Community Perceptions of Grivet Monkey Crop Depredation in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for Primate Conservation
Human–primate conflicts in Africa have been increasing due to increased human population growth and the resulting competition for forest resources. The Ethiopian Highlands in northern Ethiopia, home to the grivet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops), once consisted of large forested areas. This region has...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Utah State University
2017-09-01
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| Series: | Human-Wildlife Interactions |
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| Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol11/iss2/8 |
| _version_ | 1818581506054946816 |
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| author | Aschalew Alelign Meheretu Yonas |
| author_facet | Aschalew Alelign Meheretu Yonas |
| author_sort | Aschalew Alelign |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human–primate conflicts in Africa have been increasing due to increased human population growth and the resulting competition for forest resources. The Ethiopian Highlands in northern Ethiopia, home to the grivet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops), once consisted of large forested areas. This region has been severely denuded and now exhibits only small forest patches remaining at sites with special cultural significance in the immediate vicinity of churches. These forest patches, surrounded by agricultural crops, provide refugia habitat for the grivet monkey. We randomly surveyed 50 villagers living near the Batiero Church Forest, a 45-ha forest patch located in northern Ethiopia, to determine villagers’ perceptions of the crop damage caused by the monkeys and mitigation measures to reduce crop loss. Most respondents expressed negative perceptions (74%) toward grivet monkeys, and 50% of respondents reported that crop damage was the most encountered problem in the study area. The perception of villagers to grivet monkeys differed based on farmland size (P = 0.00). To reduce crop damage, 53% of households used dogs to guard their farmland and 44% employed methods to physically scare or harass monkeys to protect their crops. At present, the villagers do not receive any government compensation for crop depredation. Thus, the villagers we surveyed wanted to eliminate the grivet monkey populations. This study provided insight into villager perception regarding human–primate conflicts that can impact primate conservation efforts in other areas where human encroachment into primate habitats is increasing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:34:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a7fa473cc07e42edaf1123c930662a88 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2155-3874 2155-3874 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:34:34Z |
| publishDate | 2017-09-01 |
| publisher | Utah State University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Human-Wildlife Interactions |
| spelling | doaj.art-a7fa473cc07e42edaf1123c930662a882022-12-21T22:39:16ZengUtah State UniversityHuman-Wildlife Interactions2155-38742155-38742017-09-0111210.26077/p5a9-ms40Community Perceptions of Grivet Monkey Crop Depredation in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for Primate ConservationAschalew Alelign0Meheretu Yonas1Department of Animal, Rangeland and Wildlife Science, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 231, Mekelle, EthiopiaDepartment of Animal, Rangeland and Wildlife Science, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 231, Mekelle, EthiopiaHuman–primate conflicts in Africa have been increasing due to increased human population growth and the resulting competition for forest resources. The Ethiopian Highlands in northern Ethiopia, home to the grivet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops), once consisted of large forested areas. This region has been severely denuded and now exhibits only small forest patches remaining at sites with special cultural significance in the immediate vicinity of churches. These forest patches, surrounded by agricultural crops, provide refugia habitat for the grivet monkey. We randomly surveyed 50 villagers living near the Batiero Church Forest, a 45-ha forest patch located in northern Ethiopia, to determine villagers’ perceptions of the crop damage caused by the monkeys and mitigation measures to reduce crop loss. Most respondents expressed negative perceptions (74%) toward grivet monkeys, and 50% of respondents reported that crop damage was the most encountered problem in the study area. The perception of villagers to grivet monkeys differed based on farmland size (P = 0.00). To reduce crop damage, 53% of households used dogs to guard their farmland and 44% employed methods to physically scare or harass monkeys to protect their crops. At present, the villagers do not receive any government compensation for crop depredation. Thus, the villagers we surveyed wanted to eliminate the grivet monkey populations. This study provided insight into villager perception regarding human–primate conflicts that can impact primate conservation efforts in other areas where human encroachment into primate habitats is increasing.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol11/iss2/8chlorocebus aethiopscommunity perceptionconservationethiopiagrivet monkeyhuman–primate conflictwildlife damage |
| spellingShingle | Aschalew Alelign Meheretu Yonas Community Perceptions of Grivet Monkey Crop Depredation in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for Primate Conservation Human-Wildlife Interactions chlorocebus aethiops community perception conservation ethiopia grivet monkey human–primate conflict wildlife damage |
| title | Community Perceptions of Grivet Monkey Crop Depredation in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for Primate Conservation |
| title_full | Community Perceptions of Grivet Monkey Crop Depredation in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for Primate Conservation |
| title_fullStr | Community Perceptions of Grivet Monkey Crop Depredation in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for Primate Conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Community Perceptions of Grivet Monkey Crop Depredation in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for Primate Conservation |
| title_short | Community Perceptions of Grivet Monkey Crop Depredation in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for Primate Conservation |
| title_sort | community perceptions of grivet monkey crop depredation in the ethiopian highlands implications for primate conservation |
| topic | chlorocebus aethiops community perception conservation ethiopia grivet monkey human–primate conflict wildlife damage |
| url | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol11/iss2/8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aschalewalelign communityperceptionsofgrivetmonkeycropdepredationintheethiopianhighlandsimplicationsforprimateconservation AT meheretuyonas communityperceptionsofgrivetmonkeycropdepredationintheethiopianhighlandsimplicationsforprimateconservation |