Population status of Anubis baboons and Grivet monkeys and their conflicts with humans in Humbo Community Managed Forest: implications for primate conservation, Wolaita, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Approximately 60% of the non-human primate species have been threatened with extinction and many species have also persisted in small populations in forest fragments. The aim of this study was to estimate the population size of Anubis baboons and grivet monkeys and their conflicts with the local people around Humbo community managed forest. The study area was classified into two habitat types: dense forest and open forest. The total counting method was implemented to determine the number of the non-human primates in the area coverage of 29km2. Identification of sex and age categories was carried out based on body size, pelage, and external genitalia. A questionnaire was used to collect the data among the households about the human–primate conflicts. The estimated number of Anubis baboon was 424 individuals with a population density of 14.6/km2 and the estimated grivet monkeys were 256 individuals with a population density of 8.8/km2. The major types of Anubis baboon and grivet monkey conflicts in the area include crop raiding and livestock predation. The majority (59.01%) of the farmers faced crop raiding. More than half of the respondents replied that guarding was an effective measure to protect the crop damage by the primates. Although the estimated population size of the Anubis baboons and grivet monkeys was lower in the present study area as compared with the studies in other parts of Ethiopia, the frequencies of conflicts of the Anubis baboons and grivet monkeys were increased. Therefore, it is essential to increase the involvement of the local people for the implementation of effective conflict avoiding strategies and primate conservation.