The Bugoma Forest Reserve is in North-Western Uganda, on the Albertine Rift escarpment above lake Albert, which forms the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Forest Reserve itself is over 400km2 of dense secondary rainforest, with an incredibly diverse range of plants, insects, birds, and mammals. It is host to 8 primate species – including the northern most population of the Ugandan grey-cheeked mangabey, and one of the last unstudied populations of chimpanzees in East Africa.
From 2013 onward and following the end of my PhD, I had been considering establishing a field project in Bugoma Forest, which is located halfway between the Budongo and Kibale forests, where I spent most of my PhD fieldwork. In 2015, I was joined by Dr. Cat Hobaiter in this endeavour and we established the Bugoma Primate Conservation Project (formerly the Bugoma Chimpanzee Conservation Project). You can find more informations at the project's webpage.
For the past four years, our team has been working to habituate chimpanzees and mangabeys to human observation; our longterm goals include the conservation of the forest eco-system in collaboration with community stakeholders, behavioural and ecological research, and – in partnership with the National Forestry Authority – responsible eco-tourism.
For the past four years, our team has been working to habituate chimpanzees and mangabeys to human observation; our longterm goals include the conservation of the forest eco-system in collaboration with community stakeholders, behavioural and ecological research, and – in partnership with the National Forestry Authority – responsible eco-tourism.
