Africa News

October, 2004 - Remote cameras capture chimp behavior

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A young chimp inspects a newly installed video camera.

Republic of Congo (in yellow). Hover over image for political boundaries.

Map of forest types and logging roads derived from Landsat imagery with location of termite nests surveyed by primatologists (select image for larger version - 117KB, loads in new window)

Deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, a network of motion sensing video cameras has been set up to study chimpanzee behavior. For the first time, chimpanzees have been extensively observed in the Goualougo Triangle using two different types of tools they had fashioned to reach and extract termites.

Two years ago, the Goualogo Triangle was still part of the Congolese Industrielle des Bois (CIB) logging concession, the largest logging company in Northern Congo. After the discovery of "naïve" chimps (chimps without previous exposure to humans) in the sector, the Nouabale Ndoki National Park was extended south to include the Goualogo Triangle.

Using Landsat satellite imagery from the 1970-2002 period, the Woods Hole Research Center was able to map the network of logging roads surrounding the park. Logging roads are a potential threat to the chimpanzee population, as they make it possible for hunters to reach previously inaccessible forest areas. The Center has also mapped chimpanzee habitats in detail to facilitate conservation efforts in the region.

Logging roads around Nouabale Ndoki National Park, 1970 - 2002

Laporte N.T., Lin T.S (2003), Monitoring logging in the tropical forest of Republic of Congo with Landsat imagery, International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS), July 2003 Toulouse, Ref # 8.1812- INT-A17. ENGLISH version / FRENCH version (PDF - 1MB)

More in the media:

• Chimps Shown Using Not Just a Tool but a "Tool Kit" National Geographic News, Oct. 6, 2004.
• Chimpanzee 'Workshop' Discovered In Congo. Science Daily, Oct. 27, 2004.
• What's in a Chimp's Toolbox? Science Now, Oct 7, 2004. PDF - 101KB.
• I Drill; Therefore, I Am. Chimpanzees Seem to Agree. New York Times, Nov. 2, 2004. PDF - 18KB.

Acknowledgments:

• Video footage: Crickette Sanz, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology & Washington University; Dave Morgan, Cambridge University and Wildlife Conservation Society; Steve Gulick, Wildland Security
• Video: Michael Ernst, The Woods Hole Research Center
• Maps, animation: Michael Ernst, Nadine Laporte, Tiffany Lin, The Woods Hole Research Center

©Woods Hole Research Center, 2008