Tacugama

Counting chimpanzees across an entire country is a complicated task. Because it is realistically impossible to count every single chimpanzee, some sort of estimate must be made. Chimpanzees may occur in many different habitat types and we are using several different methods, each one according to the type of habitat to be surveyed.

Chimpanzees are difficult to see in the wild so we look for their signs. Signs can include direct sightings, feeding remains, dung, or nests. Nests are the most commonly observed signs. Chimpanzees create a new nest each night to sleep in by bending branches into a solid bowl up in a tree. These can remain visible for up to several months.

Jido demonstrates his nest at Tacugama – it’s not so easy to spot in the wild!
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Spotting a wild nest from below (it’s the darker spot in the centre of the picture)
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In larger forested areas, we will search for chimpanzee signs while walking a series of straight lines (called transects) through the forest. Using transects to