190 The problem of snares
In order to enquire what the current situation was at other sites, two colleagues and
I sent out a questionnaire to nine chimpanzee sites: Gombe, Mahale, Taï, Kalinzu,
Assirik, Ugalla, Chambura Gorge, Bossou, Kibale (Kanyawara), and we included our
own data from Budongo. We requested information on community size, age/sex
composition, injuries attributable to snares, nature of disabilities and local cir-
cumstances affecting type and frequency of snare and trap practices. The results are
reported in Quiatt et al. (2002), and the data on snare injuries are shown in Table 9.3.
As can be seen, males had somewhat more injuries than females, probably because
they cover larger distances and are bolder when it comes to crop-raiding. No infants
were injured by snares (although, as stated earlier, we have had a snared 3-year-old
infant at Budongo).
Chimpanzees were not the primary target of snares set in any of these places. A variety
of prey species, from squirrels to hippopotami, were targeted at different sites. The
preferred snare material was wire, from single strand to 14-strand cable, and there was
some use of cord, from 2 mm to 14 mm diameter, and naturally occurring vines. Snares
were of the non-sprung and the sprung type. Traps, where set, were of the leg-hold type.
As is seen, the problem of snares is Africa-wide and needs to be addressed urgently.
Table 9.3: Numbers and types of injuries by age and sex resulting from snares and traps at
10 sites (combined data) (from Quiatt et al. 2002).
AM AF SA JUV INF Unknown TotalSample size 69 101 37 67 58 90 422
Loss of foot 1 3 1 5
Loss of hand 3 4 2 9
Loss of fingers 4 2 1 1 3 11
Damage to wrist 3 2 1 6
Died of injuries 1 1
Total injured 11 11 2 4 4 32
Per cent of age–sex 15.9 10.89 5.4 6 0 4.4 7.58
group injured
Key:AMadult male; AFadult female; SAsubadult; JUVjuvenile; INFinfant.