection. sion goggles (Vernon had lent his night observers, as long as torch light is not I am extremely grateful to Vernon for vision goggles). When chimps were shone towards them). There was an having allowed me to investigate this phe- nested, we would tie the infrared torches oestrus female with them whom my field- nomenon further. Rare are the scientists to a tree with the infrared torchlight point- assistant and I were unable to recognise, who are open to exploratory projects of ing directly at the nest(s) that we were as we only saw her sexual swelling (which this nature. interested in. When night fell, we would is discernible in the dark). It may have While my study period was very short, look through the night vision goggles and been the oestrus female who was missing progress was made in that Joseph and I because the infrared light was pointed di- from our community. On another occa- were able to devise mechanisms to ob- rectly at the nest, we could locate the sion, Black took Kalema away from the serve chimpanzees at night. While there nest. We camped in the forest whenever group to night-nest away from the group. were no females in oestrus during my we located the chimps. We would spend Such a phenomenon has been observed study period, we were nevertheless able the whole night in the forest and attempt before and it seems possible that there is to make certain observations that sug- to follow the chimps when dawn arrived. a link between nocturnal copulations, mate gested that nocturnal copulations in pri- Sometimes the chimps nested in areas guarding, night nesting behaviour and mates should be investigated further in where it was not possible to pitch a tent. night time vocalisations. order to shed light on primate sexuality. We would then pitch the tent on the trails I had the time of my life in Budongo. Joseph and I followed the chimpan- and mark the area to where the infrared I miss the unbelievably warm and gener- zees during the day and in the evening/ torches and marker tape were tied with ous community there. I will forever be dusk. Tape was used to mark the trees some orange fluorescent tape. grateful to Vernon - both for having en- where they were nesting. Each tree was I remember, once, an immigrant abled Budongo, as well as my trip - and labeled with the name of the chimp that (unhabituated) community was found to Fred, Richard, my indomitable field was nesting above. Nocturnal fieldwork close to the main camp. We attempted to assistant Joseph, and everyone else. And poses unique challenges. The chimpan- erect a tent, but there was hysterical pant- the bread that is baked there – that is zees nest around 30-60 feet in the trees screaming and all of them disappeared worth the trip just by itself. - Siddhartha and vision, even in daylight, is obscured from their nests. (However, habituated Singh, Cornell University, ssinghk@ by foliage. To overcome these obstacles, chimps are not disturbed by nocturnal hotmail.com. Page 10 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 May 2001 One Chimp, Two Chimps, Three Chimps … Four Months on the Chimpanzee Population Census of Budongo

By Jeff Donne Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, whole new array of alien sweat pores that I duo would walk a two kilometre transect, chimp, walk, walk, walk, monkey, walk, never knew existed. I stumbled from the stopping every 250 metres to record and walk, dung, walk, walk, chimp nest, walk, forest at around four, and contemplated map their position using a flashy Global walk, pitsawyer hoofing it in a flurry of flip- crawling into the nearest water tank. The Positioning System (GPS). Upon reaching flops, walk, walk, walk, collapse in a heap guys saw my lame old husk and here ensued the end of a transect, they must then leave of sweat. That, in a nutshell, is the day-to- the soon to be daily ritual of laughing at the the comfort of the path and return on a day events of a chimp census. Good thing I boss. Sam Isoke, my appointed field parallel line through the bush, back to the enjoy walking. assistant (but in reality was more of an all starting point. The three days training It all started for me last year on a cold round good friend, teacher and mother), provided by Andy Plumptre, on such English February night. Slouched on the sofa walked calmly over and announced, almost necessary topics as not getting lost was to in one of my sloth-like TV trances, I was prophetically that, come the third day, I will be put to the test. It all seemed pretty mildly disturbed by the shrill of the feel as if I am dead. How nice, I thought, and straightforward, walk in a straight line and telephone. Unusually, it was for me. A fell asleep. come back again, no problem…well. The forgotten application to the Jane Goodall It’s 5:30 am; an hour put by for the sole presence of all the buttons on our GPS units Institute for six weeks voluntary work had purpose of blissful unconsciousness. I’m proved to be too much of a temptation for blossomed and fruited in the form of an eight- impressed with managing to get just a some people, mentioning no names of course. month job offer as team leader on a little sleep last night - despite As they stood puzzled at the start of the chimpanzee population census of Budongo the murderous howling of transects I had a steady flow of team and Maramagambo. From sloth to startled the tree hyrax, and the members claiming faulty goods were to be duiker in an instant. raucous bedlam of an blamed for their lack of knowledge as to where One month later, I found myself and apparent chimp stag- they were. A swift inspection of the so called the team cruising at midnight down the night – but now I ‘faulty goods’ revealed that in the course of majestic gateway of the Royal Mile, on find myself pretending to use the GPS as a mobile phone, our way to Sonso to begin the census losing the they had inadvertently reset the country of on the following day. Did I have a clue battle, origin to Canada, Abu Dhabi or wherever. what I was doing? No. But all I could So problem solved I soon discovered that think about was the remarkable sight eyes like a hawk were to be needed, because that lay illuminated by the glimmer of spotting a chimp nest or bolting blue monkey our advancing vehicle. The splaying 100 feet up in a tree is not that easy. Luckily titanic ‘dog paws’ of towering figs for me, I had Sam at hand, who with his flanked the track as I came to the extra sensory abilities of spotting a flatulent conclusion that England does not have mosquito at twenty paces, worked as the trees, just a collection of meagre weeds. eyes for both of us. Fortunately, however, it We set camp at Sonso under the dim wasn’t long before my senses enjoyed an light of a half moon and retired to our awakening, opening a whole new world to tents. A member of the team, Moses, the one I had previously seen (or not in this offered his prayers for the camp as the case). tree hyrax screamed above our heads. So, what exactly did we see? The chimps It wasn’t long before I drifted off into of Budongo were, as expected, elusive to an inscrutable malarial dream, but say the least – Duane and Co obviously an before this I just had the time to Jeff Donne and friend - at the Uganda exception here. It appeared the Kaniyo consider what lay ahead. Eight guys, Wildlife Education Centre, Kampala Pabidi site had the highest concentration, four months, over 400 square with Alfred and Robert’s team sighting 59 kilometres. We had to cover every three and giving in to my wakeful adversary. The chimp nests on a single, two kilometre kilometre square on the map, whilst screams and long, wailing cries rush the door transect (the average number of sightings monitoring populations of chimps, other of my tent without as much as a polite tap. being much less than that). Chimps and their primates, and ungulates, plus recording the A crazed species had awakened in a frenzy nests were frequently seen in this small part frequency and effect of human impact on of whooping delinquency … “Good morning of the forest – no coincidence that it is the the forest. And they’ve placed me in charge. team. Enjoying our coffee are we?” This was only part of Budongo protected as a National I chuckled nervously and fell asleep. that special Ugandan coffee known as ‘direct Park, and the only part where no human On the first day we found our feet. injection’, supped by the pint and containing interference was found. Also the far North Nabert and Julius, who had previously enough caffeine to wake the dead. of the forest boasted a fairly high density of worked as field assistants for the Budongo I poke my puffy face through an aperture chimps. Again, human interference in this Forest Project, led us into the blocks where in my tent and see a fully saddled team, part was minimal with any pitsawing sites we will be using transect methods (recording seemingly immune to early morning being very old and no apparent signs of data once every three weeks using the same dishevelment, waiting impatiently for their poaching or snaring were found. In contrast line). They took us to the N3, W21, N11, ‘leader’. With gumboots half on I stumble to this was the far South, particularly around N3 (again), and N15 blocks, which to a from my warm palace of sleep, clasping my the Kapecca area. Here the forest was, in a certain bone idle English man who admits to piece of paper scrawled upon it the order of word, depressing. Snare after snare after enjoying walking, but is just not very good today’s events. snare. Huge patches of forest, quite simply at it, seemed like an endless walk around a Today we had to split into groups of gone, replaced with vast stretches of giant pressure cooker. Here I discovered a two and census the nearby N3 block. Each impenetrable creeper vine. The well worn May 2001 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 Page 11

paths of pitsawyer and poacher ran like a network branching out on by, instead of their usual practice upon being found of throwing in all directions. A whole day in this nightmarish place revealed food in the air and screaming in their haste to get away. Here, it all only a snared tree hyrax, and two very old chimp nests – the most seems to be accepted – they do not expect to be arrested, so why common noise being that of axe against wood. should they run? The descendants of the 1962 chimps still live here, Kapecca is where the smothering blanket of sugar cane meets but they seem to be unusually nervous of humans despite the ongoing with the forest, and it is here that we met with a number of ‘cane attempts to habituate them. guards’ employed by a certain local sugar But there is good news. Black and white colobus, blue, company. When asked how these guards and red-tail monkeys, baboons and duikers all appear to go about protecting the sugar cane from be doing well. Frequent sightings of these were made vermin, a representative of the company throughout most of the forest. Though we only saw a few claimed it was done by merely scaring off of the animal so underrated in the cute stakes, the bushpig, the offending creature. This leaves me very we presume they are also doing fairly well due to the large confused as to why all the cane guards we amount of dung spotted. encountered were in possession of bows So that’s about it. There were other things seen. A and arrows, and coincidentally, behind baby bushbuck tucked nervously in the buttress of a every one of their huts, a long line of snares giant ironwood. A couple of blue monkeys with larger reached deep into the forest. Further than normal white beards, and the body size of a small confusion comes to mind when this adolescent chimp. A leopard on the road near the far company sends a representative, complete North of Pabidi. A nose horned viper none too pleased at with a rehearsed ‘concerned about the being run over by our motorbike – it lived. And of course forest’ expression, to many meetings the people in and around Sonso – I’ve never been made to

regarding the future of Budongo. Photo: J. Wallis feel so welcome so quickly at any one place on this earth, Sadly the Busingiro site to the west of I miss you all. the forest is only a step behind Kapecca. Here we found the ‘back And I will never forget the team. A strange melting pot of rough door’ to the N15 nature reserve being taken advantage of by the old diamonds and softly spoken gents that somehow worked mahogany hungry pitsawyers. Slowly, they are nibbling away at together so well (most of the time). OK we lived like baboons and one of Budongo’s final patches of pristine rainforest. The activity left our mark wherever we went, but nobody is perfect you know. - here is blatant. Polecutters and pitsawyers nonchalantly cruise Jeff Donne, Claverham UK, [email protected].

The Ecology of Budongo’s Redtail Monkeys by Donna J. Sheppard In June 1997, I came to Budongo groups, and selecting redtail study groups. and found a busy research camp com- Julius knows the Budongo monkeys and flo- plete with a number of PhD students, ral community very well, and these were hardworking field assistants, support two skills essential to the completion of my staff and children! BFP proved to be a data collection. Redtail monkeys (Cercop- comfortable, safe and fun place to do ithecus ascanius) are small bodied, arboreal Wallis J. Photo: research. With other students to bounce primates with a shy and cryptic nature. As serve (Compartment N15), and the sec- ideas off, children to laugh with, and a result, a lengthy effort was required to lo- ond group resided in mixed forest selec- support staff to help collect our mail, cate, select and habituate two study groups. tively harvested in 1947 and 1952 (Com- foodstuffs, and do laundry, there was The overall aim of my study was to as- partment N3). In addition, census routes very little lacking. I teamed up with sess the impact of habitat modification on were established in both of these forest Kyamanywa Julius, who was living off redtail monkeys living in the Budongo For- compartments and these routes were camp at the time, and we got busy iden- est Reserve. This was achieved through eco- sampled weekly. Redtail monkey popu- tifying tree species, locating monkey logical and behavioural comparisons of two lation estimates were then established groups of redtail monkeys inhabiting pri- using the data from these counts. mary and regenerating forest sites at Results revealed that redtail group Budongo. Behavioural ecology aspects as- densities were three times higher in the sociated with patterns of habitat use were selectively logged habitat. Significant dif- compared through redtail group activities. ferences in habitat use patterns, indicated Specifically, three variables were employed by differences in plant consumption, rang- in this investigation: redtail group ranging ing patterns, canopy use and group dis- patterns, diets and population densities. By persal, were observed between the two using the above variables, the principle fo- study groups. Factors accounting for cus of the study was to quantify patterns of these differences were the higher densi- habitat use. Observed differences in the flo- ties of redtail preferred food trees, and an ral communities at the two study sites, de- increase in tree species diversity in the termined using vegetative plots, offer pos- regenerating forest. This advantage for the sible explanations for differences noted in redtails, observed in the logged forest, cor- redtail behavioural ecology. related with the low intensity of selec- Julius and I collected observational data tive logging there, and the trend towards on two groups of redtail monkeys over a a Cynometra monodominant condition in six-month period. This yielded 135 hours the primary forest. - Donna Sheppard, of scan sampling data. One group ranged Dept. Anthro, University of Calgary, within the unlogged Nyakafunjo Nature Re- [email protected]. Donna Sheppard at the Fire Tower Page 12 Budongo Forest Project Volume 4, Number 1 May 2001 Chimps’ Choices by Jenny Greenham Chimpanzees are resourceful when it was dripping with ripe fruit just wait- comes to food. They are in the main her- ing to be eaten, but was rejected by the bivorous, selecting fruit, leaves, stems, roots chimps. When I analysed the fruit I and sometimes bark. However they do oc- found tannins, but virtually no sugar. casionally seek out termites and are not It must have been a quirk of nature! averse to the odd monkey, when the oppor- Approximately ten to twelve times tunity arises! a year, the Budongo chimps will settle Figs are a favourite and the Budongo high up in mature mahogany (Khaya Forest does have twelve species of Ficus anthotheca) trees and feed on the bark, trees which supply the chimps with ripe for several hours at a time. This re- fruit throughout the year. Another popular mains a mystery as to why and as to food source is Broussonettia papyrifera and the timing, as there seems to be no ob- there are some trees of this plant situated vious pattern. Usually chimps, as well around the edge of the as other primates, just Sonso sawmill site, adja- lick stripped bark to ob- cent to the camp. tain the sugars from the I work in the Phy- sap rising up the phloem. tochemistry Research The chimps actually Laboratory at Reading chew the Khaya bark, University in the UK and sometimes eating it and

my interest in the chimps sometimes wadging it Photo: J. Wallis at Sonso is in their diet and swallowing the extracted Jenny, with one of her subjects: A Budongo and which chemical bar- juices. The tannin level is sig- mahogany (Khaya anthotheca) riers the plants produce nificant at around an average to deter the chimps from of 1.7 % of dry weight and tose, which is very sweet and as mentioned selecting certain plants or even reaching 4%. There are earlier, this species is a favourite food source. conversely, what attracts also limonoids present, which Tannins are present, but in at a very low the chimps to particular may contribute to the astrin- level. species. gency, but these still do not So why do the chimps tolerate the as- Starting with wild fig seem to deter the chimps. tringent tannins, present so abundantly in fruit, all of the nine spe- Reynolds Photo: V. There is sugar, but at an aver- the fruits of the wild figs? The tannins do Jenny Greenham at Sonso Camp cies I analysed contained age of 1.4% there is not as not appear to be harmful to the chimps and tannins. These tannins much as in the fruits eaten by maybe the chimps appreciate a choice of give an astringent taste, certainly to humans the chimps. The Khaya produces, through food, as after all: variety is the spice of life! anyway, and are produced by plants as a the bark, an exudate which is made up of I was fortunate enough to visit Budongo deterrent to herbivory. The chimps are very polysaccharide. This is in the form of strands in September 2000 for the 10th anniversary selective in picking which fruit to eat; it was and lumps and the chimps will sometimes of the project and see for myself the stu- thought that the unripe fruit would contain eat the pure lumps of this. Whether this is dents and field assistants at work, observing a higher level of tannin with less sugar, with for food or medicinal purposes is still not the chimps’ behaviour. It is no mean feat - the tannin level dropping and the sugar con- known. I am continuing the research on collecting the data and samples - and requires tent rising as the fruit reached maturity, so Khaya. patience and tenacity. It was an unforget- ensuring seed dispersal at the appropriate As the chimps eat leaves, I am looking at table ten days for me, meeting everyone at time. The seeds pass through the chimp gut species the chimps avoid, to try and estab- the camp, seeing the chimps and experienc- unharmed. However I found that the tannin lish, as far as the chemistry is concerned, the ing the sights and sounds of the Budongo level remained constant and it was the higher reasons. They still eat leaves which usually Forest. - Jenny Greenham, School of Botany, sugar level which had an effect on the chimps’ do not have a high sugar content. Chimps University of Reading, E-mail: palate. They have a sweet tooth and do not do, on the whole, prefer young to mature [email protected]. usually worry about the tannins at the level leaves, presumably because they are tender at which they are present in the fruit. In fact and juicy. Broussonettia is an exception, as there was a particular tree of the species all parts of the trees, including the leaves, Ficus sur which is a sweet favourite and contain a high level of sugars, especially fruc-

The Budongo Forest Project Newsletter is edited by Janette Wallis. If you have comments or ideas for future issues, please contact: Janette Wallis, Ph.D., Depart- ment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, P.O. Box 26901, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73190, USA (E-mail: janette- [email protected]).

All other correspondence about Budongo Forest Project should be directed to: Professor Vernon Reynolds, Institute of Biological An- thropology, Oxford University, 58 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6QS, U.K. (E-mail: [email protected]). Photo: J. Wallis