The Semliki Chimpanzee Project (SCP) at the Toro-Semliki Wildlife
Reserve (T-SWR)
The Reserve. The Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve occupies 548 square
kilometers of the relatively flat Semliki River Valley, located just north of
the town of Fort Portal, and near the eastern edge of the western Great Rift Valley
in Uganda (0 50' to 1 05'N, 30 20' to 30 35'E). The southern boundary of the reserve
is the foothills of the Ruwenzori Mountains (see this general
area view), but the reserve itself has an elevation of only 1200 m. T-SWR
is contiguous with the Semliki Controlled Hunting area to the northwest (504 squarekilometers),
which in turn borders the Semliki National Park. The reserve is predominantly
savanna grassland, but since 1970 an increasing area of regenerating thicket woodland
and woodland savanna has been noted. One of the major features of the reserve
is the Wasa River, which passes north through the length of the reserve to empty
into Lake Albert. The Wasa has cut a relatively gently sloping 15 m deep gorge
into the surrounding plateau, on which can be found a flora grading from woodland
to 25-30 m tall gallery forest in 50-200 m wide strips. A second river, the Mugiri,
supports a lusher flora which includes a 30-50 m tall riverine forest in 100-300
m wide strips. Flowing into the Mugiri from the escarpment to the east are a number
of small streams which also support riverine forests on their near banks, and
woodlands farther away. Because there are many streams, this area supports a varied
but abundant woodland. The chimpanzees seem to prefer the Mugiri area (see this
detailed view).
The reserve supports a variety of wildlife, including redtail monkeys, blue monkeys, vervets, baboons, black and white colobus, and chimpanzees.
The Semliki Chimpanzee Project (SCP). Chimpanzees were discovered in
the reserve in 1993. SCP began in 1995, and initial research on the chimpanzees
began in July 1996. The project is supported by the National Science Foundation
(U.S.), Indiana University, the CRAFT research center (IU), and the Green Wilderness
Group (U) Ltd. I supervise the project, and we have an assistant project director
on site at all times. The area has been plagued with political unrest and consequent
military activity that has at times disrupted research.
The Chimpanzees. There are likely fourcommunities of chimpanzee in the
T-SWR, the research community along the banks of the Mugiri River forest, and
a second along the banks of the Wasa, a third near Lake Albert along the banks
of the Muzizi River, and a fourth in the southwest in the Nyabaroga watershed.
The Mugiri community of chimpanzees at Semliki is located in an extremely inaccessible
part of the reserve. The Mugiri range is bounded to the west by rocky grassland,
difficult to traverse even with a 4-wheel drive vehicle. To the north there
is an impassable swamp, and to the south and east is the escarpment, impassable
by any sort of mechanized transport. We know the ranging and diet of the Mugiri
community quite well now after 7 years, but they are habituating to human observation
only slowly. Currently we are observing the chimpanzees there 25 days a month,
but only 6 hours total. The site is relatively undisturbed. We have not found
a snare for years, poaching is unusual, and pit-sawing (unauthorized logging)
has only been discovered twice in 7 years. Our work has been slowed by political
troubles which have often escalated to violence, but these troubles seem to
have ended.
Visiting the Reserve. A great number of students volunteer to help at the reserve, but due to the dangers of taking on inexperienced help (see field work) I generally try to hire people I know. If you would like to be considered as a volunteer, send me:
Very few people will be accepted as volunteers. You can still visit the reserve, however, but you will have to do so as a tourist. The Green Wilderness Group (GWG) operates at tented tourist camp in the reserve. If you show up I will take you to see the chimpanzees personally, if I am on site.
