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Chimpanzees in Guinea and in West Africa

Humle, Tatyana and Kormos, Rebecca (2011) Chimpanzees in Guinea and in West Africa. In: Matsuzawa, Tetsuro and Humle, Tatyana and Sugiyama, Yukimaru, eds. Chimpanzees of Bossou and Nimba. Primatology Monographs . Springer Verlag, pp. 393-401. ISBN 978-4-431-53920-9. E-ISBN 978-4-431-53921-6. (doi:10.1007/978-4-431-53921-6_41) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:39027)

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Abstract

The Western subspecies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) is the second most endangered subspecies among the four recognized subspecies in Africa today. P. t. verus is patchily distributed and numbers between 21,300 and 55,600 individuals. P. t. verus is very rare or close to extinction in four West Africa countries, including Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal. It has already disappeared from the wild in Togo and the Gambia. The subspecies is also possibly now extinct in Benin. P. t. verus, therefore, survives mainly in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mali. Guinea is probably the country with the greatest number of chimpanzees in West Africa, with approximately 17,582 (8,113–29,011) chimpanzees nationwide. It is acknowledged today that the majority (more than 90%) of chimpanzees in Guinea are living outside protected areas. A large proportion of the chimpanzee population is believed to be living in the Fouta Djallon Region of Guinea, while it is estimated that a significant proportion also inhabits the forest region of Guinea. Hunting, poaching, the bush-meat and pet trade, and habitat loss variably threaten chimpanzee populations across different regions of Guinea. As human encroachment into chimpanzee habitat intensifies, the risk of disease transmission is also of increasing concern. This chapter aims to summarize the current status of P. t. verus across West Africa, as well as in Guinea, with a special focus on current and future threats.

Item Type: Book section
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/978-4-431-53921-6_41
Subjects: Q Science > QH Natural history > QH541 Ecology
Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation > DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology)
Depositing User: Tatyana Humle
Date Deposited: 20 Oct 2014 08:59 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:15 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/39027 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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