This is according to data on bonobo habitats collected by many organizations between 2003-2010
The most detailed assessment of the condition of the bonobo (formerly known as pygmy chimpanzee) ever conducted revealed that the already endangered great ape is rapidly losing its place in the world due to conflict with the needs of the growing human population.
The loss of usable habitat is attributed to both deforestation and illegal hunting, according to a new study by the University of Georgia, the University of Maryland, the Wildlife Conservation Society, ICCN (Congo Wildlife Authority), the African Wildlife Fund, Milwaukee Zoological Society, World Wildlife Fund, Max Planck Institute, Lukuru Foundation, Stirling University, Kyoto University, and other groups.
The researchers who used counts of the bonobo's sleeping sites and remote sensing methods, discovered that the bonobo, one of the closest family members of the human species, is losing its habitats due to intensive human activity and due to forest fragmentation. Only about 28% of the areas used for bonobo habitat in the past are still suitable according to a model developed by the researchers in the study, which now appears in the December edition of the journal Biodiversity and Conservation.
"This assessment is an important step toward addressing the substantial information gap regarding the conservation status of bonobos across their range," said lead researcher Dr. Gina Hickey of Cornell University and the University of Georgia. "The results of the study show that human activity has reduced the effective breeding areas of the bonobo and will help us identify where to propose the establishment of protected areas in the future for this great ape."
"In order for the benobu to survive at least for the next 100 years or more, it is very important to understand their distribution, so that targeted conservation actions can be carried out in the most effective way that will achieve the desired results." said Ashley Vesper of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "The bonobo is the least studied great ape in Africa, so this article is central to deepening our knowledge and understanding of these beautiful and charismatic animals."
The bonobo has a smaller and thinner body structure compared to the common chimpanzee. The social structure of bonobo herds is complex and matriarchal. Unlike the common chimpanzee, the bonobo establishes social bonds and neutralizes stress or aggression through sexual behaviors.
The greatest diversity of bonobos is found within the lowland forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa currently going through a period of warfare and instability. The research team created a predictive model using available field data to define the bonobo habitat and then their projection value for areas lacking data. Specifically, the team collected data on bonobo roosts collected by multiple organizations between 2003 and 2010. In total, there are 2364 nest blocks (Nest Blocks), where a block was defined as an area of one hectare (4 dunams) occupied by at least one bonobo herd.
The group then examined a number of factors that dealt with both the ecological conditions (describing the forests, soils, climate, and hydrology) and the human influence (distance from roads, agriculture, decrease in forest areas, and density of the "edge of the forest") and created a spatial model that identified and mapped the important environmental factors Most contributed to the extinction of the bonobo. The researchers found that distance from agricultural land was the most important predictor of bonobo presence. In addition to the discovery that only 28 percent of the areas where bonobos are found are classified as suitable for the great ape. The researchers also found that only 27.5 percent of the bonobo's suitable habitat is located in existing protected areas.
"The bonobos that live in closer proximity to human activity and human-accessible points are more vulnerable to illegal hunting, which is one of the main threats to them," said Dr. Janet Nkoni, a professor at the University of Maryland and the second author of the study. "Our results point to the need for more places where bonobos can be safe from poachers, which is a huge challenge in the Congo."
"The fact that only a quarter of the areas where bonobos live are located within protected areas is a finding that decision makers can use to improve the management of existing protected areas, and expand the country's parks and reserves in order to save the vital habitat for this great ape," said Dr. Innocent Laingola, Director of the Bonobo Conservation Project at WCS and one of the authors of the study.
"The future of the bonobo will depend on the close cooperation of many partners working to conserve this iconic ape," said Dr. Liz Williamson of the Primate Group at IUCN/SSC and coordinator of the action planning process that initiated the study. In 2012, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) published a report titled "Bonobo (Pan paniscus): Conservation Strategy 2012-2022".
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very disturbing This is a very interesting animal.
There is a difference between returning animals (or plants) to their original habitats, which is reintroduction, and introducing animals (or plants) to those habitats, which is introduction. They engage in this and invest a huge amount of money in it, without any evidence as to which of the two is more desirable or has better prospects. Israel is an excellent example of repatriation (Essian wildebeest, for example, if it is the species that was here or close to it) and introduction (the Sahara ram, it was never here, but a related species was probably also like the white or Arab ram and they introduced it into nature, the Sahara ram in Hiber Yatva, for example , it's not insertion or return at all). There is a super plan to return to Israel dozens, maybe hundreds of eagles imported from Spain, because of a feeling that the eagle population is in complete collapse. No one has examined in depth, even if there are researchers who specialize in this, what is the effect of the wild animals or the white ram on biodiversity, and there have been other re-introduction attempts.
Asaf
Adamadom wrote that there will be those who will jump that there is harm to the local population.... and so on. I'm just saying that maybe they're right….. You don't have to jump straight in……
I hope that those dealing with rams in the Negev did think about the results of introducing a foreign species. I'm not saying for a second that I think it's a bad idea. You just have to think...
Miracles, what's the deal with wise-idiots? As an example in Israel there is a breeding nucleus of Ram Sahara. (Non-local species).
The idea is interesting, but really not original.
Maybe these "wise men" are not as stupid as Atav thinks? But, why not defame another group, if possible?
Asaf, your idea is certainly interesting - to spread apes in other jungles on Earth, in order to test their ability to survive. The problem is that there will always be "wise men" who will say that the introduction of bonobo monkeys into the forests of Brazil will harm the existing ecosystem there and may create an imbalance, etc., etc. It is clear to you and me that the introduction of small populations of bonobos into the vast areas of Brazil's forests will not change anything and can only increase their survival as stated.
An evolutionary experiment - to establish groups of bonobos, in Brazil and Borneo. And check what change there is in them to the nation of the African population.
And it really is a special animal (some claim that it is closer to man than the chimpanzee). Perhaps it would be worthwhile to finance its protection, with the help of the tourism industry. Similar to the way they protect the gorillas in Uganda.