Abstract
Six primate species including chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) inhabit the Kalinzu Forest Reserve located in southwestern Uganda. Following an extensive survey of Uganda by Kano in 1992, Hashimoto carried out a population estimate for chimpanzees in the Kalinzu Forest in 1992-1993, and found that the density of chimpanzees was considerably high. Since 1997, we have conducted several studies to reveal relationships between habitat use by primates and forest types; including population census of chimpanzees by nest counts, biomass census for diurnal mammals, vegetation census, census for assessment of fruit abundance, and direct observations of chimpanzees and monkeys. We distinguished 4 forest types in the study area: mixed mature forest, Parinari dominant mature forest, Parinari dominant secondary forest, and Musanga dominant secondary forest. We found high population densities of primates including chimpanzees in Musanga dominant secondary forest where fruit of Musanga leo-errerae is available throughout the year. There was also a high density of chimpanzees in mixed mature forest, probably sustained by diverse fruits available for different season. A mixture of various vegetation types including both primary and secondary vegetations may support high density of primates in the Kalinzu Forest. However, too much human activities such as intensive logging and hunting may cause an unrecoverable damage for primates and other animals. Further studies will help to find out a manner of sustainable land management to maintain fauna and flora in the Kalinzu Forest.
