Mandrill Conservation

Mandrills are one of the most exotic species found in Central Africa. Although they are well known and found in many zoo collections, very little is known of their ecology in the wild. In 1998, in collaboration with the Gabon government’s Wildlife Department, WCS initiated a three-phase project to develop a national conservation strategy for the species. In the first phase, the ecology of the species was studied in detail in Lopé National Park. In particular, attention was paid to their numbers and ranging behavior, to discern how well the park protected mandrills. The second phase was designed outside the park, and looked at the possible threats to mandrill survival: hunting, logging and habitat loss, disease and possible genetic problems.

The final phase will incorporate the discoveries about mandrills’ needs in the wild with the contemporary threats they face to design a National Conservation Plan that will help mandrills survive in Gabon.

The first phase of ecological research showed, among other things, that mandrills live in huge hordes of 700 animals at a time and range over large distances each day. This nomadic lifestyle means that they need large areas in which to live. Dense group living may make each group more susceptible to communicable diseases, but may also mean that the whole population is less so as contact between groups is low.

The Human Aspect

Mandrills come into conflict with humans when they are hunted for meat or when they raid village plantations for food. In some areas, mandrills are a major crop-raiding pest and are regularly snared to prevent crop losses. Development of tourism for viewing mandrills may put them in a more positive light in Lopé and could be possible in the other parks in which they occur as well.

Threats

Human hunting is probably the biggest threats to mandrill survival in the short term, but wildlife diseases, such as SIV virus or the Ebola virus, may also take heavy tolls on these primates.

WCS Activities

• Biometrical research into development of a robust census technique for the mandrill.
• Ongoing research into disease prevalence and characterization of viruses affecting the mandrill (in collaboration with CIRMF, WCS Field Vet Program and Universities of Tulane, Alabama, New York, and Cardiff)
• Doctoral thesis projects on mandrill ranging and responses to food availability
• Exploration of the potential to offer mandrill viewing as a tourist opportunity in Lopé National Park

Important Next Steps

• Development of a National Conservation Strategy in collaboration
  with the Wildlife Department of Gabon’s Ministry of Water and Forests
• Help and advise on tourism development
• Develop and test census methodologies for the species
  and carry out national censuses