Human-primate Conflict Research Articles

PRIMATE CROP RAIDING IN KAINJI LAKE NATIONAL PARK, NIGERIA: AN ANALYSIS OF VULNERABILITY INDICATORS AND FARMERS PERSPECTIVES FOR EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION

Human-primate conflict is a persistent challenge in conservation efforts. The study investigates vulnerability indicators of crop damage by primates and farmers attitudes towards conservation in Kanji Lake National Park, aiming to inform effective conflict mitigation strategies. Direct method and structured questionnaire were used to obtain information on crop damage severity, farmer perceptions and conservation attitudes. The Completely Randomised Design (CRD) was used in comparing vulnerability indicators that predisposed primates to conflict and the relationship between vulnerability indicators to crop damage intensity was determined using karl pearsons’ product moment coefficient of correlation. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test analyses were adopted to reveal the opinions of respondents for significant differences on farmer’s attitudes and perceptions for effective conservation. The results show a significant correlation between crop damage and vulnerability indicators thus, highlighting the need for effective conflict mitigation strategies. The results revealed that the identified key vulnerability indicator, numbers of standing crops (0.015) differed significantly among the ranges of the park (P < 0.05). Nevertheless, farm sizes (0.068) were not significantly different among ranges (P > 0.05). Farm distance to park has positive correlation with farm size (r = 0.203) and number of standing crops (r = 0.310). Similarly, there were strong correlations between farm size and number of crops damaged (r = 0.680). In respect to conservation attitudes 74% of the respondents were in support of primate conservation, 38% wished that primates should be exterminated to stop crop damage and economic losses. 40% of the respondents supported the use of lethal methods for preventing primates from raiding crops while 53.1% were of the opinion that zone dwellers should be allowed to hunt. The findings highlighted the need for conservation efforts, emphasizing the importance of addressing human-primate conflict through collaborative approaches that consider both human livelihoods and wildlife conservation.

Effect of Human Activity and Presence on the Behavior of Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in an Urban Tourism Site in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia.

The increasing overlap of resources between human and long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) (LTM) populations have escalated human-primate conflict. In Malaysia, LTMs are labeled as a 'pest' species due to the macaques' opportunistic nature. This study investigates the activity budget of LTMs in an urban tourism site and how human activities influence it. Observational data were collected from LTMs daily for a period of four months. The observed behaviors were compared across differing levels of human interaction, between different times of day, and between high, medium, and low human traffic zones. LTMs exhibited varying ecological behavior patterns when observed across zones of differing human traffic, e.g., higher inactivity when human presence is high. More concerning is the impact on these animals' welfare and group dynamics as the increase in interactions with humans takes place; we noted increased inactivity and reduced intra-group interaction. This study highlights the connection that LTMs make between human activity and sources of anthropogenic food. Only through understanding LTM interaction can the cause for human-primate conflict be better understood, and thus, more sustainable mitigation strategies can be generated.

Interaksi Manusia−Primata, Konflik Manusia−Primata, dan Etnoprimatologi: Kajian Singkat untuk Strategi Manajemen Satwa Primata Tropis

Primates, wild animals often experience co-existence with humans; in this case, they share habitats. This co-existence certainly raises the potential for human-primate interactions, including positive or negative interactions. One example of negative interaction presents the phenomenon of human-primate conflict. In comparison, one example of positive interaction can be found in the ethnoprimatology phenomenon with the role of a particular ethnic community. This study briefly reviews how primate-human interactions are negative and positive (ethnoprimatology) in managing primates that live in co-existence and share their habitat with humans. The study of the proposed strategy in the persistence presented in this study focuses on the conservation of primates and does not harm humans who co-exist.

Crop Loss and Damage by Primate Species in Southwest Ethiopia

Crop damage is a major form of human-primate conflict that not only affects the livelihoods of farmers living close to forest areas but also threatens nonhuman primate conservation. This study aimed to investigate the causes of crop loss and foraging by nonhuman primates in southwest Ethiopia. For the purpose of gathering data, we used a questionnaire and direct observation. We employed simple random sampling techniques to select villages and respondents. From the nine selected villages, a total of 130 household samples were identified for the questionnaire. The primates responsible for crop damage were olive baboons and grivet monkeys. Maize, barley, teff, potatoes, sorghum, and other crops were among those foraged by the nonhuman primate species. Farmland close to the woodland boundary suffered more damage than farmland further away. The total amount of maize damaged by the olive baboons and grivet monkeys in the selected kebeles varied significantly. The majority of the respondents used guarding, and a few of them used scarecrows to protect crops from damage by primates. The highest crop damage occurred in the Atiro Tigre and Arigno Gefere villages, while the lowest occurred in the Sedecha villages. The flowering stage of the maize suffered the most, and the seedling stage suffered the least, from grivet monkeys foraging. The growth of crops that are less edible to nonhuman primates, especially on the forest edges, would lessen crop damage.

Intra-abdominal laparoscopic sterilization of macaques: An attempt to mitigate human-primate conflict through an effective animal birth control technique

Intra-abdominal laparoscopic sterilization of macaques: An attempt to mitigate human-primate conflict through an effective animal birth control technique

SHORT COMMUNICATION: PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED HUMAN−PRIMATE CONFLICT IN KALISALAK FOREST, CENTRAL JAVA-INDONESIA

We found the phenomenon of human−primate conflict (HPC) in the Kalisalak Forest, Central Java, Indonesia. This location is also known locally as the research site of the Kalisalak Study Site or Kalisalak Grand Forest Park (KGFP) and is used for religious activities by local ethnicities. The research site is used for pilgrimages every Suro Month in the Islamic calendar. Based on the history adopted from the local people, the macaques already existed in the colonial period of the Dutch East Indies. We interviewed "caretakers", mentioning that there are about 75 to 100 long-tailed macaques, but an unusual phenomenon occurs in HPC. According to local people, this conflict is in the form of crop-raiding, expressing agonistic behaviour such as grimacing and chasing visitors. However, when we repeated observations for one month, there was no conflict between long-tailed macaques and humans. The recorded population is still one large group. Besides, to conserve long-tailed macaques and minimize the incidence of HPC, further research is needed to be related to the management of primates by considering the location of the grand forest park type as well as secondary forest types, with the main commodity of the community being forest products.

Traditional conservation and human-primate conflict in Ujungjaya Village Community, Ujung Kulon, Banten, Indonesia

Abstract. Permana S, Partasasmita R, Iskandar J, Rohmatullayaly EN, Iskandar BS, Malone N. 2020. Traditional conservation and human-primate conflict in Ujungjaya Village Community, Ujung Kulon, Banten, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 521-529. In the past, rural Sundanese people’s interactions with wild animals, including nonhuman primates (hereafter ‘primates’), is influenced by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with foundations in various myths and beliefs. Today, because of environmental changes, development of a market economy, cultural change, and the enhancement of agricultural technology, the beliefs and practices associated with TEK have eroded. We aim to describe the present perceptions of primates by the Sundanese people of Ujungjaya Village, Sumur Subdistrict, Ujung Kulon, Banten Province, and demonstrate how these myths and beliefs manifest in behavior towards primates. We use qualitative methods based on an ethnobiological approach to gain insight into people’s perceptions of their natural surroundings. Our results show that the people of Ujungjaya still maintain deep perceptions that are manifested in stories, songs, poems, spells, and invocations that prohibit the killing of primates. However, on their own, these manifestations are insufficient to protect primates from harm as the penetration of market economies and the fragmentation of habitats create the conditions for increased human-primate conflict. Indeed, the people of Ujungjaya sometimes hunt and capture primates for consumption, trading, and medicinal use. As such, laws and regulations designed to promote conservation are insufficient without an understanding of the cultural and socio-economic aspects of people’s lives.

Traditional conservation and human-primate conflict in Ujungjaya Village Community, Ujung Kulon, Banten, Indonesia

Abstract. Permana S, Partasasmita R, Iskandar J, Rohmatullayaly EN, Iskandar BS, Malone N. 2020. Traditional conservation and human-primate conflict in Ujungjaya Village Community, Ujung Kulon, Banten, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 521-529. In the past, rural Sundanese people’s interactions with wild animals, including nonhuman primates (hereafter ‘primates’), is influenced by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with foundations in various myths and beliefs. Today, because of environmental changes, development of a market economy, cultural change, and the enhancement of agricultural technology, the beliefs and practices associated with TEK have eroded. We aim to describe the present perceptions of primates by the Sundanese people of Ujungjaya Village, Sumur Subdistrict, Ujung Kulon, Banten Province, and demonstrate how these myths and beliefs manifest in behavior towards primates. We use qualitative methods based on an ethnobiological approach to gain insight into people’s perceptions of their natural surroundings. Our results show that the people of Ujungjaya still maintain deep perceptions that are manifested in stories, songs, poems, spells, and invocations that prohibit the killing of primates. However, on their own, these manifestations are insufficient to protect primates from harm as the penetration of market economies and the fragmentation of habitats create the conditions for increased human-primate conflict. Indeed, the people of Ujungjaya sometimes hunt and capture primates for consumption, trading, and medicinal use. As such, laws and regulations designed to promote conservation are insufficient without an understanding of the cultural and socio-economic aspects of people’s lives.

Human-Gelada Conflict and Attitude of the Local Community toward the Conservation of the Southern Gelada (Theropithecus gelada obscurus) around Borena Saynit National Park, Ethiopia.

Understanding the extent of human-primate conflict in areas where habitat overlap reaches at maximum level between local farmers and primates is crucial to developing conservation and management strategies. One of the threats of southern geladas (Theropithecus gelada obscurus) is conflict with the local farmers due to cereal crop raiding. This study was carried out to compare the intensity of human-gelada conflicts and the attitude of local farmers toward the conservation of geladas among local communities neighboring Borena Sayint National Park (BSNP) and an unprotected site far from the BSNP. Data from 356 randomly selected respondents were collected using questionnaire interview method. Overall, 92.13% of the respondents considered southern geladas as cereal crop pests. Those major complaints against geladas did not differ significantly between the two study sites: crop raiding (p = 0.435) and competition with livestock for pasture (p = 0.990). Overall, 61.78% of the respondents surrounding the Park had positive attitude while 60.00% from the unprotected villages had negative attitude toward geladas, and the difference was significant (p < 0.001). Most of the respondents from both sites had labor bottleneck and station themselves in the sites to guard their cereal crops from being raided by southern geladas. Respondents from the Park boundaries had more interest on the conservation of geladas than those respondents from the unprotected site (p < 0.001). Conservation education program and better human-gelada conflict mitigation measures should be taken to change the negative conservation attitude of local famers toward the southern geladas.

Perceptions and Attitudes among Venders towards Non-human Primates in Mihintale Wildlife Sanctuary in Sri Lanka

A number of studies have revealed that age, gender, ethnicity, level of education, political attitude, landholding size, period of residency and religion all influence attitudes towards wildlife. Attitudes also exhibit regional differences. However, religious beliefs of Sri Lankans and cultural practices play an important role when deciding the perceptions and attitudes toward primates. An important feature of this country is the presence of monkeys at Buddhist temples and archeological sites. Social and environmental conditions are deeply and inextricably linked, an important component of conservation, and the management of human-wildlife conflict, is therefore the examination of people’s behaviour and perceptions regarding wildlife and the factors that influence these perceptions. This study was carried out in Mihintale wildlife Sanctuary in Anuradhapura district. To understand the nature of human attitude towards primates at the Mihintale wildlife sanctuary, the mixed methods approach was used for data collection. Interviews were conducted from April 2016 to September 2016. Direct interviews were conducted opportunistically with 57 venders in Sinhalese language to learn about macaques and langurs and their interactions with humans. The relationship with the venders and primates is complicated and filled with ambiguity. Venders are happy to see primates and other mammals in the wild, however, primates are not welcome near their business places. High population numbers and the inability to control monkeys are major concerns for venders. The nature of attitude onward each primate species depended on the level of interaction between humans and primate species. The attitude was negative toward the gray langurs and toque macaques, due to stealing of displayed toys, food items and the damage cause to the roofs of small shops, threatening venders and pilgrims when taking food by force. However, no negative attitude towards purple-faced leaf langurs. This study is important for conservation and for understanding the human perspective and attitude towards primates, when entwined with scientific evidence, offers a holistic understanding to one of the major problems in Sri Lanka, the human primate conflict. KEYWORDS: R eligious beliefs, Human-wildlife conflict, Primates, Perspective, Conservation

Primates, Provisioning and Plants: Impacts of Human Cultural Behaviours on Primate Ecological Functions.

Human provisioning of wildlife with food is a widespread global practice that occurs in multiple socio-cultural circumstances. Provisioning may indirectly alter ecosystem functioning through changes in the eco-ethology of animals, but few studies have quantified this aspect. Provisioning of primates by humans is known to impact their activity budgets, diets and ranging patterns. Primates are also keystone species in tropical forests through their role as seed dispersers; yet there is no information on how provisioning might affect primate ecological functions. The rhesus macaque is a major human-commensal species but is also an important seed disperser in the wild. In this study, we investigated the potential impacts of provisioning on the role of rhesus macaques as seed dispersers in the Buxa Tiger Reserve, India. We studied a troop of macaques which were provisioned for a part of the year and were dependent on natural resources for the rest. We observed feeding behaviour, seed handling techniques and ranging patterns of the macaques and monitored availability of wild fruits. Irrespective of fruit availability, frugivory and seed dispersal activities decreased when the macaques were provisioned. Provisioned macaques also had shortened daily ranges implying shorter dispersal distances. Finally, during provisioning periods, seeds were deposited on tarmac roads that were unconducive for germination. Provisioning promotes human-primate conflict, as commensal primates are often involved in aggressive encounters with humans over resources, leading to negative consequences for both parties involved. Preventing or curbing provisioning is not an easy task as feeding wild animals is a socio-cultural tradition across much of South and South-East Asia, including India. We recommend the initiation of literacy programmes that educate lay citizens about the ill-effects of provisioning and strongly caution them against the practice.

Human-wildlife conflict: proximate predictors of aggression between humans and rhesus macaques in India.

Macaques live in close contact with humans across South and Southeast Asia, and direct interaction is frequent. Aggressive contact is a concern in many locations, particularly among populations of rhesus and longtail macaques that co-inhabit urbanized cities and towns with humans. We investigated the proximate factors influencing the occurrence of macaque aggression toward humans as well as human aggression toward macaques to determine the extent to which human behavior elicits macaque aggression and vice versa. We conducted a 3-month study of four free-ranging populations of rhesus macaques in Dehradun, India from October-December 2012, using event sampling to record all instances of human-macaque interaction (N = 3120). Our results show that while human aggression was predicted by the potential for economic losses or damage, macaque aggression was influenced by aggressive or intimidating behavior by humans as well as recent rates of conspecific aggression. Further, adult female macaques participated in aggression more frequently than expected, whereas adult and subadult males participated as frequently as expected. Our analyses demonstrate that neither human nor macaque aggression is unprovoked. Rather, both humans and macaques are responding to one another's behavior. Mitigation of human-primate conflict, and indeed other types of human-wildlife conflict in such coupled systems, will require a holistic investigation of the ways in which each participant is responding to, and consequently altering, the behavior of the other.

English

Crop damage is a serious source of conflict in communities adjacent to protected areas. Data on crop raiding were collected through questionnaires in villages at different distances from the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania. Multiple response analyses were used to calculate the frequencies of the types of crops damaged, the levels of crops growth when damaged and the estimated economic losses caused per household. The results indicate that crop raiding differed significantly on farms along a distance gradient from the protected area. Baboons were reported to be the most destructive wild animals, followed by elephants, which were destructive especially in the villages located near the protected area. Wild animals caused significant economic losses for households. We recommend further studies on the crop yield gap caused by crop-raiding wild animals and human-primate conflict in communities around protected areas. For effective protection of crops from wild animals, we recommend that local communities adopt a combination of methods to reduce the levels of crop raiding. Key words: Crop raiding, Serengeti ecosystem, human-wildlife conflict, wild animals.

A New Color Morph of the Southern Purple-faced Langur (Semnopithecus vetulus vetulus) from the Rainforests of Southwestern Sri Lanka

The southern purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus vetulus) is endemic to Sri Lanka and is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Following several decades of widespread deforestation in the country, viable habitat has been severely reduced for these arboreal, folivorous primates. Living close to densely populated human settlements has lead to further conservation difficulties. They have adapted to exploiting cultivated fruits in home gardens resulting in human-primate conflict, besides confronting electrocution hazards when crossing roads using power lines. The opening of the Colombo-Matara Expressway has also posed a threat, with the possibility of troops from either side becoming genetically isolated. Twenty-six troops were studied from 2007 to 2011 in the southwestern districts of Galle and Matara; of these, 14 contained one or more individuals with an atypical pelage coloration, which we call here a white color morph Two white alpha males were documented, along with adults, juveniles, and young of both sexes, totaling 30 individuals. The troops around Deniyaya and Getabarawa villages contained members that showed a distinct pelage, and all of the members of these troops had dissimilar cranial features and body size compared to other S. v. vetulus. Molecular analysis is now required to discover the genetic basis for this variation and any possible competitive advantages associated with its spread, with the possibility that this may originate a new subspecies. The discovery of a new color morph may provide an additional opportunity to promote primate conservation; greater national support is urgently needed considering the perilous future facing S. vetulus. Further research prospects and conservation recommendations are discussed in this paper.

Raiders of the lost bark: orangutan foraging strategies in a degraded landscape.

Deforestation is rapidly transforming primary forests across the tropics into human-dominated landscapes. Consequently, conservationists need to understand how different taxa respond and adapt to these changes in order to develop appropriate management strategies. Our two year study seeks to determine how wild Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) adapt to living in an isolated agroforest landscape by investigating the sex of crop-raiders related to population demographics, and their temporal variations in feeding behaviour and dietary composition. From focal animal sampling we found that nine identified females raided cultivated fruits more than the four males. Seasonal adaptations were shown through orangutan feeding habits that shifted from being predominantly fruit-based (56% of the total feeding time, then 22% on bark) to the fallback food of bark (44%, then 35% on fruits), when key cultivated resources such as jackfruit (Artocarpus integer), were unavailable. Cultivated fruits were mostly consumed in the afternoon and evening, when farmers had returned home. The finding that females take greater crop-raiding risks than males differs from previous human-primate conflict studies, probably because of the low risks associated (as farmers rarely retaliated) and low intraspecific competition between males. Thus, the behavioral ecology of orangutans living in this human-dominated landscape differs markedly from that in primary forest, where orangutans have a strictly wild food diet, even where primary rainforests directly borders farmland. The importance of wild food availability was clearly illustrated in this study with 21% of the total orangutan feeding time being allocated to feeding on cultivated fruits. As forests are increasingly converted to cultivation, humans and orangutans are predicted to come into conflict more frequently. This study reveals orangutan adaptations for coexisting with humans, e.g. changes in temporal foraging patterns, which should be used for guiding the development of specific human-wildlife conflict mitigation strategies to lessen future crop-raiding and conflicts.

Attacks on local persons by chimpanzees in Bossou, Republic of Guinea: long‐term perspectives

Attacks on humans by nonhuman primates are one of the most serious causes of human-primate conflict, and strongly influence people's perceptions and tolerance of nonhuman primates. Despite their importance, systematic and extensive records of such attacks are rare. Here, we report the attacks that occurred on local persons by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Bossou, Republic of Guinea, from 1995 to 2009. There have been a total of 11 attacks during this period, the majority of which were directed toward children. They varied in their severity, but all were nonfatal. Attacks took place on a road and narrow paths that bordered the forest or in cultivated fields and orchards where opportunities for human-chimpanzee contact are high. Attacks occurred between the months of March and October, coinciding with wild fruit scarcity, increased levels of crop-raiding, and periods of human cultivation with likely increased human usage of paths. Although the families of attack victims felt angry and fearful toward chimpanzees after attacks, some drew on their traditional beliefs to explain why chimpanzees were respected, protected, and could not hurt them, even when attacks occurred. We provide suggestions for reducing future nonhuman primate attacks on humans in an effort to mitigate human-primate conflict situations.

Use of wild and cultivated foods by chimpanzees at Bossou, Republic of Guinea: feeding dynamics in a human‐influenced environment

Increased human population growth and more conversions of natural habitat to agricultural land have resulted in greater proximity between humans and nonhuman primate species. Consequent increases in resource competition including crop-raiding are a by-product of both natural resources becoming less available and the nutritional benefits of cultivated foods becoming more known to the nonhuman primates. Chimpanzees at Bossou in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa, consume 17 different types of cultivated foods that are grown extensively throughout their small, fragmented home range. Direct observations of feeding behavior conducted over an 18-month period revealed that during specific months crops account for up to one quarter of chimpanzee feeding time, with higher overall crop-raiding levels throughout the periods of wild fruit scarcity. Some cultivated foods, especially sugar fruits, are mostly fallback foods, whereas others, such as rice pith (Oryza sp.) and maize (Zea mays), are consumed according to their availability even when wild foods are abundant. These findings highlight the importance of both crop choice by farmers and a thorough understanding of the ecology of resident primate species when establishing land management techniques for alleviating human-primate conflict.

Status and Diversity of Temple Primates in Northeast India

The northeastern region of India, comprising the seven states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, has the highest primate diversity of the country. There are numerous populations of primates living in and around the temples of the region but none have been documented. Of the 17 primates found in India, 11 occur in the tropical and subtropical forests of these northeastern states. A primate survey was carried out from April 2003 to October 2003 in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura to assess the status and diversity of temple primates. We found 16 temple sites in the region that support nonhuman primate populations of four species: Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatto), Assamese macaque (Macaco, assamansis), golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), and capped langur (Trachypithecus pileatus). Loss of natural habitat and increased conflict between humans and nonhuman primates were found to be major threats for the temple primates of the region. The study suggests the need for a special conservation program with community initiatives to mitigate these problems. Key Words: Northeast India, temple, primates, habitat loss, human-primate conflict