First records of Liberian Mongoose Liberiictis kuhni in Sapo National Park, southeast Liberia Tina VOGT1, Bernhard 1 Quawah2, Chris 3, Chloe 4 and Ben Forster , Joshua N. 5 RANSOM Abstract HODGKINSON COLLEN Liberian Mongoose Liberiictus kuhni was photographed three times between November 2011 and FebruaryThe 2012 IUCN in Red two List sites of Threatenedwithin Sapo Species National Park, southeast Liberia. These photographs, taken during the day in the early and late afternoon, confirm workits presence is required 80 km to establishfurther south the limits than ofpreviously its distribution recorded. in Liberia. Currently listed as Vulnerable by , the species was previously only known from northeastern Liberia and western Côte d’Ivoire. Further survey Keywords Premières: camera-trapping, observations daytime de Mangoustes activity, extension du ofLibéria known rangeLiberiictis kuhni dans le Parc National de Sapo, au sud-est du Libéria Résumé La Mangouste du Libéria Liberiictis kuhni a été photographiée trois fois entre novembre 2011 et février 2012 sur deux sites du lementParc National classée de «Vulnérable» Sapo, au sud-est par la duListe Libéria. Rouge Ces des photographies,Espèces Menacées prises de l’UICN la journée, en début et fin d’après-midi, confirment sa duprésence Libéria à etune à l’ouest distance de de la Côte80 km d’Ivoire. au sud Desdes étudessites sur complémentaires lesquels sa présence sont anécessaires été précédemment pour déterminer enregistrée les limitesau Libéria. de son Actuel aire- de répartition. , l’espèce n’était jusqu’alors connue qu’au nord-est Mots-clés : piège photographique, extension d’habitat, activité diurne Liberian Mongoose Liberiictis kuhni is a poorly documented et al wild in northeastern Liberia and Taï National Park, western small carnivore of the area defined by White (1983) as the Up- Côte d’Ivoire (Goldman & Taylor 1990, Colyn . 1998), the per Guinean Rainforest. Described in 1958 from eight skulls furthest south it has been found previously in Liberia is Nim- found in northeastern Liberia (Hayman 1958), the first com- bowehn, Gbi National Forest. It was assumed that the species plete specimens were not secured until 1974 (Schlitter 1974) is very likely to occur in similar suitable habitats in adjacent ilywith dark the brownfirst live body specimen and a bushycaptured tail, in with Gbi prominentNational Forest, dark areas, including Sapo National Park (= Sapo NP) in southeast stripesnortheastern on the Liberia neck, which in 1989 are (Taylor bordered 1992). by white. It has Compareda primar- Liberia, approximately 80 km south of Gbi. However, previous with other mongoose species, Liberian Mongoose has rather attempts to confirm this species’s presence in Sapo NP, by live- long claws and an elongated snout with small, reduced cheek traps and camera-traps, were unsuccessful (Robinson 1983, ofTaylor two 1992).individuals, While the a 2010identity survey of the of specimensa commercial was hunting uncon Listed as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List of Threatened camp on the southern border of Sapo NP recorded the killing Speciesteeth, but long, sharp canines (Schlitter 1974). - population status and distribution range is not available. Ho firmed (Greengrass 2011). wever, the(IUCN population 2012), reliableis assumed information to be declining: on the itspecies’s is hun tropicalSapo forest NP, Liberia’s ecosystems only inNational Liberia. Park, Contained comprises within an areaone - of the180,365 largest ha remaining and represents blocks oneof the of threatened the most nearly Upper intactGuin - itsted rangefor meat due using to logging, dogs, shotgunsmining and and conversion snares (Taylor to agricul 1992, including swampy areas, dryland and riparian forests. The- Greengrass 2011) and extensive habitat loss is occurring in terrainean Forest, throughout Sapo NP the consists park is entirely generally of homogeneous,lowland rainforest, with and secondary forests, and is found mainly in swamp forest- andture streambeds(FAO 2011). with Liberian deep Mongoosesandy soils occurs where inearthworms, both primary its southwestern and central parts to higher elevations of ap et al lower (100–200 m) elevations and gently rolling hills in the Dunham 2011). Known to turn over large areas of the forest - preferred food source, are abundant (Schreiber . 1989, demismproximately and 400 provides m in the one steeper of the ridgeslast strongholds of the northeast. for several Sapo NP harbours an exceptional biodiversity with high rates of en- scalefloor whileecosystem foraging, heterogeneity, Liberian Mongoose affecting isseed thought predation, to play mo an Choeropsis liberiensis, West African Chimpanzee Pan troglo- important role as an ‘ecosystem engineer’ by increasing small- dytesglobally verus Endangered and Jentink’s species Duiker such Cephalophus as Pygmy jentinki Hippopotamus. - vement and germination (Dunham 2011). Recorded in the Small Carnivore Conservation, 35 Vol. 47: 35–37, December 2012 Vogt et al. In 2001, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) in collabor- ation with the Liberian government’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA) established a long-term faunal biomonitoring programme in Sapo NP, which was re-started in 2007 following the end of the civil war (Waitkuwait & Suter 2001, Waitkuwait 2003, Vogt 2011). In 2008, with the support of the Zoologicalet al. Society of London (ZSL), the programme was complemented by regular systematic camera-trappinget al surveys (Collen et al. 2011). Surveys were designed to detect wide-ranging and cameras,cryptic species spaced (Collen at 2 km intervals. 2011). and Following mounted O’Brien 40 cm from (2010) a grid of 32 infrared heat- and motion- sensitive digital centrethe ground, of each was grid set square for a minimum was located of using35 days a GPS and Garmin at 24-hour map 62soperation unit, and mode one in camera each of wastwo secureddifferent in areas an optimal of Sapo location NP. The Fig. 2. The first photograph of a Liberian Mongoose Liberiictis kuhni in Sapo National Park, Liberia: 8 November 2011. © FFI/FDA/ZSL from the centre of the grid square. Altitudes were measured by(e.g. a GPSnext Garminto a recently map 62s used unit. animal All positions trail), in area 100-m given radiusunder three surveys were conducted annually. In the southwestern the WGS84 datum. No baits or inedible lures were used. One to part of Sapo NP (Survey Grid 1), the camera grid was estab- lished four times, in January–March 2008, May–July 2009, De- cember 2010 – January 2011 and October–November 2011. In the northern part (Survey Grid 2), the camera grid was estab- lishedLiberian four times, Mongoose in November–December was not recorded before2008, February–late 2011 April 2009, June–July 2011 and February–March 2012 (Fig. 1). despite a prior survey effort of 4,500 camera-trap days. Its first photograph was taken on 8 November 2011 by a camera swampyin southwestern area within Sapo primary NP, at lowland5°18'45.6"’N, forest. 8°43'32.6"W A second record and 118 m measured altitude (Fig. 2). It was taken at 14h06, in a Fig. 3. The second record of Liberian Mongoose Liberiictis kuhni in Sapo from the northern part of the Park (55 km from the first) was National Park, Liberia, in the north: 13 February 2012. © FFI/FDA/ZSL ofobtained Liberian during Mongoose February were 2012, taken at 25°29'26.5"N, by the same camera,8°23'18.1"W on a and 202 m measured altitude (Fig. 3). Two series of pictures showedgentle slope more within than one primary animal. forest: the first on 8 February at These first verifiable records of Liberian Mongoose in 16h58, the second on 13 February at 14h05. No photograph comparativelySapo NP provide low valuabledetection information rate and the onfact the that distribution the animal wasrange not of recordedthis poorly before documented the fourth species. year Explanationsof the ongoing for cam the era study at present remain speculative and require more in - - Itvestigation. further has The been survey found was that not effective specifically detection designed distance for this is stronglyspecies, butpositively to detect related medium to tospecies large forest-dwellingbody mass and species.weakly et al negatively to species average speed of movement (Rowcliffe size . of2011). L. kuhni In the. However, context of comparison our study it withis plausible detection that, rates at least of in part, low detection rates are explained by the small body class at the same time suggest that this is not the case. Table 1ground-living shows the number mammal of speciestrap events of similar over the or lower same size/weighttime period of several species of similar or lower weight than Liberian Atherurus africanus, Ge- nettaMongoose, bourloni namely and G.African pardina Brush-tailed), Marsh Mongoose Porcupine Atilax palu- Fig. 1. Sapo National Park, Liberia, showing the location of the two dinosus two species of the large-spottedFunisciurus genet pyrropuscomplex (and camera-trap grids used in 2008–2011. Heliosciurus rufobrachium. Compared , Fire-footed Rope Squirrel Red-legged Sun Squirrel Small Carnivore Conservation, Vol. 47, December 2012 36 Liberian Mongoose in Sapo NP, Liberia Table 1. Number of trap events of selected mammal species similar to or 2011. lighter than Liberian Mongoose Liberiictus kuhni in weight, during two The state of the world’s forests 2011 Rome, Italy. [FAO] Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations camera-trapping surveys in Sapo National Park, Liberia, 2011–2012. Liberiictis kuhni. Mammalian Spe- . FAO, Species1 Weight (kg)2 Number of trap events3 cies GreengrassGoldman, C. A. 2011.& Taylor, Exploring M. E. 1990. the dynamics of bushmeat hunting and November February trade 348: in Sapo 1–3. National Park 2011 2012 bridge,, E.U.K. Atherurus africanus 1.5 – 4.0 111 35 Hayman A new genus. Fauna and species & Flora of International, West African monCam- Genetta bourloni 1.2 – 3.1 17 10 goose. Annals and Magazine of Natural History Genetta pardina 1.2 – 3.1 10 10 , R. W.IUCN 1958.