Outamba-Kilimi National Park
West Africa > Sierra Leone > Outamba-Kilimi National Park
Summary
- Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Outamba-Kilimi National Park.
- It has been estimated that 1,020 (CI: 658-1,596) individuals occur in the site.
- The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
- This site has a total size of 1,109 km².
- Key threats to chimpanzees is habitat destruction caused by intentional burning for agricultural activities and hunting, and mining.
- Conservation activities at the site mainly focus on providing sustainable livelihoods, but the progress and status of these projects are unknown.
Site characteristics
Situated in the north of Sierra Leone, Outamba-Kilimi National Park is divided into two blocks: Outamba (741 km²) and Kilimi (368 km²) (BirdLife International 2019). In the 1980s, with support from the IUCN and WWF, Geza Teleki, a primatologist and conservationist, was a driving force behind the establishment of Outamba-Kilimi National Park, which was finally declared as such in 1995 (Brncic et al. 2010, Munro 2015). In addition to the western chimpanzee, the site is home to forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), Western red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus badius), pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), leopards (Panthera pardus), and forest buffalos (Brncic et al. 2010). With at least 256 bird species, the site is also an Important Bird Area (BirdLife International 2019).
Table 1. Basic site information for Outamba-Kilimi National Park
| Area | 1109 km² |
| Coordinates | 9.73, -12.07 |
| Designation | National Park |
| Habitat types | Subtropical/tropical dry forest, subtropical/tropical lowland forest, moist savanna |
IUCN habitat categories Site designations
Ape status
The population size was estimated at 1,020 chimpanzees during a nationwide survey in 2010 (Brncic et al. 2010). Due to a lack of survey data, the population trend is unknown. Chimpanzee densities are higher in Outamba than in Kilimi (Brncic et al. 2010).
Table 2. Great ape population estimates in Outamba-Kilimi National Park
| Species | Year | Abundance estimate (95% CI) | Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI) | Encounter rate (nests/km) | Area | Method | Source | Comments | A.P.E.S. database ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pan troglodytes verus | 1983 | 49-60 | 0.3 | Kilimi | Index survey | Harding 1984 as cited by Brncic et al. 2010 | Reconnaissance walk | ||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 1989 | 200-300 | Present | Outamba | Unknown | Alp 1989 as cited by Brncic et al. 2010 | The population size was thought to be as high as 600-700 | ||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2010 | 950 (615-1472) | 1.21 (0.78-1.88) | 8.9 (6.71-11.83) | Outamba | Line transects (Distance) | Brncic et al. 2010 | ||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2010 | 70 (22-246) | 0.27 (0.08-0.90) | 1.9 (0.61-6.41) | Kilimi | Line transects (Distance) | Brncic et al. 2010 | ||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2010 | 1020 (658-1596) | 0.97 (0.62-1.51) | Outamba-Kilimi | Line transects (Distance) | Brncic et al. 2010 |
Threats
The export and trade of wild animals, especially chimpanzees, emerged as a lucrative enterprise in Sierra Leone in the 1920s (Munro 2015). Two prominent wildlife dealers, Franz Sitter and Suleiman Mansaray, exported approximately 2,000 chimpanzees in the 1970s alone (Munro 2015). After Outamba and Kilimi were proposed as game reserves in 1965, Franz Sitter intensified hunting to take as much wildlife as possible from these areas before they could be protected (Brncic et al. 2010). However, there are no signs of an ongoing chimpanzee trade. Nowadays, the biggest threat to chimpanzees is habitat destruction caused by illegal mining and the intentional burning of areas. Hunting signs are present in both Outamba and Kilimi, indicating that poaching is an ongoing threat (Brncic et al. 2010). Villages are found within the park, especially throughout the Kilimi section of the park, where cattle grazing, farming, and timber extraction also occur (Brncic et al. 2010). In the Outamba section, larger areas seem to be unaffected by humans than in Kilimi (Brncic et al. 2010).
Table 3. Threats to great apes in Outamba-Kilimi National Park
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Quantified severity | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | 1.1 Housing & urban areas | Low | A number of villages is located in both sections of the park (Brncic et al. 2010) | Ongoing (2010) | |
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | 2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Low | Small-scale subsistence farming and palm plantations (Kaiser pers. obs.) | Ongoing (2019) | |
| 2.3 Livestock farming & ranching | Present | The northern part of Kilimi is used for cattle grazing (Brncic et al. 2010) | Ongoing (2010) | ||
| 3. Energy production & mining | 3.2 Mining & quarrying | High | Illegal gold mining activities in Outamba (Brncic et al. 2010) | Ongoing (2010) | |
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | Absent | ||||
| 5. Biological resource use | 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | High | High hunting intensity in the late 1960s and 1970s; hunting signs are still frequently found in the park (Brncic et al. 2010) | Ongoing (2010) | |
| 5.3 Logging & wood harvesting | Present | Timber extraction in the northern part of Kilimi (Brncic et al. 2010) | Ongoing (2010) | ||
| 5.4 Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Medium | Signs of dam inside the park used for fishing activities (Kaiser pers. obs.) | Ongoing (2019) | ||
| 6. Human intrusions & disturbance | 6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises | Present | The park’s infrastructure was destroyed and conservation Activities were brought to a halt due to civil war (Munro 2015) | 1991-2002 | |
| 7. Natural system modifications | 7.1 Fire & fire suppression | High | Annual burning affects a large proportion of the park (Brncic et al. 2010) | Ongoing (2010) | |
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | 8.2 Problematic native species/diseases | Medium | Widespread zones of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) that degrade the forest edge (Kaiser pers. obs.) | Ongoing (2019) | |
| 9. Pollution | Absent | ||||
| 10. Geological Events | Absent | ||||
| 11. Climate change & severe weather | Unknown | ||||
| 12. Other options | Absent |
Conservation activities
Park guards funded by the government are stationed around the park to monitor and deter poaching and illegal mining. The site is a priority zone for the STEWARD program, which is a forest conservation and sustainable livelihoods program supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States Forest Service / International Programs (USFS/IP) (WCF 2015). The https://panverus.org/about/ Pan Verus Project] also aims to address the needs of local communities and find ways to provide sustainable agriculture practices and alternative livelihoods, for example, through tourism.
Table 4. Conservation activities in Outamba-Kilimi National Park
| Category | Specific activity | Description | Year of activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | Not reported | ||
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | Not reported | ||
| 3. Energy production & mining | Not reported | ||
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | Not reported | ||
| 5. Biological resource use | 5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols | Government funded park guards stationed around park to monitor illegal poaching and mining (Kaiser pers. obs.) | Unknown |
| 6. Human intrusions & disturbance | Not reported | ||
| 7. Natural system modifications | Not reported | ||
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | Not reported | ||
| 9. Pollution | Not reported | ||
| 10. Education & Awareness | 10.5. Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions | The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) organized an awareness raising theater play, which toured around the site (WCF 2011); discussion and showing camera trap images (PanAfrican Programme) | 2010, 2016/17 |
| 11. Habitat Protection | 11.2. Legally protect primate habitat | The site is a national park since 1995 (Munro 2015) | Since 1995 |
| 12. Species Management | Not reported | ||
| 13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives | Not reported |
Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)
Challenges
Table 5. Challenges reported for Outamba-Kilimi National Park
| Challenge | Source |
|---|---|
| Lack of trust and support from local communities | Brncic et al. 2010 |
| Lack of technical means | Brncic et al. 2010 |
Research activities
Outamba-Kilimi was a temporary research site for the PanAfrican Programme based at the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Documented behaviours
Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for Outamba-Kilimi National Park
| Behavior | Source |
|---|---|
| Algae scooping | Kühl et al. 2019 |
| Ant dipping | Kühl et al. 2019 |
| Ant eating | Kühl et al. 2019 |
| Stepping sticks | Alp 1997 |
| Seat sticks | Alp 1997 |
References
Alp, R. 1997. "Stepping-sticks" and "seat-sticks": new types of tools used by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Sierra Leone. American Journal of Primatology, 41(1):45-52.
BirdLife International. 2019. Important Bird Areas factsheet: Outamba-Kilimi National Park. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/07/2019.
Brncic, T.M., Amarasekaran,B. & McKenna,A. 2010. Final Report of the Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census Project. Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Kühl HS et al. 2019. Human impact erodes chimpanzee behavioral diversity, Science 363, 1453–1455
Munro, P. 2015. Geza Teleki and the Emergence of Sierra Leone’s Wildlife Conservation Movement. Primate Conservation, (29):115-122. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1896/052.029.0112
Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF). 2011. Report on Education and Awareness Activities to improve the protection of wild chimpanzees and their habitat in West Africa, undertaken by the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation. Report online: https://www.wildchimps.org/fileadmin/content_files/pdfs/reports/2010-Education_Ecotour_yearly-report_2010_April-2011.pdf
Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF). 2015. Baseline Assessment of Chimpanzee and Elephant Populations in the Mano River Union Countries – Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea (2007-2014). Report online: https://www.wildchimps.org/fileadmin/content_files/pdfs/reports/STEWARD_Report_on_chimpanzee_and_elephant_Status_MRU_FINAL.pdf
Page completed by: M. Kaiser & A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 12/11/2019