Ecology, Conservation and Management of Wild Pigs and Peccaries

142

Part II: Species Accounts

national parks in the southeast of the country. The very long-

term data set (from January 2000 to December 2012; see

Figure 13.7) from the Dzanga Bai in the Dzanga–Ndoki

National Park (Central African Republic) shows that the species

uses the clearing throughout the year, but visits most frequently

during the drier months (December–March; A. Turkalo, per-

sonal observation). The few daylight observations of red river

hogs at this site are generally of single individuals; in con-

trast, daytime observations of giant forest hogs (Hylochoerus

meinertzhageni) occur on average five times per week with an

average group size of seven individuals (A. Turkalo, personal

observation). In two years of fieldwork in the same park, red

river hogs were never observed in other forest clearings dur-

ing daylight hours, although this habitat type was used inten-

sively at night. Occasional sightings during daylight were all in

dense cover (Melletti et al. 2009). During a 10-month study at

Ikwa Bai, Cameroon, red river hogs visited the clearing only at

night (Gessner 2008). It is possible that the clearings had a lower

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

January

Number of monthly obser

vations

February

Ma

rc

h

April Ma

y

June July

August

September

October

NovemberDecember

Mbeli Bai (2003-2011)

Red river hog monthly visitation rate

Dzanga Bai (2000-2012)

Figure 13.7 Red river hog

monthly observations in Dzanga Bai

(2000–2012; Dzanga–Ndoki National

Park, Central African Republic; A.

Turkalo, unpublished data) and in

Mbeli Bai (2003–2011; Nouabalé–

Ndoki National Park, Republic of

Congo; T. Breuer, unpublished data).

Unlike Dzanga where the observa-

tions increased between January

and March (the dry season), at Mbeli

the peaks were observed from

September to December (from the

wet season to the start of the dry

season).

6.00

40

35

30

25

20

15

Number of observations

10

5

0

7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00 11.00 12.00

Hour

13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00

Mbeli Bai red river hog time observations Figure 13.6^ Daily observations

per hour at Mbeli Bai through the

year (Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park,

Republic of Congo; T. Breuer, unpub-

lished data). Number of observations

increased in the morning and in the

afternoon.

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