Distribution and abundance of sacred monkeys in Igboland, southern Nigeria

Abstract

Although primates are hunted on a global scale, some species are protected against harassment and killing by taboos or religious doctrines. Sites where the killing of sacred monkeys or the destruction of sacred groves is forbidden may be integral to the conservation of certain species. In 2004, as part of a distribution survey of Sclater's guenon (Cercopithecus sclateri) in southern Nigeria, we investigated reports of sacred monkeys in the Igbo-speaking region of Nigeria. We confirmed nine new sites where primates are protected as sacred: four with tantalus monkeys (Chlorocebus tantalus) and five with mona monkeys (Cercopithecus mona). During 2004-2006, we visited two communities (Akpugoeze and Lagwa) previously known to harbor sacred populations of Ce. sclateri to estimate population abundance and trends. We directly counted all groups and compared our estimates with previous counts when available. We also estimated the size of sacred groves and compared these with grove sizes reported in the literature. The mean size of the sacred groves in Akpugoeze (2.06 ha, n = 10) was similar to others in Africa south of the Sahel, but larger than the average grove in Lagwa (0.49 ha, n = 15). We estimated a total population of 124 Sclater's monkeys in 15 groups in Lagwa and 193 monkeys in 20 groups in Akpugoeze. The Akpugoeze population was relatively stable over two decades, although the proportion of infants declined, and the number of groups increased. As Sclater's monkey does not occur in any official protected areas, sacred populations are important to the species' long-term conservation. Despite the monkeys' destruction of human crops, most local people still adhere to the custom of not killing monkeys. These sites represent ideal locations in which to study the ecology of Sclater's monkey and human-wildlife interactions.

Considerations for using occupancy surveys to monitor forest primates: a case study with Sclater's monkey (Cercopithecus sclateri)

“…Although this outcome is based on a relatively small number of detections, it is supported by previous observations at other sites where Sclater's monkey persists in densely inhabited village environments because of local taboos that prevent it from being hunted (Oates et al 1992;Tooze 1995;Baker et al 2009). …”

“…By limiting variation to 0 or 1 group/plot, we also eliminated the confounding effect that abundance can have on detection (i.e., the probability of detecting at least one group increases in plots with C2 groups) (Royle and Nichols 2003). Although we recognized that group sizes can vary substantially and that such variation can affect detection, previous observations of this species throughout its range, including this study site, indicated that average group sizes were usually small (*10 individuals) (Baker et al 2009; L. Baker, personal observation).…”

Ecological diversity, community structure and conservation of Niger Delta mammals

“…Literature entries reporting precise locality data, recorded in 2005-2015, were also used (e.g., Baker and Olubode 2008;Baker et al 2009;Pimley 2009; Colyn et al Ikemeh 2007aIkemeh , b, 2013Akani et al 2014aAkani et al , b, c, 2015Petrozzi et al 2015). Although published after 2005, Blench (2007) was not considered as a source for current data (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) because (1) most of this author's records came from Powell (1993), and (2) Blench did not explicitly distinguish between his own original/recent records and those drawn from Powell (1993).…”

“…For instance, this region has been carefully explored for primate ecological research since the 1960s (e.g., Oates and Jewell 1967;Jewell and Oates 1969;Oates 1985Oates , 1999Anadu and Oates 1988;Werre 1991;Oates et al 2004;Baker et al 2009), and during the last 20 years also for the ecology of reptiles (e.g., Akani et al 1999;2008;Luiselli 2008) and amphibians (e.g., Akani et al 2004;2014a;. However, the ecology of some groups of animals was least studied, for instance that of non-primate large and medium sized mammals (e.g., Happold 1987;Powell 1993Powell , 1997Angelici et al 1999;Petrozzi et al 2015).…”

The Effect of Forest Fragment Characteristics on Abundance of Colobus vellerosus in the Forest-Savanna Transition Zone of Ghana

“…Research assistants counted the number of individuals in the group to which they were assigned, assessed age-sex class composition every hour during the 5 h that they stayed with the group, and noted whether the count was a 'good' count or not. A 'good' count was characterized by the fact that the group either crossed an open area during counting, or was in a tree with good visibility [Baker et al, 2009]. Research assistants were rotated between groups and between fragments on a daily basis to get distinct counts and minimize biases in the counts.…”