Gorilla Journal Journal of Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe No. 54, June 2017 A Population Survey of the One of the Biggest A Tribute to Colo Estimate of Great Cross River Ape Traffickers of Apes in Itombwe Gorilla at Tofala Africa Arrested Hill BERGGORILLA & REGENWALD DIREKTHILFE Authors of this Issue returned to Cameroon to collect data CONTENTS for his doctoral thesis on the Cross D. R. Congo 3 Gedeon Banswe is the GIS and data River gorillas. Conservation and Sensitization base officer with the WWF Itombwe Dr. Miki Matsubara took part in the Activities at Sarambwe 3 Program. gorilla census of Kahuzi-Biega in 1996 A Population Estimate of Great Andrew Dunn is Project Manager for and of Petit Loango in Gabon in 1998. Apes in Itombwe 5 the WCS biodiversity research program She studied social relationships of Community Development Projects in southeastern Nigeria. He has been juvenile gorillas in the Howletts and near Mount Tshiaberimu 13 working on biological survey and con- Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks. Now Community Conservation for the servation projects in Africa since 1989. she is an adjunct lecturer of Chukyo Park and Local Communities 14 Prof. Colin P. Groves wrote his University. Rwanda 17 Ph.D. thesis on gorilla osteology and Menard Mbende is the WWF DRC Cantsbee – a Gorilla Legend 17 taxonomy. After working at American protected areas Program Manager. He Death of Three Silverbacks 17 and British universities, he emigrated has been involved in the 2015 Itombwe Cross River 18 to Australia in 1974. Now he is retired, survey. Update on the Proposed after teaching primatology and human Dr. Angela Meder studied the be- Superhighway 18 evolution at the Australian National haviour and development of captive Survey of the Cross River Gorilla Uni versity for 40 years, but he is still lowland gorillas for 10 years. Today she at the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary 19 doing research on various animals. works as a book editor. Since 1992 she Gorillas 22 Charlotte Houpline completed de- has been part of the Board of Directors One of the Biggest Ape Traffickers grees in ecology, wildlife manage ment of Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe. of Africa Arrested 22 and nature protection. She is involved Audra Meinelt is the assistant curator A Tribute to Colo 23 in conservation and anti-poaching ac- of the Congo Expedition region at the The Dream of the Forest 24 tivities in several West African count- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. She 2017 Members’ Meeting 25 ries. In 2010, she founded the NGO has worked with the gorillas for more Vast Peatland in the Congo Basin 25 WARA Conservation in France. than 20 years. She also manages the Reading 26 Dr. Inaoyom Imong has conducted Colobus SSP population and is the vice Berggorilla & Regenwald research on Cross River gorillas since coordinator for the bonobo SSP. Direkthilfe 27 2004. He is the Director of the Cross Gentil Kisangani Milinganyo works River Gorilla Landscape Project of for the Institut Congolais pour la Con- WCS in Nigeria. servation de la Nature (ICCN-RNI). He Gorilla Journal 54, June 2017 John Kahekwa Munihuzi was a gorilla has been involved in the 2015 Itombwe Editor: Dr. Angela Meder habituation officer in Kahuzi-Biega survey as the deputy chief warden in Augustenstr. 122, 70197 Stuttgart, 1983–2004. In 1992 he founded the charge of law enforcement. Germany Pole Pole Foundation, POPOF, in order Dr. Leonard K. Mubalama manages Fax +49-711-6159919 to link the local communities to the the WWF South Kivu Program in E-mail [email protected] conservation of the park. He regularly eastern DRC and is one of the IUCN Translation and Proofreading: Ann visits the park as a consultant. World Commission on Protected areas DeVoy, Bettina and Andrew Grieser Sebastian Linnarz studied biology in as well as African elephant specialist Johns, Colin Groves Bonn, Germany. When he read about group member. He has been involved in Cover: Rangers in Itombwe the volunteer program of ERuDeF on the Itombwe participatory gazettement Photo: ICCN-RNI the internet, he travelled to Cameroon process since 2010 in 2012, where he visited ERuDeF and Claude Sikubwabo Kiyengo conduct- Organization Address: the Lebialem Highlands. In 2014 he ed a gorilla survey in the Maiko National Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe Park from 1989 to 1992. He worked for c/o Burkhard Broecker Bank Account: the ICCN and for the IUCN. From 2006 Juedenweg 3 IBAN DE06 3625 0000 0353 3443 15 to 2007 he was the chief conservator 33161 Hoevelhof, Germany BIC SPMHDE3E of the Parc National des Virunga, E-mail [email protected] Switzerland: central sector. In 2004 he became the Website: IBAN CH90 0900 0000 4046 1685 7 coordinator of the NGO VONA and http://www.berggorilla.org BIC POFICHBEXXX since 2008 he has been our assistant. 2 Gorilla Journal 54, June 2017 D. R. CONGO Conservation and been maintaining the tracks required for monitoring. Sensitization Activities at Camp maintenance: The camp Sarambwe Reserve: April has been maintained by the trackers 2016 to March 2017 at regular intervals and is in good and clean condition. In June, the trackers In the Sarambwe Reserve, conservation constructed a latrine and a mud-walled and sensitization activities have been kitchen for the Sarambwe post, which carried out mainly by the trackers and has improved the sanitary conditions the troops based in Sarambwe (a of the camp. These constructions are, special unit that is collaborating with however, temporary solutions until the ICCN), with support from ICCN. The post can be reconstructed with dura- trackers have collaborated with FARDC ble materials; the construction of toilets soldiers in patrols and in making and the kitchen from durable materials observations of the fauna and of illegal should be planned. Maintenance of the reserve human activities or encroachments of Limitation of conflicts with the lo- boundary with the highly visible the reserve. They have been working cal population: Potential conflicts con- Erythrina for an average of 22 days per month, cerning the reserve borders have been Photo: Jean Paul Kambere i.e. 264 days during the one-year avoided by the construction of perma- period. In addition, the trackers have nent border markers between the fields from the fields of the local population been maintaining the guard post, of the local population and the reserve. so well that no boundary conflict arose including small construction projects. During the 12-month period, the track- during the past 12 months. They have also been maintaining the ers regularly maintained the 7-km long, On one occasion, a banana planta- demarcation between the reserve and 4-m-wide boundary track; this served tion was observed to have been dam- the communities’ fields, and they have its purpose of separating the reserve aged, but this did not cause a con- flict because the plantation was located within the reserve. Maintenance of tracks for moni- toring: All the reserve’s tracks have been maintained at least four times, resulting in a total of approximately 120 km of maintained track. Observations of the fauna: Amongst large mammals, bushpigs and 6 primate species are regularly ob- served in the reserve namely black- and-white colobus (Colobus guereza), the diademed or blue monkey (Cerco- pithecus mitis), the red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius), chimpan- zees (Pan troglodytes), baboons and gorillas. The reserve has also been vis- ited by elephants from Bwindi Impen- etrable Forest, a national park on the Ugandan side of the border, and by kob antelope. The trackers have also reported a hyena – but this might have been a genet or a civet. Of all the large mammals, red- Trackers and soldiers on patrol tailed monkeys were seen most often Photo: Jean Paul Kambere (48 times), followed by bushpigs (31 3 Gorilla Journal 54, June 2017 D. R. CONGO times), baboons (25 times), chimpan- to set traps and to fish in the Evi Riv- Nine pit-sawing sites were disman- zees (23 times) and black-and-white er, agriculture, and pit-sawing. The two tled, with 15 boards confiscated in ad- colobus (22 times). These animals, and latter activities are carried out by the dition to crosscut saws. 13 traps were the gorillas, can be viewed as charac- Ugandan population with the support of found, nine of which were construct- teristic of this reserve. Other species of soldiers stationed on the country’s bor- ed from metal wire, whereas four were large mammals were observed at most der or in the neighbourhood. In addi- made from lianas to catch rats and one or two times. tion to the known plantations of beans, small rodents. The red-tailed monkeys move in manioc and wheat, people are also Capacity-building activities: In groups consisting of 6–42 individuals; growing marrows and fruit trees such April 2016, the trackers were trained baboon groups number between 9 and as the Japanese plum. The growing of in GPS handling. They are now able to 38 individuals. The highest number of bananas, which had decreased, has collect geo-referenced data. Data on individuals in a group of chimpanzees recently enjoyed increased popularity trails and other boundaries are avail- was 17. Two gorilla families and one again. On one occasion, the cutting of able and await processing such that a solitary gorilla male visited the reserve timber for construction was observed. map can be produced. during 10 of the last 12 months: in April, A total area of 249 ha is used for Sensitization and negotiation ac- May, June, July, September, November agriculture according to the trackers’ tivities: Regarding the new encroach- and December of 2016, and in Janu- estimates. Of these, 49 ha are used ments of the reserve by the Ugandans ary, February and March 2017.