The Many Facets of Human Disturbances at the Tonkolili Chimpanzee Site

Abstract

The Tonkolili Chimpanzee Project was founded in 2012 in an effort to study a small, but heavily dense population of chimpanzees living in an extreme anthropogenic landscape. The chimpanzees, who occupy a forest fragment interspersed with human villages, have a long history of interacting with the human communities. Communities report regular crop raids, as well as attacks by chimpanzees on humans and domestic animals; all which have resulted in chimpanzees being frequently killed by community members. Data on feeding ecology as well as a nest count census have revealed an unsustainable population density within the fragment—a possible foundational factor in these frequent human–chimpanzee interactions. The Tonkolili Chimpanzee Project has looked for ways to mitigate these conflicts while simultaneously studying the ecology of chimpanzees living in a situation that is becoming a growing reality for chimpanzees. Although anthropogenic effects on habitats are oftentimes painted with a broad brush, the Tonkolili chimpanzee population showcases how complex and multifaceted human impacts can be on chimpanzee ecology.