Chimpanzees of the Budongo Forest : Ecology, Behaviour, and Conservation

The Kasokwa Forest chimpanzees 213

Because the boundary markers of the Kasokwa Forest Reserve could no longer be
determined, because the forest was not being guarded by the Forest Department, and
because there was some confusion about what areas were Forest Reserve and what were
communal forests, immigrants to the area seeking work at the Sugar Works were
encroaching on the Kasokwa riverine strip. From the road the forest looked intact but
once you stepped inside it was being rapidly cut down and replaced by farmers’ fields
and homesteads. In this situation, the chimpanzees were coming under increasing threat
from loss of habitat.
In this situation Kyamanywa was given the job of finding out more about the tiny com-
munity of Kasokwa chimpanzees: he would confirm there were just 13 of them, establish
the group’s demographic characteristics and its range, see whether they moved back to
the Budongo Forest main block (which would entail travelling through village lands),

KARUJUBU

Legend

Swamp

KIBWONA

KIHUURA

ZEBRA

N

S

1 °39'N

31 °38'E

W E

Mangoes Bananas Maize Kasokwa forest

Church Eucalyptus plantation Softwood plantation

Road Path R.Kasokwa Other river

Settlement

Sugar cane

Main road

road

toBut

iaba

roadtoMasindi

1Km

R.Kasokwa

Fig. 11.1: Map of area to south of Budongo Forest, showing location of the Kasokwa Forest

(from Chase 2002).