Factors Influencing Ranging on Community Land and Crop Raiding by Mountain Gorillas

Abstract

One of the challenges facing conservationists is the conflict between humans and wildlife due to competition for resources. Ranging outside the national park and crop raiding by mountain gorillas Gorilla beringei beringei around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, is a major concern because it has negative impacts on both wildlife conservation and local livelihoods, particularly due to the high density of subsistence agriculturalists living along the park boundary. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of food availability inside and outside the park on the occurrence of gorillas ranging outside the park and crop raiding. We collected data on 13 mountain gorilla groups ranging in three general locations on the edge of the park over a 13-month period. Using generalized linear mixed models, we found that the number of days both ranging outside the park and crop raiding was positively influenced by the availability of both tea Camellia sinensis and pine (Pinus sp.) plantations and uncultivated land, all of which contain herbaceous plants eaten by the gorillas, as well as due to the availability of palatable crops [bananas (Musa sp.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus sp.) and sweet potatoes Ipomoea batatas]. Our results suggest that ranging outside the park and crop raiding were influenced by food availability outside the park, not by a lack of food resources inside the park. To stop gorillas from leaving the park, we recommend removing herbaceous foods consumed by gorillas from plantations and uncultivated land and planting of buffer crops. If kept clear of herbaceous foods and planted contiguously along the boundary, tea plantations may best serve as a buffer to prevent gorillas from using community land. This study shows that the mitigation of human-wildlife conflict requires research to inform appropriate management strategies based on the species' behavioral ecology.

Going to extremes for sodium acquisition: use of community land and high‐altitude areas by mountain gorillas Gorilla beringei in Rwanda

“…). Mountain gorillas in Bwindi also targeted eucalyptus among a number of other crops when they foraged on community land (Seiler & Robbins , see also Rothman et al . ).…”

“…) and chimpanzees in the corridor area between the Budongo and Bugoma Forest, Uganda (McCarthy et al 2017). Mountain gorillas in Bwindi also targeted eucalyptus among a number of other crops when they foraged on community land (Seiler & Robbins 2016, see also Rothman et al 2006b). The biological processes involved in the uptake and retention of sodium require additional research.…”

“…The motives underlying mountain gorilla excursions outside Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda have thus far received limited academic scrutiny despite the importance of such an understanding for mitigating human-wildlife conflict. Human-wildlife conflict is often generated when wildlife exit their natural habitat, come in close contact with locally residing humans and raid their crops (Siex & Struhsaker 1999, Hill 2000, Osborn 2004, Hockings et al 2009, Redpath et al 2013, Seiler & Robbins 2016, Bryson-Morrison et al 2017, Spagnoletti et al 2017). These encounters can foster negative attitudes by local communities toward wildlife, which can hamper wildlife conservation efforts (Dickman 2010).…”

“…The risk of disease transmission is also a serious concern when gorillas get in close proximity to humans and their livestock (Goldsmith et al 2006, Madden 2006, Rwego et al 2008, Palacios et al 2011. A detailed study of the effects of food availability inside and outside the park on the occurrence of gorillas ranging outside Bwindi Impenetrable National Park found that forays into agricultural land were primarily driven by the availability of herbaceous foods that were present in tea, pine plantations and on uncultivated land, as well as due to the availability of palatable crops such as bananas, eucalyptus, and sweet potatoes (Seiler & Robbins 2016).…”

Interface processes between protected and unprotected areas: A global review and ways forward

“…When cross‐boundary interactions were considered ( n = 161; 40.0%), study sites were predominantly located outside PAs ( n = 107; 26.6%), and very few ( n = 46; 11.4%) combined locations inside and outside a PA. Seventy‐two (17.9%) cross‐boundary interactions were associated with the influence of PAs on their surroundings: on neighboring people's attitudes towards conservation (e.g., Lagendijk & Gusset, ), on human–wildlife conflicts (e.g., Seiler & Robbins, ), or on development outcomes (e.g., Baird, ). Conversely, 69 (17.1%) cross‐boundary interactions concerned the influence of surrounding areas on PAs, such as hunting pressure (Altrichter, ) or natural resource extraction (e.g., Shova & Hubacek, ).…”