5th Iberian Primatological Congress (original) (raw)

2016, Folia Primatologica

Countries such as Guinea and Sierra Leone are not only home to some of the largest remaining populations of the West African subspecies of chimpanzee, but also host vast numbers of native oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and areas of land sought after for large scale oil palm industrial development. The feral oil palm often acts as a prime resource for both humans and chimpanzees across vast mosaics of fallow areas, cultivated fields, riverine areas, forest fragments and human settlements. Since the majority of chimpanzees in both these countries occur outside protected areas, many populations rely on the feral oil palm, possibly as well as human cultivars, for their subsistence. Such landscapes have, in some cases, sustained human-chimpanzee coexistence for generations; however, more recent, rapid changes in landscape structure and use are posing new challenges and fuelling increased intolerance towards chimpanzees and other wildlife. Much of my research centres on understanding how human and chimpanzee behaviour, perceptions and culture influence their ability to share the same landscape and on assessing the main challenges to people's tolerance towards wildlife. The case of the oil palm illustrates perfectly the complexities of coexistence and the challenges that lie ahead for biodiversity conservation and development. Variation in how and where chimpanzees use the oil palm reflects both their ecological and cultural adaptation to human-modified landscapes. Chimpanzee communities across West Africa may use the feral oil palm for nesting and/or for feeding purposes, while the oil palm provides humans with numerous products of immense domestic and commercial value. It is essential for