Comoé National Park

West Africa > Côte d'Ivoire > Comoé National Park

Summary

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• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Comoé National Park.
• It has been estimated that a minimum of 135 weaned individuals occur in the site.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• This site has a total size of 1,1491.5 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees is illegal hunting.
• Conservation activities implemented include law enforcement, biomonitoring and permanent presence of researchers.
• Comoé National Park is one of the largest protected areas in West Africa.

Site characteristics

Comoé National Park was established in 1968 and became Natural World Heritage Site in 1983 (UNESCO 2005). It is located in north-eastern Côte d’Ivoire, between the towns of Bouna and Kong, and close to the border with Burkina Faso and Ghana. The park is managed by the Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserves (OIPR). The topography of Comoé NP is described as a peneplain, meaning a large area with a relief shaped by erosion, with a series of ridges and granite inselbergs up to 600m altitude (UNESCO 2005). The river Comoé flows south through the park for about 230 km (BirdLife International 2019). The habitat is mostly characterized by savanna habitat with gallery forests and some areas with dense dry forests. Comoé NP is listed as an Important Bird Area and 494 bird species have been recorded for this site (BirdLife International 2019). Notably, five species of global conservation concern have been recorded, among them the three rare migrants pallid harrier (Circus macrourus), lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) and great snipe (Gallinago media), two hornbill species which are now very rare at the site, the yellow-casqued hornbill (Ceratogymna elata) and brown-cheeked hornbill (C. cylindricus, BirdLife International 2019). The presence of 69 species of larger mammals has been reported, including white-thighed colobus (Colobus vellerosus), white-naped mangabey (Cercocebus lunulatus), Roloway monkey (Cercopithecus roloway), olive baboons (Papio anubis), Gambian mongoose (Mungos gambianus), African elephant (Loxodonta africana), leopard (Panthera pardus), lion (Panthera leo), hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious), Maxwell’s duiker (Philantomba maxwellii), red-flanked duiker (Cephalophus rufilatus), black duiker (Cephalophus niger), and bay duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis) and roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus, Fischer et al. 2002). Comoé NP was listed as “World Heritage in Danger” from 2003 until 2017, because of the political and military crisis in Côte d’Ivoire from 2002 to 2011, which resulted in the absence of an effective management of the park. Poaching and bushfires were widespread, as was overgrazing by cattle herds and illegal gold mining (UNESC 2019). Since 2012, the situation stabilized, authorities regained access to the entire park, and enforced management of the park. In 2017, an IUCN mission obtained confirmation from a CCCP report that chimpanzee and elephant populations were present. As a consequence, Comoé was taken off the list of endangered world heritage sites (IUCN 2017).

Table 1. Basic site information for Comoé National Park

Area	1,1491.5 km²
Coordinates	9.10, -3.72
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Dry savanna, subtropical/tropical dry forest, permanent rivers

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Marchesi et al. (1995) estimated chimpanzees in this park to number 470 individuals, which would represent the largest population of chimpanzees in the Soudanian Belt in Côte d’Ivoire. However, this was based on a survey effort of only 30 km. Fischer et al. (2002) confirmed the presence of chimpanzees in the area. In the following years, surveys found few or no signs of chimpanzees. A detailed survey of the area was implemented by the Comoé Chimpanzee Conservation Project (CCCP) in 2014-2015 and confirmed the permanent presence of several chimpanzee communities, notably also east of the river Comoé (Lapuente et al. 2017). From 2015 to 2017, CCCP collaborated with the Pan African Programme: The Cultured Chimpanzee (PanAf) to study many aspects of the ecology of the chimpanzees.

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Comoé 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	1990		3.35	4.73	Three locations in the park	Line transects (Distance)	Marchesi et al. 1995	Total survey effort: 30 km
Pan troglodytes verus	1993-2000			Present	Entire area	Interview method	Fischer et al. 2002
Pan troglodytes verus	2008			0	West of Comoé river	Line transects (Distance)	WCF 2008	Total survey effort: 32 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2009			0.38	West of Comoé river	Line transects (Distance)	WCF 2009	Total survey effort: 143.5 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2010			2 chimpanzees/survey	Entire area	Aerial survey	WCF 2010	Total survey effort: 2,955.7 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2012			1 nest/survey	Entire area	Line transects (Distance)	WCF 2012	Total survey effort: 296 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2014			0	Entire area	Aerial survey	WCF 2014	Total survey effort: 2,955.7 km
Pan troglodytes verus	2014-2015	127 (92–176)	0.14		Entire area	Line transects (Distance), presence-absence sampling, index survey	Lapuente et al. (2020)	Minimum estimate, methods used included line transect sampling, reconnaissance walks and camera traps

Threats

Human population has grown significantly around the park in the past decades and communities that live close to the park rely on the park for agriculture, fishing, cattle grazing and hunting of wildlife (BirdLife International 2019). During political instability from 2001 to 2010 it was too dangerous for local authorities to enter the park and law enforcement was virtually absent (UNESCO 2019). As a result poaching was widespread, likely taking a heavy toll on animal populations and in 2003 Comoé was listed as a “World Heritage in Danger” (UNESCO 2005, UNESCO 2019). It was taken off the list in 2017 since the situation has improved markedly and law enforcement had been reestablished (IUCN 2017). In a 2014 survey, agricultural activities were recorded in the western part of the park (WCF 2014), but in 2017 the limits of the park were changed, so that the few remaining fields were then outside the park (Lapuente et al. in review).

Table 3. Threats to great apes in Comoé National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.3 Livestock farming & ranching	Present		Cows recorded during aerial surveys, though numbers seem to have decreased from 2010 to 2014 (WCF 2014). Still frequent in the North and the East of the CNP (Lapuente et al. in review)	Ongoing (2019)
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	Present		Artisanal gold mining (IUCN 2017, Lapuente et al. in review)	Ongoing (2019)
4. Transportation & service corridors		Not reported
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Poaching widespread (Lapuente et al. 2017, UNESCO 2019)	Ongoing (2019)
	5.4 Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources	Present		Illegal fishing in Comoé river (Lapuente et al. 2017, BirdLife International 2019)	Ongoing (2019)
6. Human intrusions & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	Low		During times of political instability militias were present in the park (UNESCO 2019)	2001-2010
7. Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	Present		fires caused by poachers (UNESCO 2019)	Ongoing (2019)
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Not reported
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Comoé NP is one of the largest protected areas in West Africa and is managed by the Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserves (OIPR). In 1989/1990 Prof. Linsenmair from the University Würzburg in Germany, founded the Comoé National Park Research Station. The construction of a permanent research station started in 2000. During the political crisis the park could not be accessed regularly by government authorities or researchers. Since the political situation stabilized in 2010, OIPR resumed its activities. This resulted in a decline in illegal activities and an increase in wildlife populations (WCF 2014). Comoé National Park Research Station has also resumed its activities since. In 2014, Juan Lapuente, in collaboration with Prof. Linsenmair and OIPR, started the Comoé Chimpanzee Conservation Project (CCCP). This ongoing project involves local and foreign students, and assistants, that study chimpanzees of CNP and work for their conservation. Their work focuses on a 900 km2 area in the south-west of the park. Currently, OIPR is conducting a study on the fire regime (OIPR 2019).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Comoé 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	5.15. Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g. SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement patrols	Biomonitoring surveys by WCF and OIPR, permanent research and conservation activities by by the Comoé Chimpanzee Conservation Project (WCF 2010, 2012, 2014, Lapuente et al. 2017, 2019)	Ongoing (2019)
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	10.1. Educate local communities about primates and sustainable use	Awareness raising activities implemented by OIPR and CCCP (OIPR 2019)	Ongoing (2019)
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	Designated as National Park since 1968 (UNESCO 2005)	Since 1968
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	13.5. Permanent presence of staff/manager	Comoé National Park Research Station and Comoé Chimpanzee Conservation Project (since 2014)	Since 1989

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Comoé National Park

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

The Comoé National Park Research Station conducts a diversity of research projects on ecophysiology, behavioral, chemical and evolutionary ecology. In 2014 a research project, the Comoé Chimpanzee Conservation Project (CCCP), was established at the site focusing on chimpanzee behavior, tool use and ecology (Lapuente et al. 2017, 2019).

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for Comoé National Park

Behavior	Source
Accumulative stone throwing	Kühl et al. 2016
Ant dipping	Lapuente et al. 2017, Kühl et al. 2019
Ant eating	Lapuente et al. 2017, Kühl et al. 2019
Cave use	Galat et al. 2008, Kühl et al. 2019
Honey eating	Lapuente et al. 2017, Kühl et al. 2019
Honey extraction with tools	Lapuente et al. 2017, Kühl et al. 2019
Leaf sponging for drinking water	Lapuente et al. 2017, Kühl et al. 2019
Termite eating	Lapuente et al. 2017, Kühl et al. 2019
Termite fishing	Lapuente et al. 2017, Kühl et al. 2019
Water dipping	Lapuente et al. 2017, Kühl et al. 2019

References

BirdLife International. 2019. Important Bird Areas factsheet: Cavally and Goin - Debe Forest Reserves. Online: www.birdlife.org
Fischer F et al. 2002 Updated list of the larger mammals of the Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast. Mammalia 66(1): 83-92
Galat et al. 2008. Our Cousins Chimpanzees and Baboons Face Global Warming by Digging Wells to Filtrate Drinking Water. Proceedings 13th International Water Resource Association Congress, Nanterre, France
IUCN. 2017. African national park taken off World Heritage ‘danger list’ following IUCN advice. IUCN News. Online: www.iucn.org/news
Kühl, H. S., Kalan, A. K., Arandjelovic, M., Aubert, F., D’Auvergne, L., Goedmakers, A., … Boesch, C. 2016. Chimpanzee accumulative stone throwing. Scientific Reports 6:1–8.
Kühl HS et al. 2019. Human impact erodes chimpanzee behavioral diversity. Science. 363, 1453–1455.
Lapuente J. et al. 2017. Fluid dipping technology of chimpanzees in Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast. American Journal of Primatology. 79: e22628
Lapuente J. 2018. Recherche et travaux effectués par le Comoé chimpanzee Conservation Project. Juillet 2017 - Juillet 2018. Report for OIPR, 39 pp.
Lapuente, J., Ouattara, A., Köster, P. C., & Linsenmair, K. E. (2020). Status and distribution of Comoé Chimpanzees: combined use of transects and camera traps to quantify a low-density population in savanna-forest mosaic. Primates, 61(5), 647-659.
OIPR. 2019. Parc national de la Comoé. Online : www.oipr.ci
UNEP-WCMC, IUCN. 2018. Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN Online: www.protectedplanet.net
UNESCO. 2005. UNESCO – MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory: Biosphere Reserve Information Côte d’Ivoire Comoé. Online: www.unesco.org
UNESCO. 2019. State of Conservation – Comoé National Park (Côte d’Ivoire). Online: whc.unesco.org
WCF. 2008. Evaluation rapide de l’état du parc national de la Comoé : les grands mammifères et les activités illégales humaines. Online: Wild Chimpanzee Foundation
WCF. 2009. Rapport sur le recensement des chimpanzés dans le Parc National de la Comoé, Côte d’Ivoire. Online: Wild Chimpanzee Foundation
WCF. 2010. Etat des ressources naturelles du parc national de la Comoé et de sa zone périphérique, rapport de l’inventaire faunique par survol aérien (Mars 2010). Online: Wild Chimpanzee Foundation
WCF. 2012. Suivi écologique au parc national de la Comoé, rapport de l’inventaire pédestre de la faune (Mars-Août 2012. Online: Wild Chimpanzee Foundation
WCF. 2014. Etat de conservation du parc national de la Comoé et de sa zone périphérique, rapport de l’inventaire faunique par survol du 17 au 24 Avril 2014. Online: Wild Chimpanzee Foundation

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 29/10/2019