![]() ![]() The gorilla density is 3 gorillas/km² (Ando et al. Additionally, we visited the fruiting trees and nesting sites at various locations, as we knew that gorillas sometimes reuse nests and nest sites (Iwata & Ando 2007). The group was visited from 7 h to 15 h and we tried to maintain the trace or contact (including direct and auditory contacts). (2008) who described the study site.ĭuring the tracking of the Mussiru group (MUG) under habituation near Douguetsi, the tracking team was made up of four to six people divided into two to three teams of two people each plus one researcher in order to increase the probability of encountering the study group. When the tourism activity reaches its peak, almost 30 % of the annual costs can be recovered.īordered by the Douguetsi River, the Douguetsi research camp is located approximately 6 km from Doussala village along the right side of the Moukalaba River. The costs are up to 200,000 US$ per year for the maintenance of the camp and trackways, food rations, rotation of teams, salary, and equipment. We believe that tourism would be a possibility to generate revenue in order to make the activity sustainable as soon as the group is habituated. ![]() Due to the extensive amount of time necessary for habituation the financial support can sometimes be insufficient. It is well known that the habituation of animals is a lengthy and expensive process during which observers are gradually accepted as a neutral element and therefore no longer affect the gorillas' behaviour in the wild (Williamson & Feistner 2003). This report discusses the inherent difficulties, challenges, and costs involved with successfully habituating western lowland gorillas in Gabon. It started a gorilla habituation program in 2014, the so-called pre-habituation period, and selected a study group (Mussiru group). PROGRAM (Protectrice des Grands Singes de la Moukalaba), a Gabonese conservation NGO established in 2004 that is working near the Moukalaba-Doudou National Park (MDNP), focused on the following activities: revenue generating projects (honey production), gorilla tracking, and ecotourism. The amended version of the Red List of Threatened Species published in 2018 by IUCN classified the western gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla) as a critically endangered species (Maisels et al. Despite the efforts of conservation NGOs and research teams, the expansion of anthropogenic activities such as bushmeat hunting, logging, and agricultural plantations - but also natural disasters caused by infectious diseases - have contributed to the population decline of great apes in rainforests (Walsh et al.
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