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Created page with " 400px | thumb| right | Western chimpanzees © Liran Samuni/TCP Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are a subspecies of chimpanzees that occur in eight West African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Republic of Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone. They are thought to be extirpated from Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Togo (Ginn et al. 2013..."

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[[File: Western_chimpanzee_Liran_Samuni_small.jpg | 400px | thumb| right | Western chimpanzees © Liran Samuni/TCP]]

Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are a subspecies of chimpanzees that occur in eight West African countries: [[Côte d’Ivoire]], [[Ghana]], [[Republic of Guinea]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Liberia]], [[Mali]], [[Senegal]] and [[Sierra Leone]]. They are thought to be extirpated from Benin, [[Burkina Faso]], Gambia and Togo (Ginn et al. 2013, Campbell and Houngbedji 2015, Humle et al. 2016).
In 2020, the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group published a new conservation action plan that comprehensively reviews the status, threats, and priority conservation strategies and actions for western chimpanzees ([http://www.primate-sg.org/action_plans online]). The 2020-2030 Action Plan provides an update from the previous regional conservation action plan for chimpanzees in West Africa (Kormos & Boesch 2003), and elaborates significantly upon how stakeholders can address both direct as well as indirect threats to chimpanzees.
Western chimpanzees occur in a diversity of habitats from rainforests to savanna-dominated areas, and their behavioural flexibility enables them to also survive in agricultural areas with remnants of forests (Boesch & Boesch-Achermann 2000, Hockings et al. 2015, Pruetz & Bertolani 2009; van Leeuwen et al. 2020; Wessling et al. 2018).
Across different sites in West Africa, chimpanzees have been observed to use tools to access certain foods such as cracking nuts (e.g., [[Bossou]], [[Taï National Park]]), fishing for algae (e.g., [[Moyen-Bafing National Park (in process of creation, encompasses Classified Forests of Bakoum, Bakoun, Bani, Boula, Dar-Es-Salam, Dokoro, Sobory) |Moyen-Bafing National Park]]), extracting honey (e.g., [[Boé Sector (including parts of Boé National Park) |Boé]]), or hunting (e.g., [[Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project|Fongoli]]). Additional interesting behaviors only observed in the region include accumulative stone-throwing at [[Boé Sector (including parts of Boé National Park) |Boé]], and [[Sangaredi]], and crab-fishing at [[Seringbara]]. In very hot and arid climates chimpanzees have been observed to use caves (e.g., [[Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project|Fongoli]], [[Bafing]], [[Dindefelo]]). 

'''Threats ''' 
Western chimpanzees are threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation, illegal hunting and diseases [https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15935/102327574 IUCN Red List assessment]. Human activities driving these threats differ between sites, also because ecological, economic and social conditions differ greatly. Contributors to habitat loss in the region include both small-scale (subsistence agriculture, artisanal logging, artisanal mining) and large-scale (infrastructural development, mining and other industrial extraction). While poaching and agricultural activities have been reported for most western chimpanzee sites, fires causing habitat destruction are, for example, mostly a concern in savanna-dominated areas (e.g., northern [[Republic of Guinea|Guinea]], northern [[Côte d’Ivoire]], [[Guinea-Bissau]] and [[Senegal]]).
Western chimpanzee populations have declined by 80% between 1990 to 2014 (Kühl et al. 2017) and consequently, this subspecies was uplisted to Critically Endangered during the most recent [https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15935/102327574 IUCN Red List assessment] (Humle et al. 2016). Based on range-wide species distribution modelling, it has been estimated that approximately 52,800 individuals remain (Heinicke et al. 2019). 

'''Conservation''' 
Most commonly implemented activities for the protection of western chimpanzees include legally protecting their habitat, environmental education activities, and anti-poaching patrols. As only 8% of western chimpanzees occur in high-level protected areas (e.g., National Parks, Heinicke et al. 2019), conservation activities increasingly focus on chimpanzee protection outside of protected areas, for example, by supporting more effective farming to spare encroachment of natural land, or by providing benefits to communities for sustainably managing forests. To care for chimpanzee confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade sanctuaries have been established at [[Haut Niger National Park]], [[Western Area Peninsula National Park]] and in [[Liberia]]. Effectiveness of conservation interventions was reviewed as part of the Conservation Evidence Project in Junker et al. (2017) including several western chimpanzee sites.
The 2020 Conservation Action Plan ([https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2020.SSC-RAP.2.en online]) stressed the need for the establishment of best practice for implementing conservation activities, but also improved regional coordination and challenges in financing conservation (IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group 2020).
In many regions, humans and chimpanzees have been living in close proximity for centuries, but the continuing destruction of chimpanzee habitat has led to an increase in conflicts. The [https://human-primate-interactions.org/ IUCN Primate Specialist Group Section for Human Primate Interactions] was founded recently to pool practical and academic expertise on interactions between humans and primates. 

'''Research''' 
Research on western chimpanzees has been ongoing for several decades, especially at the long-term research sites of [[Bossou]] and [[Taï National Park]]. Research sites have been established to study chimpanzees also outside of rainforest habitat, for example, [[Boé Sector (including parts of Boé National Park) |Boé]], [[Cantanhez National Park]], [[Comoé National Park]], [[Dindefelo]], and [[Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project|Fongoli]]. Increasingly, chimpanzees are also studied in human-modified landscapes, for example, at [[Cantanhez National Park]], and across [[Sierra Leone]].
Chimpanzee ecology and behaviour are not only studied at the above mentioned long-term research sites but, for example, also at [[Gola Rainforest National Park]], [[Haut Niger National Park]], [[Moyen-Bafing National Park (in process of creation, encompasses Classified Forests of Bakoum, Bakoun, Bani, Boula, Dar-Es-Salam, Dokoro, Sobory) |Moyen-Bafing National Park]], and [[Seringbara]].
Additionally, there are a few but growing number of projects which involve multiple sites within West Africa, most notably the PanAfrican Programme. The Pan African Programme: The Cultured Chimpanzee ([http://panafrican.eva.mpg.de/ PanAf]) aims to better understand the evolutionary and ecological drivers of the large diversity in behaviours across chimpanzee populations, for which data have been collected in at least 18 western chimpanzee sites (of which 15 are available on the Wiki). Wessling et al. (2019) additionally collected data across multiple sites in Senegal, whereas multiple scholars are beginning to develop collaborations from which multiple West African sites can be compared (e.g. Sugiyama 1995; Wessling et al. 2018; Schoening et al. 2008).
Data from western chimpanzee sites was also used for modelling suitable environmental conditions for apes across Africa (Junker et al. 2012). 

= Sites included in A.P.E.S. Wiki =
[[File: Sites_Wiki_online_20200604_cut.png| 800px | thumb| center | Sites covered by A.P.E.S. Wiki for western chimpanzees © A.P.E.S. Wiki Team]]

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="basic-information"
|'''Country'''
|'''Site'''
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Burkina Faso]]'''
|1 [[Arly National Park]]
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Côte d’Ivoire]]'''
|2 [[Azagny National Park]]
|3 [[Cavally Classified Forest]]
|4 [[Comoé National Park]]
|5 [[Goin-Débé Classified Forest]]
|6 [[Marahoué National Park]]
|-
|
|7 [[Taï National Park]]
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Ghana]]'''
|8 [[Bia National Park]]
|9 [[Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve]]
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Republic of Guinea]]'''
|10 [[Badiar National Park]]
|11 [[Bossou]]
|12 [[Diécké Classified Forest]]
|13 [[Gadha Woundou Classified Forest]]
|14 [[Haut Niger National Park]]
|-
|
|15 [[Kankan Faunal Reserve]]
|16 [[Koumbia]]
|17 [[Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve]]
|18 [[Moyen-Bafing National Park (in process of creation, encompasses Classified Forests of Bakoum, Bakoun, Bani, Boula, Dar-Es-Salam, Dokoro, Sobory)]]
|19 [[Nialama Classified Forest]]
|-
|
|20 [[Ouré‐Kaba (with Pinselli and Soyah Classified Forests)]]
|21 [[Pic de Fon Classified Forest]]
|22 [[Sangaredi]]
|23 [[Seringbara]]
|24 [[Sobeya]]
|-
|
|25 [[Ziama Biosphere Reserve]]
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Guinea-Bissau]]'''
|26 [[Boé Sector (including parts of Boé National Park)]]
|27 [[Cantanhez National Park]]
|28 [[Lagoas de Cufada Natural Park]]
|
|
|-
|'''[[Liberia]]'''
|29 [[Bong Mountain Proposed Protected Area]]
|30 [[Cestos-Senkwehn Proposed Protected Area]]
|31 [[Corridor linking Sapo National Park (SNP) and Grebo-Krahn National Park (GKNP)]]
|32 [[East Nimba Nature Reserve]]
|33 [[Foya Proposed Protected Area]]
|-
|
|34 [[Gbi Proposed Protected Area]]
|35 [[Gola Forest National Park]]
|36 [[Grand Kru-River Gee Proposed Protected Area]]
|37 [[Grebo-Krahn National Park]]
|38 [[Kpo Mountains Proposed Protected Area]]
|-
|
|39 [[Krahn-Bassa Proposed Protected Area]]
|40 [[Lake Piso Multiple Sustainable Use Reserve]]
|41 [[Margibi Mangrove Proposed Protected Area]]
|42 [[Sapo National Park]]
|43 [[West Nimba Community Forest]]
|-
|
|44 [[Wologizi]]
|45 [[Wonegizi Proposed Protected Area]]
|46 [[Zwedru Proposed Protected Area]]
|
|
|-
|'''[[Mali]]'''
|47 [[Bafing]]
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''[[Senegal]]'''
|48 [[Dindefelo]]
|49 [[Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project]]
|50 [[Niokolo-Koba National Park]]
|
|
|-
|'''[[Sierra Leone]]'''
|51 [[Bumbuna Dam Catchment Area]]
|52 [[Gola Rainforest National Park]]
|53 [[Kambui Hills Forest Reserve]]
|54 [[Kangari Hills Non-Hunting Forest Reserve]]
|55 [[Loma Mountains National Park]]
|-
|
|56 [[Outamba-Kilimi National Park]]
|57 [[Tingi Hills Non-hunting Forest Reserve]]
|58 [[Tiwai Island]]
|59 [[Western Area Peninsula National Park]]
|
|}

= References =
Campbell G and Houngbedji M. 2015. Conservation status of the West African chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) in Togo and Benin. Arlington, VA: Primate Action Fund. Unpublished report. 
Ginn LP et al 2013. Strong evidence that the West African chimpanzee is extirpated from Burkina Faso. [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/strong-evidence-that-the-west-african-chimpanzee-is-extirpated-from-burkina-faso/9871F1F4A85D1F79D3A7141DB3CC6B12 Oryx] 47, 325–6. 
Heinicke S et al 2019. Advancing conservation planning for western chimpanzees using IUCN SSC A.P.E.S.–the case of a taxon-specific database. [https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab1379 Environmental Research Letters] 14: 064001. 
Hockings KJ et al 2015. Apes in the Anthropocene: flexibility and survival. [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169534715000397 Trends in Ecology and Evolution] 30, 215–222. 
Humle T et al 2016. Pan Troglodytes ssp. verus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. Online: [https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15935/102327574 iucnredlist.org] 
Kormos R and Boesch C 2003. Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Chimpanzees in West Africa. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group and Conservation International, Washington DC, USA 
Kühl HS et al 2017. The Critically Endangered western chimpanzee declines by 80%. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajp.22681 American Journal of Primatology. 79 e22681] 
IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group. (2020). Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Western Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) 2020–2030. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. [https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2020.SSC-RAP.2.en Online] 
Junker J et al 2012. Recent decline in suitable environmental conditions for African great apes. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.12005 Diversity and Distributions] 18:1077–91. 
Junker J et al. 2017. Primate Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions. University of Cambridge, Cambridge. [https://www.conservationevidence.com/synopsis/index Online] 
Pruetz, J and Bertolani P 2009. Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) behavioral responses to stresses associated with living in a savannahmosaic environment: Implications for hominin adaptations to open habitats. [https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/anthr_pubs/10/ PaleoAnthropology] 2009, 252–262. 
Schöning C et al. 2008 The nature of culture: Technological variation in chimpanzee predation on army ants revisited. [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248407002618 Journal of Human Evolution] 55(1): 48-59. 
Sugiyama Y. 1995. Tool-use for catching ants by chimpanzees at Bossou and Monts Nimba, West Africa. Primates 36: 193-205. 
Wessling EG et al. 2018. Seasonal variation in physiology challenges the notion of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) as a forest-adapted species. [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2018.00060/full Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution] 6:60. 
Wessling EG et al. 2019. Stable isotope variation in savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus ) indicate avoidance of energetic challenges through dietary compensation at the limits of the range. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.23782 American Journal of Physical Anthropology] 168 (4), 665-675.

Western chimpanzee - Revision history