scholarly journals Leprosy in wild chimpanzees

Nature ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley J. Hockings ◽  
Benjamin Mubemba ◽  
Charlotte Avanzi ◽  
Kamilla Pleh ◽  
Ariane Düx ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
National Park ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Mycobacterium Leprae ◽  
Pan Troglodytes Verus ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Red Squirrels ◽  
Disease Symptoms ◽  
Main Host ◽  
Progression Of Disease

AbstractHumans are considered as the main host for Mycobacterium leprae1, the aetiological agent of leprosy, but spillover has occurred to other mammals that are now maintenance hosts, such as nine-banded armadillos and red squirrels2,3. Although naturally acquired leprosy has also been described in captive nonhuman primates4–7, the exact origins of infection remain unclear. Here we describe leprosy-like lesions in two wild populations of western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau and Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. Longitudinal monitoring of both populations revealed the progression of disease symptoms compatible with advanced leprosy. Screening of faecal and necropsy samples confirmed the presence of M. leprae as the causative agent at each site and phylogenomic comparisons with other strains from humans and other animals show that the chimpanzee strains belong to different and rare genotypes (4N/O and 2F). These findings suggest that M. leprae may be circulating in more wild animals than suspected, either as a result of exposure to humans or other unknown environmental sources.

scholarly journals Leprosy in wild chimpanzees

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley J. Hockings ◽  
Benjamin Mubemba ◽  
Charlotte Avanzi ◽  
Kamilla Pleh ◽  
Ariane Düx ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Mycobacterium Leprae ◽  
Pan Troglodytes Verus ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Red Squirrels ◽  
Disease Symptoms ◽  
Multiple Introductions ◽  
Main Host ◽  
Progression Of Disease

ABSTRACTHumans are considered the main host for Mycobacterium leprae, the aetiologic agent of leprosy, but spill-over to other mammals such as nine-banded armadillos and red squirrels occurs. Although naturally acquired leprosy has also been described in captive nonhuman primates, the exact origins of infection remain unclear. Here, we report on leprosy-like lesions in two wild populations of western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau, and the Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. Longitudinal monitoring of both populations revealed the progression of disease symptoms compatible with advanced leprosy. Screening of faecal and necropsy samples confirmed the presence of M. leprae as the causative agent at each site and phylogenomic comparisons with other strains from humans and other animals show that the chimpanzee strains belong to different and rare genotypes (4N/O and 2F). The independent evolutionary origin of M. leprae in two geographically distant populations of wild chimpanzees, with no prolonged direct contact with humans, suggests multiple introductions of M. leprae from an unknown animal or environmental source.

scholarly journals Differential utilization of cashew—a low-conflict crop—by sympatric humans and chimpanzees

Oryx ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley J. Hockings ◽  
Claudia Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
National Park ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Economic Importance ◽  
Crop Damage ◽  
Pan Troglodytes Verus ◽  
Agricultural Matrix ◽  
Cashew Nut ◽  
Local Farmers

AbstractModification of natural areas by human activities mostly has a negative impact on wildlife by increasing the geographical and ecological overlap between people and animals. This can result in escalating levels of competition and conflict between humans and wildlife, for example over crops. However, data on specific crops and crop parts that are unattractive to wildlife yet important for human livelihoods are surprisingly scarce, especially considering their potential application to reducing crop damage by wildlife. Here we examine the co-utilization of a nationally important and spatially abundant cash crop, cashew Anacardium occidentalis, by people and chimpanzees Pan troglodytes verus inhabiting a forested–agricultural matrix in Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau. In this Park people predominantly harvest the marketable cashew nut and discard the unprofitable fruit whereas chimpanzees only consume the fruit. Local farmers generally perceive a benefit of raiding by chimpanzees as they reportedly pile the nuts, making harvesting easier. By ensuring that conflict levels over crops, especially those with high economic importance, remain low, the costs of living in proximity to wildlife can potentially be reduced. Despite high levels of deforestation associated with cashew farming, these findings point to the importance of cashew as a low-conflict crop in this area.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and their mammalian sympatriates: Mt. Assirik, Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal

Primates ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. McGrew ◽  
Pamela J. Baldwin ◽  
Linda F. Marchant ◽  
Jill D. Pruetz ◽  
Caroline E. G. Tutin
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pan Troglodytes Verus

scholarly journals Sustainable Peeling of Kapok Tree (Ceiba pentandra) Bark by the Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) of Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 962-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Lapuente ◽  
Mimi Arandjelovic ◽  
Hjalmar Kühl ◽  
Paula Dieguez ◽  
Christophe Boesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
Ivory Coast ◽  
National Park ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Pan Troglodytes Verus ◽  
Papio Anubis ◽  
Ceiba Pentandra ◽  
Fallback Food ◽  
Bark Peeling

AbstractPrimates often consume either bark or cambium (inner bark) as a fallback food to complete their diet during periods of food scarcity. Wild chimpanzees exhibit great behavioral diversity across Africa, as studies of new populations frequently reveal. Since 2014, we have been using a combination of camera traps and indirect signs to study the ecology and behavior of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast, to document and understand the behavioral adaptations that help them to survive in a savanna–forest mosaic landscape. We found that Comoé chimpanzees peel the bark of the buttresses of kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) trees to eat the cambium underneath. Individuals of all sex/age classes across at least six neighboring communities peeled the bark, but only during the late rainy season and beginning of the dry season, when cambium may represent an important fallback food. Baboons (Papio anubis) also target the same trees but mainly eat the bark itself. Most of the bark-peeling wounds on Ceiba trees healed completely within 2 years, seemingly without any permanent damage. We recorded chimpanzees visiting trees in early stages of wound recovery but leaving them unpeeled. Only 6% of peeled trees (N = 53) were reexploited after a year, suggesting that chimpanzees waited for the rest of the trees to regrow the bark fully before peeling them again, thus using them sustainably. Many human groups of hunter-gatherers and herders exploited cambium sustainably in the past. The observation that similar sustainable bark-peeling behavior evolved in both chimpanzees and humans suggests that it has an important adaptive value in harsh environments when other food sources become seasonally scarce, by avoiding the depletion of the resource and keeping it available for periods of scarcity.

scholarly journals Sorcery and nature conservation

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOANA SOUSA ◽  
ANDREW AINSLIE ◽  
CATHERINE M HILL
Keyword(s):  
Nature Conservation ◽  
Pan Troglodytes ◽  
National Park ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Pan Troglodytes Verus ◽  
Abuse Of Power ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Local Narratives ◽  
Local Representations

SUMMARYRepresentations of animals are diverse and can portray local understandings of nature conservation, information that is often missing from conservation debates. In Cantanhez National Park (southern Guinea-Bissau), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are recognized as animals that share certain features with humans but live independently of them in the forest. However, chimpanzees are also integral to socially mediated, deep-rooted local narratives about sorcery and nature conservation. We use results from ethnographic research to explore local interpretations of chimpanzee attacks on people. Attacks by ‘bush’ chimpanzees occur when an animal is provoked by someone's actions towards it. Unprovoked attacks, however, are either interpreted as the act of a shape-shifted chimpanzee (i.e. a sorcerer) or as the responsibility of conservation stakeholders. In the case of unprovoked attacks, chimpanzee aggression is linked to a perceived abuse of power and to greed, with implications for nature conservation locally. Close analysis of local representations of animals contributes to a broader consideration of conservation priorities and practice.

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