January 2010: Sydney at the Royal
Botanical Garden
GTAP's aspiring botanist Sydney
Ndolo has completed the first semester of his graduate
studies at the University of Edinburgh. He has excelled
in both his course work and graduate training. The GTAP
team is very proud of Sydney's success, and he is
regularly talked about around the camp fire at night. We
look forward to his return to the Goualougo Triangle and
his future accomplishments for ape conservation!
December 2009: Transect Team Success!
Crepin Eyana, Wen Mayoukou, and
transect team have completed another mission in the
logging concession adjacent to the Nouabale-Ndoki
National Park. Crepin has spent six years documenting
the effects of logging on apes and their habitats.
Transect surveys are some of the most difficult and
dangerous work in conservation. However, the information
that is being collected is essential to the long-term
conservation of wild gorillas and chimpanzees in the
Congo Basin.
November 2009: Ambassador visits
Goualougo
GTAP was honored to host a visit
by Mr. Nicolas Normand, France?s ambassador to the
Republic of Congo. Mr. and Mrs. Normand have been strong
supporters of conservation efforts in the Republic of
Congo, and particularly the Nouabale-Ndoki National
Park. During their visit to the Goualougo Triangle, Mr.
and Mrs. Normand had their first encounters with wild
chimpanzees!
October 2009: Identify this moth?
This beautiful moth was photographed in the GTAP base
camp. It was attracted to the lights in the screen
office tent, but was safely returned to the forest by
Marcel Meguessa. The moth's wing span was more than 5
inches, and sported some intense owl eyes! Could this be
a Polyphemus moth? Anyone?
September 2009: Congratulations
Sydney!
We are also very pleased to report that Sydney Ndolo has
successfully completed his English training course and
is starting the Master's program at the University of
Edinburgh in Scotland. He is working with Dr. David
Harris who is the director of the Herbarium of the Royal
Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Way to go Sydney!
August 2009: Goualougo's Tool Using
Apes on Ants
This month in the American Journal of Primatology, GTAP
scientists reported their observations of chimpanzees
preying upon ants with a specialized tool set consisting
of a wooden perforating tool to open ant nests and
another flexible tool to gather insects. Although
chimpanzees in Goualougo are targeting the same ants
harvested in other regions, there are no other reports
of such regular or widespread use of more than one type
of tool to prey upon army ants.
July 2009: Congratulations Jean
Robert!
We are pleased to announce that Mr. Jean Robert Onononga
has completed the Master's program in Primate
Conservation at Oxford Brookes University. His thesis
explores options to improve methods to estimate
chimpanzee and gorilla population densities. GTAP very
happily welcomes his return to Congo with a promotion to
Project Manager. Many congratulations for a job well
done!
June 2009: A day spent with Dorothy
and baby Oz
Transferring into the group several years ago, it now
seems that Dorothy has officially joined the Moto
community. Her son is doing very well, and starting to
show a bit of independence from his mother. Dorothy is
one of the most frequent and successful tool users in
the Moto community. Even with a small baby in two, we
have observed her honey pounding in the high reaches of
the forest canopy.
May 2009: Focusing on Health
GTAP thanks Drs. Tom Gillespie, Ken Cameron, and Alain
Ondzie for trekking out to the Goualougo Triangle base
camp. Their combined visit involved research projects to
improve the health of GTAP staff, the wild apes that we
study, and the Ndoki forest. It is an understatement to
say that their presentation on preventative health was
well-received. Thanks for a great visit!
April 2009: Leakey grows up
Male chimpanzees typically stay in the group where they
are born, and as they grow up must find a place in the
hierarchy of older males. Leakey has been spending less
time with his mother, and more time with the males of
the Moto community. The integration is not always easy,
and he has received his fair share of threats from the
alpha male. However, Leakey's confidence does not seem
daunted!
March 2009:
Maya's sweet success!
On March 4th,
we had a great observation of Maya pounding for honey.
She located two small stingless bee hives in the trunk
of a large tree. The tool that she used to open the hive
was one of the heaviest that we have recorded ? over a
kilogram! She used both her hands and foot to grasp the
tool as she pounded it against the hive. Mark, the
juvenile son of Moja, tried to steal some honey, but was
severely reprimanded by Maya. This tool using
observation coincides nicely with the publication of our
previous honey gathering by Goualougo chimps (see
Rebecca Morelle's science story on the BBC at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7946614.stm).
February
2009: A Decade Strong
It is this
month that GTAP celebrates its 10th
anniversary. The success of this project has been due to
the tireless efforts of the entire team. Jean Robert
Onononga has conducted hundreds of kilometers of
transect surveys to document ape abundance and
distribution throughout this region. Crepin Eyana has
continued this tradition in the adjacent logging
concession, and has documented many important aspects of
the effects of logging on wild chimpanzees and gorillas.
Sydney Ndolo is the GTAP's staff botanist, and has
already contributed much to our ecological monitoring of
the Ndoki's forests. Our research and conservation would
be simply not be possible without the dedication of the
forest guides. Their love of the forests is also a great
inspiration. Also, we have not forgotten our dear friend
and colleague Paul Zingouata. He remains a legend in
these forests and is missed by all.
January
2009: Spending time with Goualougo Gorillas
On January 14th,
Igor Singono spent more than seven hours with a group of
six western lowland gorillas in the Moto chimpanzee
community's range. The gorillas fed on the new leaves of
Milicia excelsa and Antiaris toxicaria.
One of the mandates of the GTAP is to study the feeding
ecology and distribution of sympatric apes in the
Goualougo Triangle.
December 2008: Congrats to Crepin
Eyana Ayina!
Mr. Eyana Ayina has worked with the GTAP since 2005 and
has proven to be a capable team leader. In the summer of
2008, Mr. Eyana Ayina successfully completed a 3-month
Regional Research and Monitoring Training in Lope Gabon
under the guidance of Dr. Fiona "Boo" Maisels of the
Wildlife Conservation Society. This training course was
aimed at providing practical and theoretical courses on
conservation biology, research methodology, and data
analysis/reporting. In December, he used this training
to complete a set of surveys in the logging zone
adjacent to the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park. Congrats
Crepin!
November 2008: Thanks
Ian!
Following in the footsteps of his father, Ian Nichols
has spent several months during the past few years in
the Goualougo Triangle on assignment as a photographer
for the National Geographic Society. His goal was to
document the Goualougo Triangle chimpanzees and other
wildlife inhabiting the pristine forests. Ian was
particularly interested in photographing the unique tool
using behaviors of the chimpanzees. In order to
accomplish this task, Ian used camera traps to capture
photographs of the apes and other wildlife. Cameras were
stationed at termite mounds known to be visited by
chimpanzees which allowed him to capture images of
termite fishing by the apes. Ian also stationed cameras
at fruiting trees where he was rewarded with images of
chimpanzees, elephants, gorillas and red river hogs
pigs. In addition, Ian used tree platforms that were
stationed high in the canopy to get unique views of the
apes in the canopy.
October 2008: Bayanga and the Beetle
The Ndoki forests are full of creatures big and small. One of
the most remarkable is the African Goliath beetle (Goliathus
goliatus). These beetles are among the largest and heaviest
beetles in the world and their diversity across Central Africa
is quiet high. This Goliath beetle was seen while surveying for
chimpanzees. Bayanga is the forest guide who spotted the beetle
near the path.
September 2008: Josh Foer visits the Goualougo Triangle
In April 2008, Joshua Foer (a writer on assignment for National
Geographic Magazine) visited the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project.
We were hoping that Josh might have the opportunity to observe
some of the unique tool using behavior of these apes. During one
of our last days in the forest with him, Josh observed a young
female pounding for honey. While she did not obtain much honey,
she did use eight different tools, showing Joshua just how
persistent chimpanzees can be when trying to get at this food
resource. Josh's article in National Geographic magazine is
scheduled for December 2008 and will accompany photographs by
Ian Nichols.
August 2008: Jean Robert Onononga presents at the
International Society of Primatology
One of the main goals of the Goualougo Ape Project is to provide
scientific training and educational opportunities to Congolese
nationals who are working to conserve wildlife. In August 2008,
Mr. Onononga was awarded a small grant from the Rufford
Foundation to attend the International Primatological Society
Congress that was held in Edinburgh, Scotland. The congress was
attended by primatologists and conservationists from around the
world. Mr. Onononga's presentation comparing the standing crop
and marked-nest methods of surveying great ape nests was very
well-received.
