Zemongo Faunal Reserve

Central Africa > Central African Republic > Zemongo Faunal Reserve

Summary

• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Zemongo Faunal Reserve.
• The population size is unknown.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 10,100 km².
• Poaching is a key threat to chimpanzees and other wildlife in the reserve
• Conservation activities are not documented.

Site characteristics

Zemongo Faunal Reserve was established in 1925. The reserve is located in southeastern Central African Republic, bordering South Sudan to the northeast, and contiguous with Chinko Nature Reserve to the southwest (Hughes & Hughes 1992). Originally the site was delineated as a 4,800 km² reserve to provide protection to the now extinct white and black rhinoceros (Plumptre et al. 2010). The site was extended and redesignated in 1975. The reserve has expanded to include a very diverse habitat in the region, marking the transition between Congolian rainforest and Sahelian grasslands (Plumptre et al. 2010). Zemongo comprises 10,100 sq. km, of which 1,720 sq. km consist of inundated forest. The site is situated in the Vovado river watershed (Hughes & Hughes 1992). The site is the only protected area in the region within the current known chimpanzee range (Plumptre et al. 2010).

Table 1. Basic site information for Zemongo Faunal Reserve

Area	10,100 km²
Coordinates	6.752278 N, 25.207170 E
Designation	Faunal Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical swamp forest, subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, savanna

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The presence of chimpanzees was reported during a survey prior to 2010; two nests and a footprint were found (Plumptre et al. 2010). There is a clear need for surveys to determine the current status of chimpanzees at the site (Plumptre et al. 2010).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Zemongo Faunal Reserve

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

The human population is small along the border with Sudan, where chimpanzees inhabit forests. However, Zemongo is the only protected area in the region, and illegal poachers and armed militia coming from Sudan are increasingly common, as well as shepherds and refugees from South Sudan (GRASP).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Zemongo Faunal Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Intense hunting in the buffer zone of the reserve (Varty 2005).	Ongoing (2005)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
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

Despite the absence of conservation activities in the region, CAR’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan proposes rehabilitation of the reserve. This objective is reiterated in CAR’s National Operation Plan for COMIFAC (Plumptre et al. 2010).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Zemongo Faunal Reserve

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	Not reported
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 Zemongo Faunal Reserve

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Zemongo Faunal Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Hughes. R. H.. Hughes. J. S.. A directory of African wetlands. 23 April 2011. 1992. IUCN. 978-2-88032-949-5. 485.
Plumptre, A.J., Rose, R., Nangendo, G., Williamson, E.A., Didier, K., Hart, J., Mulindahabi, F., Hicks, C., Griffin, B., Ogawa, H., Nixon, S., Pintea, L., Vosper, A., McClennan, M., Amsini, F., McNeilage, A., Makana, J.R., Kanamori, M., Hernandez, A., Piel, A., Stewart, F., Moore, J., Zamma, K., Nakamura, M., Kamenya, S., Idani, G., Sakamaki, T., Yoshikawa, M., Greer, D., Tranquilli, S., Beyers, R., Furuichi, T., Hashimoto, C. and Bennett, E. (2010). Eastern Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii): Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 2010–2020. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland. 52pp.
Varty, N. (2005). Central African Republic. World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation. UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center, 314.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 15/01/2022