Rehabilitation and Release of Vervet Monkeys in South Africa
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Rehabilitation and Release of Vervet Monkeys in South Africa Amanda J. Guy Ph.D. Thesis 2012 Evolution & Ecology Research Centre School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences The University of New South Wales 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ...................................................................................................................... 4 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ..................................................................................... 7 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 12 CHAPTER 2: WELFARE BASED PRIMATE REHABILITATION AS A POTENTIAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY: DOES IT MEASURE UP? ...... 32 CHAPTER 3: CURRENT MAMMAL REHABILITATION PRACTICES WITH A FOCUS ON PRIMATES ....................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 4: THE RELEASE OF A TROOP OF REHABILITATED VERVET MONKEYS (CHLOROCEBUS AETHIOPS) IN SOUTH AFRICA: OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................. 89 CHAPTER 5: ASSESSMENT OF THE RELEASE OF A TROOP OF REHABILITATED VERVET MONKEYS TO THE NTENDEKA WILDERNESS AREA, KWAZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA .................................................. 115 CHAPTER 6: RELEASE OF REHABILITATED CHLOROCEBUS AETHIOPS TO ISISHLENGENI GAME FARM IN KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA .................................................................................................................................... 140 CHAPTER 7: ANIMAL WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS IN PRIMATE REHABILITATION: AN ASSESSMENT OF THREE VERVET MONKEY 2 (CHLOROCEBUS AETHIOPS) RELEASES IN KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA .................................................................................................................... 151 CHAPTER 8: RELEASE OF REHABILITATED VERVET MONKEYS (CHLOROCEBUS AETHIOPS) IN KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA: CONSISTENCY WITH IUCN GUIDELINES FOR NONHUMAN PRIMATE RE- INTRODUCTIONS AND RELEASE SITE FACTORS INFLUENCING OUTCOMES ............................................................................................................ 163 CHAPTER 9: GUIDELINES FOR THE REHABILITATION AND RELEASE OF VERVET MONKEYS ............................................................................................. 194 CHAPTER 10: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................ 221 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... 229 3 PREFACE This thesis consists of eight research papers (Chapters 2- 9), an introductory chapter (Chapter 1), a concluding chapter (Chapter 10), and appendices including supplementary material and two additional publications. Each research paper (chapters 2-9) has either been submitted to a peer reviewed journal, is under review, has been accepted for publication, or has been published. As each chapter is an individual manuscript, some repetition occurs, particularly in the introductions. Tables and figures are numbered within the chapters rather than sequentially throughout the thesis. This thesis is a compilation of my own work with guidance from my supervisor Associate Professor Darren Curnoe of the University of New South Wales and my co- supervisor, Associate Professor Peter Banks of the University of Sydney. In addition, a fellow PhD candidate, Olivia Stone, has contributed to a number of the manuscripts. Contributions and the publication status at the time of printing for each chapter are outlined below. Chapter 2: Guy, A.J., Curnoe, D., Banks, P. Welfare based primate rehabilitation as a potential conservation strategy: Does it measure up? This manuscript is currently under review with the journal ‘Primates’. D. Curnoe and P. Banks provided conceptual guidance and feedback at various stages of this manuscript in their roles as my supervisors. Chapter 3: Guy, A.J., Curnoe, D., Banks, P. Current mammal rehabilitation practices with a focus on primates. 4 This manuscript was submitted to ‘Biodiversity and Conservation’ in August 2012. D. Curnoe and P. Banks provided conceptual guidance and feedback at various stages of this manuscript in their roles as my supervisors. P. Banks also assisted in setting up the data collection method (online survey). Chapter 4: Guy, A.J., Stone, O.M.L., Curnoe, D. The release of a troop of rehabilitated vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) in South Africa: outcomes and assessment. This manuscript has been published in ‘Folia Primatologica’ 2011, 82: 308-320. O. Stone created the figure showing the release site and home range, calculated the home range using GIS techniques and provided comments on the manuscript. D. Curnoe provided comments on the manuscript and funding for associated fieldwork. Chapter 5: Guy, A.J., Stone, O.M.L., Curnoe, D. Assessment of the release of a troop of rehabilitated vervet monkeys to the Ntendeka Wilderness area, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. This manuscript has been published in ‘Primates’ 2012, 53: 171-179. O. Stone created the figures showing the release site and home range, calculated the home range using GIS techniques and provided comments on the manuscript. D. Curnoe provided comments on the manuscript and funding for associated fieldwork. Chapter 6: Guy, A.J. Release of rehabilitated Chlorocebus aethiops to Isishlengeni game farm in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. I wrote this chapter independently. It is currently under review with the Journal for Nature Conservation. 5 Chapter 7: Guy, A.J., Stone, O.M.L., Curnoe, D. Animal welfare considerations in primate rehabilitation: An assessment of three vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) releases in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This manuscript has been accepted for publication in ‘Animal Welfare’. O. Stone created the figure showing the release sites and provided comments on the manuscript. D. Curnoe provided comments on the manuscript and assisted in cutting it down to a short communication as requested by the journal. Chapter 8: Guy, A.J., Stone, O.M.L., Curnoe, D. Vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) rehabilitation in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: consistency with IUCN guidelines for nonhuman primate re-introductions and release site factors influencing outcomes. This manuscript is currently under review with ‘Folia Primatologica’. O. Stone extracted climate land cover data for the release sites from a Worldclim dataset (climate) and a data set that she obtained from sources in South Africa (land cover). She also provided comments on the manuscript. D. Curnoe conducted statistical analyses and provided comments on the manuscript. Chapter 9: Guy, A.J., Curnoe, D. Guidelines for the rehabilitation and release of vervet monkeys. This manuscript was submitted to ‘Wildlife Biology’ in August 2012. D. Curnoe provided conceptual guidance and feedback at various stages of this manuscript in his role as my supervisor. 6 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed …………………………………………….............. Date ……………14/08/12………………………….............. 7 ABSTRACT Conflict between humans and vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) has led to an accumulation of displaced monkeys in rehabilitation centres in South Africa and has necessitated the process of troop formation and release. The aim of this thesis was to assess vervet monkey rehabilitation and release efforts in order to determine if this is a viable management strategy for this species. Negative aspects of releases included low survival, hunting activity, a high number of missing animals, limited use of tracking devices, predation, troop composition and size being different to wild troops and close proximity of roads, human settlement, wild conspecifics and other primate species. Subsequent to this assessment, recommendations were made in order to improve release outcomes. These included: troops for release matching the size and composition of wild troops, more thorough release site assessment, selection of release sites ≥3 km from human settlement, retaining troops in release enclosures for longer periods to enable familiarity with the area and its native fauna, and provision of naturally occurring foods (from the release site) in the later stages of rehabilitation. Common features of releases with better outcomes included: high altitude and rainfall, low levels of human disturbance, a minimal proportion of the area being made up of bushland, bare sand and dams, a high proportion of tree cover and supportive landholders. To aid monitoring and reduce the number of missing animals, all individuals