Difference between revisions of "Bwindi Impenetrable National Park"

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= Summary = <!-- An overview of the site, with one sentence for each section. May include a site map -->
 
= Summary = <!-- An overview of the site, with one sentence for each section. May include a site map -->
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{{#display_map: height=200px | width=300px | scrollzoom=off | zoom=5 | layers= OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap
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| -1.017254, 29.671192~[[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park]]~Eastern chimpanzees & Mountain gorillas
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* Eastern chimpanzees (''Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii'') & mountain gorillas (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') are present in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
 
* Eastern chimpanzees (''Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii'') & mountain gorillas (''Gorilla beringei beringei'') are present in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
 
* It has been estimated that 459 gorillas occur in the site; the chimpanzee population size is unknown.
 
* It has been estimated that 459 gorillas occur in the site; the chimpanzee population size is unknown.
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* Conservation activities have focused on ecotourism programs and regularly monitoring the health of habituated gorillas.
 
* Conservation activities have focused on ecotourism programs and regularly monitoring the health of habituated gorillas.
 
* The park is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.
 
* The park is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.
 
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<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: Bwindi_juvenile_Dirck_Byler.jpg | 300px | thumb| right | Mountain gorilla infant © Dirck Byler]] </li>
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<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: Bwindi_Mtgorilla_stem_Dirck_Byler.jpg | 300px | thumb| right |Mountain gorilla © Dirck Byler]] </li>
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<li style="display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;"> [[File: BwindiMt_gorilla_Dirck_Byler.jpg | 300px | thumb| right |Mountain gorilla © Dirck Byler]] </li>
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= Site characteristics = <!-- A paragraph summary of physical and geographic aspects of the site, and a table of key information -->
 
= Site characteristics = <!-- A paragraph summary of physical and geographic aspects of the site, and a table of key information -->
  
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|Coordinates
 
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| -1.017254 S, 29.671192 E
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|Designation
 
|Designation

Latest revision as of 03:19, 22 July 2024

East Africa > Uganda > Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Summary[edit]

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  • Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) & mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) are present in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
  • It has been estimated that 459 gorillas occur in the site; the chimpanzee population size is unknown.
  • The gorilla population trend is increasing.
  • The site has a total size of 321 km².
  • Key threats to great apes are linked to high human presence, which poses some risk of disturbance and disease transmission.
  • Conservation activities have focused on ecotourism programs and regularly monitoring the health of habituated gorillas.
  • The park is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.
  • Mountain gorilla infant © Dirck Byler
  • Mountain gorilla © Dirck Byler
  • Mountain gorilla © Dirck Byler

Site characteristics[edit]

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda, on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley. The area is one of Uganda's oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, which dates back over 25,000 years (Uganda Wildlife Authority). Encompassing a series of steep ridges and valleys, Bwindi is the source of five major rivers, which flow into Lake Edward. The park is famous for being home to almost half of the world's mountain gorilla population (Uganda Wildlife Authority). The site is a designated Important Bird Area, with 347 bird species documented in the forest, including 23 endemic species to the Albertine Rift (BirdLife International 2020). Bwindi was gazetted as a National Park in 1991 and declared a (UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site) in 1994.

Table 1. Basic site information for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Area 321 km²
Coordinates -1.017254, 29.671192
Designation National Park
Habitat types Subtropical/tropical montane forest, subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status[edit]

The park is home to one of the two subpopulations of mountain gorillas in the world, the Bwindi-Sarambwe subpopulation (Hickey et al. 2018). Increases in both the Virunga Massif and the Bwindi-Sarambwe subpopulations led to a change in the IUCN Red List classification from Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2018 (Hickey et al. 2018). In spite of this increase, the overall population size is still small.

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Bwindi Impenetrable 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
Gorilla beringei beringei 1997 292 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Index survey (reconnaissance walk) McNeilage et al. 2001 Sweep method, with high density of reconnaissance trails covering the forest.
Gorilla beringei beringei 2002 320 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Index survey (reconnaissance walk) McNeilage et al. 2006 Sweep method, with high density of reconnaissance trails covering the forest.
Gorilla beringei beringei 2011 400 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Genetic capture-recapture Roy et al. 2014
Gorilla beringei beringei 2018 459 Bwindi-Sarambwe ecosystem Index survey (reconnaissance walk) Hickey et al. 2018 Sweep method, with high density of reconnaissance trails covering the forest.

Threats[edit]

Table 3. Threats to apes in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Category Specific threats Threat level Quantified severity Description Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development Absent
2. Agriculture & aquaculture Absent
3. Energy production & mining Absent
4. Transportation & service corridors Absent
5. Biological resource use 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals Low Poaching as a non-target species; e.g., as a result of infant gorilla trafficking, snares are set up for other animals. Retaliatory killings are rare. Habituated gorillas are more vulnerable to poachers (Hickey et al. 2018). Ongoing (2018)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance Present, but threat severity is unknown Human presence due to tourism, conservation and scientific work, camps for security forces, etc., all of which pose some risk of disturbance and disease transmission (Hickey et al. 2018). Ongoing (2018)
7. Natural system modifications Absent
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases High Vulnerability to human pathogens, and outbreaks of respiratory virus diseases and gastrointestinal parasite infections (Hickey et al. 2018). Ongoing (2018)
9. Pollution Absent
10. Geological Events Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather 11.1 Habitat shifting & alteration Present, but threat severity is unknown Increased temperatures and modified rainfall patterns likely to cause changes in food availability and habitat quality (Hickey et al. 2018). Ongoing (2018)
12. Other options 12.1 Other threat Present, but threat severity is unknown Bwindi gorillas appear to crop-raid because of the availability of palatable foods at the

edge of the park, not due to a lack of dietary items in the park (Hickey et al. 2018).

Ongoing (2018)

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities[edit]

The site is managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The management of the site has developed ecotourism programs that support the livelihoods of local communities (UNESCO). Nine groups have been habituated for tourism; the first one was the Mubare gorilla group, since 1993. Conservation Through Public Health work on reducing human-gorilla conflicts in and around the park, and avoiding the transmission of diseases.

Table 4. Conservation activities in Bwindi Impenetrable 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 Not reported
6. Human intrusion & 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 Not reported
11. Habitat Protection 11.2. Legally protect primate habitat The site was declared a National Park in 1991. Ongoing
12. Species Management 12.3. Guard habituated primate groups to ensure their safety/well-being The (Gorilla Doctors) who work at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park regularly monitor the health of habituated gorillas. Ongoing
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives 13.4. Run tourist projects and ensure permanent human presence at site Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges[edit]

Table 5. Challenges reported for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Challenge Source
Not reported

Research activities[edit]

Counting elusive animals: Comparing field and genetic census of the entire mountain gorilla population of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Dietary Variability of Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Population dynamics of the Bwindi mountain gorillas
Behavioral Ecology of Sympatric Chimpanzees and Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda: Diet
Sleeping tree choice by Bwindi chimpanzees

Documented behaviours[edit]

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Behavior Source
Not reported

External links[edit]

UNESCO Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Uganda Wildlife Authority
Bwindi Forest National Park in Uganda

Relevant datasets[edit]

A.P.E.S Portal

References[edit]

BirdLife International. (2020). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/12/2020.
Hickey, J.R., Basabose, A., Gilardi, K.V., Greer, D., Nampindo, S., Robbins, M.M. & Stoinski, T.S. (2018). Gorilla beringei ssp. beringei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T39999A17989719. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T39999A17989719.en
Roy, J., Vigilant, L., Gray, M., Wright, E., Kato, R., Kabano, P., Basabose, A., Tibenda, E., Kühl, H.S. and Robbins, M.M. (2014). Challenges in the use of genetic mark-recapture to estimate the population size of Bwindi mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Biological Conservation 180: 249–261
McNeilage, A., Plumptre, A. J., Brock-Doyle, A., & Vedder, A. (2001). Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda: Gorilla census 1997. Oryx, 35(1), 39-47. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3008.2001.00154.x
McNeilage, A., Robbins, M. M., Gray, M., Olupot, W., Babaasa, D., Bitariho, R., Kasangaki, A., Rainer, H., Asuma, S., Mugiri, G., & Baker, J. (2006). Census of the mountain gorilla Gorilla beringei beringei population in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Oryx, 40(4), 419-427. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605306001311


Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 14/01/2021