Watalinga Forest

Central Africa > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Watalinga Forest

Summary

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• Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) are present in Watalinga Forest.
• It has been estimated that 645 individuals occur in the site.
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 2,256 km².
• Key threats to chimpanzees are hunting and charcoal production.
• Conservation activities are not documented.
• The site is found within Virunga National Park.

Site characteristics

Watalinga Forest is encompassed within the northern sector of Virunga National Park, in North Kivu province of eastern DRC. The site is bisected from north to south by the Semliki river (Nixon & Lusenge 2008). The site represents the southeastern limit of the extensive Ituri Forest. Mixed mature lowland tropical forest dominated by Cynometra alexandra are the principal vegetation types, but other habitats include riverine forest, broken canopy Marantaceae forest, seasonally-inundated swamp forest, papyrus swamps by the Semliki river, isolated secondary forest formations around tree falls and other sites of natural or anthropogenic disturbance (Nixon & Lusenge 2008). The forest cover is almost complete (Nixon & Lusenge 2008).

Table 1. Basic site information for Watalinga Forest

Area	2,256 km²
Coordinates	0.813033 N, 29.834703 E
Designation	Part of National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical/tropical swamp forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

During a 2008 survey, chimpanzee sign was widespread but rare; in total 137 individual chimpanzee nests were observed in 30 nest group sites throughout the site (Nixon & Lusenge 2008). Mean nest group size was 4.9 individuals (range 1-12). Chimpanzees were not directly observed, but vocalisations were heard on six occasions. The highest nest encounter rates (1.77 nests/km) were observed in the Rwenzori mountains adjacent to Ndama village and on the east side of the Semliki river in the Mukakati South survey block (1.66 nests/km). Encounter rates were lowest in the Ndama and Djuma survey blocks. On the Rwenzori recce, chimpanzee nests, dung and trail sign were recorded over a wide range of altitudes between 1010 m and 2400 m (Nixon & Luesenge 2008).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Watalinga Forest

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	Unknown	645	0.29		Watalinga Forest 2,256 km2	Line transects and recce survey	Plumptre et al. 2010
Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii	2008			0.74	Watalinga Forest	Index survey (reconnaissance walk) and camera trap survey	Nixon & Lusenge 2008	survey effort: 216 km

Threats

During a 2008 okapi survey in Watalinga Forest, human activities were recorded throughout the site and hunting was the most frequently encountered of all activities recorded. Locals also reported that military stationed nearby had shot and eaten three chimpanzees one week before the survey (Nixon & Lusenge 2008). A significant amount of deforestation and land conversion has occurred along the base of the Rwenzoris at this site, and a lack of clarity concerning the boundaries of the park in the region was noted (Nixon & Lusenge 2008).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Watalinga Forest

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	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present, but threat severity unknown		Mbau-Kamango road rehabilitated, facilitating access to forest (Nixon & Lusenge 2008).	Ongoing (2008)
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Hunting signs were frequently found during a 2008 survey of the area (Nixon & Lusenge 2008).	Ongoing (2008)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		Charcoal production from primary forest trees (Cynometra alexandra) is widespread to the east of the park boundary and trade is greatly facilitated by the presence of the recently completed Mbau-Kamango road (Nixon & Lusenge 2008).	Ongoing (2008)
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

Table 4. Conservation activities in Watalinga Forest

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 Watalinga Forest

Challenge	Source
Civil unrest	Nixon & Lusenge 2008, Plumptre et al. 2010

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Watalinga Forest

Behavior	Source
bamboo feeding	Nixon & Lusenge 2008
ground nesting	Nixon & Lusenge 2008

References

Nixon, S.C., & Lusenge, T. (2008). Conservation status of okapi in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. ZSL Conservation Report No. 9. The Zoological Society of London, London. Online: https://www.zsl.org/sites/default/files/Nixon%20and%20Lusenge%202008%20-%20Conservation%20status%20of%20okapi%20in%20Virunga%20National%20Park%2C%20DRC.pdf
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. Online: https://www.iucngreatapes.org/eastern-chimpanzee

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 04/03/2022