Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project

I was a able to make a short visit to Fongoli in early October 2023. I spent a brief time with the chimpanzees but considerably more time with the Fongoli team, as we were able to attend the Francophone Primatology Meetings in Dakar, Senegal. We listened to many interesting and important presentations about nonhuman primates around the world and, specifically, in Africa. We were able to make some important connections with conservationists across the globe as well. Dr. Papa Ibnou Ndiaye, one of the partners of the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project, almost singlehandedly organized the conference, and it really advanced collaboration among Senegalese students, scientists and conservationists, in particular.

Back at Fongoli, it is the late rainy season, so chimpanzee visibility is very low! I only had one day to spend out with the chimps, and I probably actually saw a chimp for an hour, but it was well worth it! The first chimp I saw was Pistache, now an adolescent male, who spends quite a bit of time with the lady chimps. He met up with recent transfer Koundibie, who joined the Fongoli group in 2022, and they then joined most of the Fongoli chimpanzee community. I was able to get at least a glimpse at Dawson, Louis, Jumkin and K.L. 

While the chimpanzee group numbers 34 right now, which is above our longterm average of 32 chimpanzees (from 2006-2023), we still worry about the impact that the continuing gold rush has on these Critically Endangered apes' fate. During the rainy season, it is easy to overlook all of the disturbance that the gold rush has brought to the Fongoli area, but it is very apparent in the dry season, when people move back out to the artisinal gold mines. Fortunately, there is a community ranger program that Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project assistant director, Dr. Landing Badji took a lead role in organizing. Dr. Badji is now doing a post-doc at York University in Canada, where he is concentrating on understanding how stresses of the Fongoli chimpanzees' environment influence their health, via the study of hormones. He is also studying medicinal plant use by the Fongoli chimps and working with local people in the area to understand their use of medicinal plants as well.

The Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project continues its emphasis on chimpanzee and human health by hosting Texas State University doctoral students, Katie Gerstner and Carson Black, who are researching the influence of different variables on the Fongoli chimpanzee gut microbiome. The microbiome influences many aspects of an organism's health and behavior, which we are just now learning more and more about. At Fongoli, they are examining such things as the effects of mercury (used to process gold), extreme seasonality, and anthropogenic (or human-related) disturbances on the chimpanzees' gut microbiomes. 

With your generous support, we hope to endow the Fongoli project so that infrastructure costs can be guaranteed in perpetuity, which will enable more Senegalese and other African country students to become involved in the important longterm scientific research done at Fongoli. More importantly, it will help future generations conserve these incredible but critically endangered apes. Thank you! 

Links:

• Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project website