- Title
- The importance of habitat use in the foraging behaviour of village chacma baboons (Papio ursinus, Cercopithecidae: Primates) in Hogsback, Eastern Cape
- Creator
- Pamla, Lwandiso
- Subject
- Chacma baboon -- Behavior -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Cercopithecidae Primates -- Behavior
- Date
- 2016
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSc
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8055
- Identifier
- vital:31494
- Description
- Baboons are among the most widespread primates in Africa because they are able to adapt their foraging behaviour and omnivorous diet under challenging and changing conditions. They are attracted by food, shelter and water on human-owned properties, which brings them into conflict with the residents in Hogsback, Eastern Cape, South Africa, and results in them being shot, trapped or poisoned. To quantify the proportion of food baboons obtain from raiding human properties and to assess the quality of this food, I recorded activity budgets for foraging and movement in two free-ranging troops (Evie’s and Nola’s troops) using direct field observation. I determined home range sizes using GIS methods. I hypothesised that a troop that frequents more human-modified areas should have smaller home ranges, higher densities and forage less than a troop that spends more time in natural habitats, irrespective of troop size, because of more readily accessible food sources. The three methods I used (100 percent minimum convex method, 95 percent fixed kernel method and quadrat method) revealed that Evie’s troop used more human-modified habitat, but had a larger home range than Nola’s troop. The troop sizes have been stable for the past four years: at last count, Evie’s troop had 47 individuals and Nola’s, 38 individuals. During my field study I also recorded diverse vocalisations made by the animals, as an aid to detecting and identifying the troops and understanding individual interactions. Responses to the presence of baboons of many of the local residents – whether affluent and living on semi-urban estates, or impoverished and hunting for food – do not augur well for the future of Hogsback’s baboons. Affluent residents with horticultural gardens occasionally shoot baboons that venture on to their properties, while rural occupants hunt baboons in their natural environment. Both of these responses cause troop disruption and decreased troop size, possibly leading to local troop extinctions.
- Format
- 69 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science and Agriculture
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
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UFH Department of Zoology & Entomology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | MSc (Zoology) PAMLA, L.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |