Azagny National Park
West Africa > Côte d'Ivoire > Azagny National Park
Summary
- Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Azagny National Park.
- It was estimated that 36 (CI: 13-97) weaned individuals occurred in the site in 2007.
- The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
- This site has a total size of 194 km².
- Key threats to chimpanzees are human intrusion, poaching and subsistence farming (illegal cocoa and rubber plantations).
- No conservation activities were reported for Azagny National Park.
- Only about a third of the park is presumably habitat that chimpanzees can effectively use.
Site characteristics
Azagny National Park is situated 100 km due west of Abidjan. The vegetation of the park is varied and mostly comprises swamps of various types, which cover two-thirds of the park, swamp-forest, inundated riverine forest, relatively small amounts of moist evergreen forest on areas of higher ground, and mangrove. There is also some littoral savanna woodland. Azagny was originally created a protected area in 1981 (Pullan 1988) in part for the conservation of forest elephants (Loxodonta africana) and forest buffaloes (Syncerus caffer), both of which occur in good numbers, benefiting from the protection of the swamps. Other mammals of global conservation concern include olive colobus (Procolobus verus), white-thighed colobus (Colobus vellerosus), white-naped mangabeys (Cercocebus lunulatus), Roloway’s monkeys (Cercopithecus roloway), and slender-snouted crocodiles (Crocodylus cataphractus, BirdLife International 2019).
Table 1. Basic site information for Azagny National Park
| Area | 194 km² |
| Coordinates | 5.21, -4.88 |
| Designation | National Park |
| Habitat types | Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/tropical swamp forest, Moist savanna, Lagoon, Mangrove submerged roots, Rural gardens, Subtropical/tropical heavily degraded former forest |
IUCN habitat categories Site designations
Ape status
In 1988 (Hoppe-Dominik 1991) and 1989-1990 (Marchesi et al. 1995), strip transect surveys were conducted and yielded estimates of 30 and 57 individuals, respectively (whereby the 1995 estimate includes only weaned individuals). A line transect survey conducted by Herbinger (2007) recorded 88 nests on 56 km of transects surveyed. Transects of 1 km length, oriented in direction west/east, were separated from each other by 1 km in each direction and distributed systematically throughout the park. The precision of the abundance estimate of 47 weaned individuals (equivalent to 59 individuals in total using a correction factor of 0.8) was very low (CV= 52.4%), due to the fact that nests were recorded on only five out of 56 transects. Another survey was conducted in 2012 and differed in methodology in that it was a Rapid Assessment that surveyed recces of a total length of 23.5 km (WCF 2012). Recces were located in areas with a high probability of chimpanzee presence (based on previous surveys and chimpanzee habitat preferences). These methodological differences preclude the calculation of a population trend.
Table 2. Ape population estimates in Azagny 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 | 1988 | 30 | 0.15 | Azagny National Park (200 km²) | Interview method, strip & quadrat sampling | Hoppe-Dominik 1991 | Depending on habitat, straight strip transects were 20, 40 or 100 m wide | ||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 1989-1990 | 57 (weaned individuals) | 1.64 | Azagny National Park (217.4 km²) | Informed guess | Marchesi et al. 1995 | Mean density calculated for the national parks of the Guinean belt | ||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2007 | 47 (18-125) (weaned individuals) | 0.72 (0.27-1.92) (weaned individuals) | 3.1 (88 nests on 56 km) | Chimpanzee habitat within Azagny National Park (65 km²) | Line transects (Distance) | Herbinger 2007 | Total survey effort: 56 km, estimate includes only weaned individuals | |
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2012 | 5.02 (118 nests on 23.5 km) | Azagny National Park (174 km²) | Index survey | WCF 2012 | Recconaissance walk, total survey effort: 23.5 km | |||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2010-2013 | Present | Azagny National Park (194 km²) | Index survey | Bitty et al. 2015 | Recconaissance walk, not recorded for sites |
Threats
The small population of chimpanzees in Azagny National Park is highly threatened because of habitat destruction, mainly illegal rubber and cocoa plantations, in an area that is naturally already partly unsuitable for chimpanzees due to deep swamp areas (Herbinger 2007). Bitty et al. (2015) estimated that about 40% (77.6 km2) of the natural habitat inside the park has already been converted into cocoa plantations. Moreover, high hunting pressure poses a direct threat to chimpanzee survival (Herbinger 2007, 2012, Bitty et al. 2015). Lastly, the strong and regular presence of humans within park borders due to fishing, hunting and agricultural activities exposes this small population to health risks related to human-chimpanzee disease transmission (Herbinger 2007).
Table 3. Threats to great apes in Azagny National Park
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Quantified severity | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | Absent | Bitty et al. (2015) estimate the human population size inside the park at zero | |||
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | 2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops | High | 40% of natural forest converted to plantations (Bitty et al. 2015) | Cocoa and rubber plantations (Bitty et al. 2015) | Ongoing (2015) |
| 3. Energy production & mining | Not reported | ||||
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | Not reported | ||||
| 5. Biological resource use | 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | High | Poaching index of > 1 (supplementary material in Bitty et al. 2015) | Ongoing (2015) | |
| 6. Human intrusions & disturbance | Not reported | ||||
| 7. Natural system modifications | Not reported | ||||
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | 8.1 Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | High | High risk of contracting human diseases by chimpanzees due to human intrusions (Bitty et al. 2015) | Ongoing (2015) | |
| 9. Pollution | Unknown | ||||
| 10. Geological Events | Absent | ||||
| 11. Climate change & severe weather | Unknown | ||||
| 12. Other options | Absent |
Conservation activities
Although the site was legally protected in 1981, no additional conservation interventions have been reported for Azagny National Park.
Table 4. Conservation activities in Azagny 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 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 | Not reported | ||
| 11. Habitat Protection | 11.2. Legally protect primate habitat | The site is designated as a national park since 1981 (BirdLife International 2019) | Ongoing (1981) |
| 12. Species Management | 12.12. Translocate (capture & release) wild primates from development sites to natural habitat elsewhere | 20 Liberian chimpanzees were released on an island on the park border in 1985; six remained in 1995 (Hoppe-Dominik 1991, Marchesi et al. 1995) | Completed (1985) |
| 13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives | Not reported |
Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)
Challenges
Economic, political, and social unrest, including a civil war (2002-2004), has been cited as an impediment (Bitty et al. 2015).
Table 5. Challenges reported for Azagny National Park
| Challenge | Source |
|---|---|
| Civil unrest | Bitty et al. 2015 |
Research activities
All the above listed surveys also recorded information on human impact.
Documented behaviours
Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for Azagny National Park
| Behavior | Source |
|---|---|
| Not reported |
References
BirdLife International (2019) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Azagny National Park. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/09/2019.
Bitty EA, Bi SG, Bene J-CK, Kouassi PK, McGraw WS. 2015. Cocoa farming and primate extirpation inside Cote d’Ivoire’s protected areas. Tropical Conservation Science 8: 95-113.
Herbinger I. 2007. Chimpanzee Survey in Azagny National Park. Unpublished report.
Marchesi P, Marchesi N, Fruth B, Boesch C. 1995. Census and distribution of chimpanzees in Ivory Coast. Primates 36: 591-607.
Hoppe-Dominik B. 1991. Distribution and status of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) on the Ivory Coast. Primate Report 31: 45-75.
Pullan RA. 1988. Conservation and the Development of National Parks in the Humid Tropics of Africa. Journal of Biogeography 15: 171-183.
Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) 2012. Evaluation Rapide de la Diversité Faunique Terrestre de Quatre Parcs Nationaux en Côte d’Ivoire. Unpublished report.
Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 11/09/2019