Snares
In Uganda, we are fortunate that the local culture does not promote hunting of apes for the bushmeat trade. However, people do enter the forest to set snares for small game, such as pigs and duiker. Snares are inexpensive and simple to set up. As in the photograph on the right, a typical snare consists of a small camouflaged loop of wire or nylon attached to a bent pole. When an animal steps into the wire, the pole releases and tightens the wire around the animal's leg. Though not set for chimpanzees, snares represent a major hazard for chimpanzees who can step in them as they move through the forest. Chimpanzees are incredibly strong and thus are able to rip the wire from the pole or the pole from the group, tightening the wire loop and cutting into chimpanzee's skin. Approximately one-third of chimpanzees at Kanyawara have snare injuries, ranging from missing or bent digits to deformed or amputated hands and feet. To animals that rely on climbing and traveling long distances to reach food, these injuries can be a severe impediment to survival.
Kibale Chimpanzee Project, in collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Makerere University researcher Samuel Mugume, have supported a snare removal program in Kibale since 1997. Our patrollers find and remove several hundred snares per year. Despite this aggressive effort, we can only reach a limited area and we are saddened to see new snare injuries from chimpanzees who range in the peripheral areas of the home range or who immigrate to Kanyawara from other areas of the forest. We hope to expand snare removal efforts, as well as to use community outreach to promote alternate sources of livelihood for hunters.
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Wire snare. Photo by Alexander Georgiev |
Seven-year old chimpanzee Max has lost both of his feet to wire snares.
Photo by Kyleb Wild. |
 Adolescent female Harare's left hand was amputated by a trap or snare.Photo by Kyleb Wild |
Kasiisi teacher Beatrice Kabahuma and her students. |
The Kasiisi School Project
Kibale National Park is located in rural Uganda, where economic and educational opportunities are still quite limited. Because we work closely with the local community that makes up our field and support staff, and because community development is an essential component of forest and wildlife conservation, we feel it is essential to contribute to the development of the communities around Kibale. In collaboration with the Kibale Chimpanzee Project and the Jane Goodall Institute of Uganda, the Kasiisi Project was established by Elizabeth Ross in 1997 to enhance the educational opportunities of local schoolchildren.
Primary education is universally available to Ugandan children. However, schools in rural areas are overcrowded and understaffed. Children lack basic needs such as uniforms, school supplies, nutritional food, and hygenic supplies. Schools often lack clean water, latrines, electricity, and sometimes even buildings. Few children, especially girls, are able to afford to advance to secondary school. The Kasiisi project raises funds and delivers materials to support a range of school needs: constructing school buildings and staff housing, providing children with uniforms and supplies, funding training opportunities for teachers, and offering scholarships for secondary school training.
For information on how you can help, visit the Kasiisi Project website.
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Children dance at the Kasiisi school
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Winners of secondary school scholarships from the Kasiisi Project.
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Great Ape World Heritage Species Project
The Kibale Chimpanzee Project and co-director Richard Wrangham are partners with the Great Ape World Heritage Species Project, a novel initiative to garner international commitments for the conservation of great apes and protection of key habitats. Using great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and bonobos) as ambassadors for endangered habitats throughout African and Asia, GAWHSP fosters collaboration of scientists, conservation NGOs, and key governmental officials in ape range countries to increase commitments to protected areas and organize a long-term plan for preservation of genetically and ecologically diverse ape populations.
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Photo by Alain Houle |
Photo by Kyleb Wild
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Chimpanzee Ecotourism in Kibale National Park
To minimize disturbance of our scientific research, we do not permit tourists to visit the Kanyawara group of chimpanzees. However, we encourage visitors to Uganda to experience the wild chimpanzees of Kibale Forest at the nearby Kanyanchu ecotourism program, managed by the Ugandan Wildlife Authority. For a very reasonable price, you and a small group of fellow travelers have the opportunity to observe chimpanzees and other wild animals in their natural habitat and to learn about their behavior from experienced and knowledgable guides.
For information on obtaining chimpanzee tracking permits, accommodations, and other activites in Kibale and the surrounding areas, please visit the Travel Uganda website.
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contacts: Richard Wrangham, Harvard University Department of Anthropology, 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
Martin Muller, University of New Mexico, MSC01-1040 Anthropology, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Kibale Chimpanzee Project, c/o MUBFS, PO Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
web design: Melissa Emery Thompson |
