East Africa > Rwanda > Nyungwe Forest National Park

Summary

Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
The population size is unknown.
The population trend is unknown.
The site has a total size of 1,019 km².
Key threats to chimpanzees are illegal mining and hunting, and fires.
Conservation activities have focused on running ecotourism projects.

Site characteristics

Nyungwe Forest National Park comprises 1,019 km² of evergreen mountainous rainforest in the southwest of Rwanda, situated between Lake Kivu to the north and Kibira National Park in Burundi to the south (BirdLife International 2020). Established in 2004, the park has helped boost the tourism industry Rwanda. The park is well known for chimpanzee trekking and has two habituated chimpanzee groups (Nyungwe Forest National Park). Nyungwe is divided by a north-south line of mountains that reach 2,900 m and which form part of the Congo–Nile watershed (BirdLife International 2020). With at least 275 bird species, the park is a designated Important Bird Area (BirdLife International 2020). In addition to chimpanzees, other primate species occurring at the site include Ruwenzori colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii), L'Hoest's monkey (Cercopithecus l’hoesti), Hamlyn's monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), golden monkey (Cercopithecus mitis kandti), and red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius). Red-tailed monkeys, known to only occur at Nyungwe in Rwanda, are nearly locally extinct due to logging of lower-altitude forests (BirdLife International 2020). The park is also home to several Albertine Rift endemics (BirdLife International 2020).

Table 1. Basic site information for Nyungwe Forest National Park

Area	1,019 km²
Coordinates	-2.508690 S, 29.284232 E
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Two habituated communities reside in the park; the Mayebe community (50–60 individuals) and the Cyamudongo community (35–40 individuals; Moore et al. 2018).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Nyungwe Forest 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 schweinfurthii'

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	Present, but threat severity is unknown	Evidence of gold mining (Plumptre et al. 2002).	Ongoing (2002)
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Medium	Evidence of poaching (Plumptre et al. 2002).	Ongoing (2002)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	Present, but threat severity is unknown	Fires often caused by people entering the forest to smoke bees from wild hives to obtain honey (Plumptre et al. 2002).	Ongoing (2002)
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities in Nyungwe Forest 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 2004.	Ongoing
12. Species Management	12.1. Habituate primates to human presence to reduce stress from tourists/researchers etc.	Chimpanzee trekking, with habituated groups (Nyungwe Forest National Park).	Ongoing
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	13.4. Run tourist projects and ensure permanent human presence at site	The site is a major tourist attraction and several activities are offered, e.g., chimpanzee and colobus monkey trekking, canopy walks, safari tours (Nyungwe Forest National Park).	Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Nyungwe Forest National Park

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

Valuing visitor services and access to protected areas: The case of Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda
Chimpanzee feeding ecology and fallback food use in the montane forest of Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
The Privatization of the Nyungwe National Park Buffer Zone and Implications for Adjacent Communities
Shifting through the forest: home range, movement patterns, and diet of the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
Forest Dependency and its Implications for Protected Areas Management: A Case Study From the Nyungwe Forest Reserve, Rwanda

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Nyungwe Forest National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

African Parks Nyungwe Forest National Park
Nyungwe Forest National Park
WCS Rwanda

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

BirdLife International (2020) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Nyungwe National Park. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/12/2020.
Andrew J. Plumptre, Michel Masozera, Peter J. Fashing, Alastair McNeilage, Corneille Ewango, Beth A. Kaplin, and Innocent Liengola. (2002). Biodiversity Surveys of the Nyungwe Forest Reserve In S.W. Rwanda. WCS Working Papers No 18. Available for download from http://www.wcs.org/science/
Moore, JF, Mulindahabi, F, Gatorano, G, et al. (2018). Shifting through the forest: Home range, movement patterns, and diet of the eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda. Am J Primatol, 80:e22897. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22897

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

Nyungwe Forest National Park

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