HOPE report

Number:22-006

Ecological study of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the savanna woodland, Tanzania.

Report:Yoshikawa Midori

Date:2010/12/19 - 2011/03/20

I studied ecology of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the savanna woodland, Ugalla area, western Tanzania from December 2010 to March 2011. (1) I conducted direct observations and fecal analyses of chimpanzee food items. I observed that chimpanzees were eating not only mature fruits but also immature fruits in this season. ChimpanzeesĄĄfrequently ate some fruits of the vine. These fruits were seen in the riverine forest and made a bigger food patch than other fruits. Other frugivorous primates also frequently visited there. (2) To research the feature of sleeping trees, I recorded tree height, diameter at breast height, names of sleeping trees, and bed height. To analyze the environment of sleeping sites, I made 20m2 quadrates both of around the sleeping site and out of the sleeping site, and recoded tree height, diameter at breast height, tree names, the degree of the area covered by the crown, the ratio of rocks, and undergrowths in the quadrates. Chimpanzees made many beds in tall trees in riverine forests. (3) I recorded about the human activities to find the impact to chimpanzee habitats. After that, I will analyze more details compared with conditions in the dry season to make clear the ecology of savanna woodland chimpanzees.

Landscape of the rainy season


Seeds found in the feces of a chimpanzee

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