From the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University::

kanyawara chimpanzee blog
coming from Kibale Forest in Uganda

SOME BACKGROUND

This blog is produced from the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University.

Posts from the field in Uganda are sent by email back to base in Cambridge, MA and they appear online soon after that.

There is no Internet connection in the research camp where our blogger is based so his posts will be sent with a slight delay from the nearby town of Fort Portal.

Below you can learn more about the research work that is underway in Uganda and about our forest blogger.
@ HARVARD
Kanyawara chimpanzee blog homepage
The Chimp Files Chimp files: the Kanyawara community up close
Studying primate behavioral ecology at Harvard
Biological Anthropology Website Visit the official website of Biological Anthropology at Harvard
More on Uganda

:: Kibale Forest, NP
:: Uganda Wildlife Education Centre
:: Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
:: Uganda country profile
:: Uganda Wildlife Authority
 :: TrekEarth: Ugandan photos
Conservation

:: The Great Ape World Heritage Species Project
:: Priorities for Great Ape Conservation: Presentation at the 2005 UNEP meeting in the DRC.
:: The Status of Chimpanzees in Uganda: Wildlife Conservation Society Report 2003.
Learn about chimpanzees

:: Discover Chimpanzees: More about the animals in Gombe, Tanzania.
:: 3chimps: Hominoid Psychology Research Group
:: Chimpanzee Cultures: Database on cultural variations in chimpanzee behavior.
:: Chimp week (BBC): the Gombe story on TV
Kasiisi School Building Project

In partnership with the Kibale Chimpanzee Project, this non-profit organization supports conservation education in primary schools.

Find out more about the work that goes on in rural Uganda near Kibale National Park.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
:: THE KIBALE CHIMPANZEE PROJECT
Image: Sonya Kahlenberg
Kibale Forest, © Sonya Kahlenberg

The Kibale Chimpanzee Project (KCP) was established in 1987 by Professor Richard Wrangham of the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University.

There are several communities of chimpanzees within Kibale National Park.

Richard and his colleagues and students study the Kanyawara community.

At the start of the work, the Kanyawara chimpanzees were wary of humans and observing them was difficult .

Today, however, they are well habituated to the presence of people.

Since 1988, a dedicated team of Ugandan field assistants have been recording the behavior of the chimpanzees, providing valuable information for scientists.

In January 2006, Richard Wrangham, Martin Muller and Ian Gilby will be at Kanyawara, catching up with the field assistants and updating the data collection methods.

This is Ian's first trip to Kibale, and he will be keeping a regular blog. Check back soon to keep up with the latest news from the forest.

Image: Melissa Emery-Thompson
Chimpanzee watching in Kibale
© Melissa Emery Thompson
:: IAN GILBY, OUR FOREST BLOGGER
Imaga: Ian Gilby
Ian in the field, © Ian Gilby

Ian is a post-doctoral fellow in biological anthropology at Harvard University.

He received his PhD in 2004, studying hunting and meat-sharing among the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park, Tanzania.

He is currently using long-term behavioral records to study the dynamics of male cooperative alliances at Kanyawara and Gombe.

This is Ian's first trip to Kibale:

'The main goal of this trip is to energize and evaluate the long-term data collection. Richard, Martin and I will introduce new data sheets, and assess the feasibility of introducing GPS technology.

'We will work closely with the field assistants as they collect data, instructing them in the use of the new data sheets, and evaluating the accuracy and reliability of their observations.

'I will be staying for a bit longer than the others so that I get to know the forest and the chimpanzees.

'Martin will monitor the continuing collection of urine for hormone analysis, and will transport samples back to his laboratory at Boston University.'


:: BACK TO IAN'S BLOG

On the web

Ian Gilby's website
More about his research and a gallery with photos from Africa.

Chimpanzee hunting video
See Ian's amazing footage of Frodo catching a monkey and then having others come and beg meat from him (National Geographic article on the Gome chimps - scroll down the page and look for the video clip link in the right hand side menu).

 
 

:: kanyawara.blog@gmail.com ::