Paternal care – where fathers care for their children – is rare among mammals (that is, animals which give birth to live young). Scientists have identified more than 6,000 mammal species, but paternal care only occurs in 5 to 10% of them. Humans fall into that category, along with species like mice and lions. There…
The highlands of South West Cameroon are a biodiversity hotspot that harbours unique but endangered species such as Cross River gorillas, chimpanzees, drill monkeys, forest elephants but also rare birds, amphibians and butterflies. The African Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERuDeF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF-Cameroon), have since…
A study of the microbiomes of wild gorillas and chimpanzees offers insights into the evolution of the human microbiome and might even have implications for human health. The research project was led by scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Findings appear in the journal Nature…
More than 70% of Africa’s national parks have been affected by war in recent decades, and wildlife has suffered as a result. That’s according to a new study by researchers from Yale and Princeton universities, which looked at data on 253 populations of large herbivores from 126 protected areas in 19 countries across the continent….
Adjusting communication to take into account information available to one’s audience is routine in humans but has been assumed absent in other animals. This assumption may be premature. Scientists Catherine Crockford and Roman Wittig from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and Klaus Zuberbühler from the University of Neuchatel show that wild…
The population of chimpanzees in West Africa has declined by over 80% in the last 20 years and in September 2016 they were classified as a critically endangered sub-species by the International Union of Nature Conservation (IUCN). As a result of this dramatic decline, the Government of Guinea has decided to implement its objective of…
People often worry about the risks involved of catching diseases from animals, such as rabies. However, the risk humans pose to animals is often only considered once a species becomes critically endangered. Mountain gorillas live in two isolated regions: the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) in Uganda and the Virungas, bounded by Uganda, Rwanda, and…
The Rwanda Development Board’s (RDB) decision to double price of Rwanda gorilla permits from USD 750 to USD1500 has been received with mixed feelings from local and international tour operators, conservationists and also the people of Rwanda. Many looked at the gorilla permits increase as a gamble that is bound to fail in the near…
Nonhuman primates, our closest biological relatives, play important roles in the livelihoods, cultures, and religions of many societies and offer unique insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and the threat of emerging diseases. They are an essential component of tropical biodiversity, contributing to forest regeneration and ecosystem health. Current information shows the existence of 504…
The first documented evidence of wild chimpanzee mothers teaching their offspring to use tools has been captured by video cameras set to record chimpanzee tool-using activity at termite mounds in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo, according to new research from anthropologists at Washington University in St. Louis. “Wild chimpanzees are exceptional…