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

46 Morbidity and mortality

Discovery

The carcass was found approximately 100 m behind Budongo School by a man living there and

reported to the BFP field assistants on the morning of 23 July 2000. He was alerted to the car-

cass by the strong smell and the frequent visits of a local dog to the area. This young adult male

chimpanzee (estimated 15–20 years) had recently frequented a mango tree very near to his

place of death and was very likely going to or returning from feeding there. He was last seen by

the Budongo staff on Tuesday 18 July 2000 in apparently good condition. Judging by the

appearance and odour of the body, it was estimated by the field assistants to be approximately

two days dead. The cadaver was positioned face down with the right arm behind the back and

the left arm missing from the elbow with the humerus exposed. A small clearing was cut and

the cadaver was dragged a short distance onto wire mesh; more mesh was placed over the

cadaver and fixed into place with wooden stakes. This was intended to keep scavengers, includ-

ing the aforementioned dog, away from the carcass while disturbing it minimally so that a

necropsy could be performed.

Condition

At the time of discovery, there was no apparent cause of death. The left arm was likely removed

after death as large amounts of blood were not seen. The arm was found by Karamagi Joseph on

the morning of Monday 24 July approximately 4 ft up in a tree; this site was approximately 200 m

from the corpse. That afternoon, large amounts of chimpanzee hair were identified in two deposits

of dog faeces, one less than 50 m from the arm and one on the Budongo Forest Project campsite.

As only the humerus remained on the carcass, the arm was apparently severed at the joint, though

the proximal ends of the radius and ulna were missing from the recovered arm. Approximately 6 in.

of flesh were missing from the site of the severance. No other injuries or abnormalities (other than

moderate oedema thought to be related to decomposition) were noted at the time of discovery or

Fig. 3.5: Andy (photo: V.R.).