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The IUCN now recognizes the savannah Loxodonta africana and forest Loxodonta cyclotis elephants to be separate species. Despite ecological, behavioural and morphological differences, and different habitat ranges, genetic studies confirm that the two species and hybrids coexist in forest–savannah ecotones. However, the hybrid phenotypes have not yet been described. In this survey we examined whether the phenotypes of the two species and of hybrids can be distinguished. In the first step, we used a machine learning algorithm (K-nearest neighbours) to compare 296 reference images of African elephants from five forest areas and six savannah areas where hybrids have not been recorded, confirming that six morphological criteria can be used to distinguish the species with more than 90% confidence. In the second step, we analysed 1,408 videos of elephants from 14 camera traps in Sebitoli, in Kibale National Park, Uganda, part of the main hybridization area. We used a multiple correspondence analysis and a species assignment key, highlighting the presence of three categories of phenotypes. Compared to the savannah and forest phenotypes (36.8 and 12.1%, respectively), the intermediate phenotypes, which could include hybrids, were more frequent (51.1%). Further studies combining morphology and genetics of the same individuals will be necessary to refine this species assignment key to characterize phenotypes confidently. This non-invasive, fast and inexpensive phenotypical-based method could be a valuable tool for conservation programmes.

The IUCN now recognizes the savannah Loxodonta africana and forest Loxodonta cyclotis elephants to be separate species. Despite ecological, behavioural and morphological differences, and different habitat ranges, genetic studies confirm that the two species and hybrids coexist in forest–savannah ecotones. However, the hybrid phenotypes have not yet been described. In this survey we examined whether the phenotypes of the two species and of hybrids can be distinguished. In the first step, we used a machine learning algorithm (K -nearest neighbours) to compare 296 reference images of African elephants from five forest areas and six savannah areas where hybrids have not been recorded, confirming that six morphological criteria can be used to distinguish the species with more than 90% confidence. In the second step, we analysed 1,408 videos of elephants from 14 camera traps in Sebitoli, in Kibale National Park, Uganda, part of the main hybridization area. We used a multiple correspondence analysis and a species assignment key, highlighting the presence of three categories of phenotypes. Compared to the savannah and forest phenotypes (36.8 and 12.1%, respectively), the intermediate phenotypes, which could include hybrids, were more frequent (51.1%). Further studies combining morphology and genetics of the same individuals will be necessary to refine this species assignment key to characterize phenotypes confidently. This non-invasive, fast and inexpensive phenotypical-based method could be a valuable tool for conservation programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impoverished communities often turn to illegal extraction of resources from protected areas to alleviate economic pressures or to make monetary gains. Such practices can cause ecological damage and threaten animal populations. These communities also often face a high disease burden and typically do not have access to affordable health care. Here we argue that these two seemingly separate challenges may have a common solution. In particular, providing health care to communities adjacent to protected areas may be an efficient and effective way to reduce the disease burden while also improving local perceptions about protected areas, potentially reducing illegal extraction. We present a case study of a health centre on the edge of Kibale National Park, Uganda. The centre has provided care to c. 7,200 people since 2008 and its outreach programme extends to c. 4,500 schoolchildren each year. Contrasting the provision of health care to other means of improving community perceptions of protected areas suggests that health clinics have potential as a conservation tool in some situations and should be considered in future efforts to manage protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illegal extraction from protected areas is often shaped by the surrounding socio-economic landscape. We coupled village-scale socio-economic parameters collected using household surveys with measured levels of illegal resource extraction proximate to study villages to investigate the socio-economic drivers of illegal extraction from Kibale National Park, Uganda. The level of illegal tree harvesting and the number of illegal entry trails into the Park were driven by subsistence demand from villages adjacent to the Park and by for-profit extraction to supply local urban markets, whereas grazing in the Park was linked to high livestock ownership. Capital asset wealth, excluding livestock, was found to mitigate illegal resource extraction from the Park. We also found high human population density to coincide spatially with park-based tourism, research and carbon sequestration employment opportunities. Conservation strategies should be integrated with national policy to meet the needs of local communities and to manage urban demand to reduce illegal extraction from protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Most research on attitudes to parks in sub-Saharan Africa has been in savannah regions and areas of low population density. Expulsion, exclusion and the imposition of external control are dominant themes, resulting in negative responses to parks, particularly those that represent hard-edged so-called fortress conservation. Our research in the densely populated area around a mid altitude forest park in western Uganda found an alternate narrative in which, despite its hard-edged fortress features, most people view Kibale National Park favourably. Based on a geographically random sample in two agricultural areas neighbouring the Park, our results indicate that most households felt they benefit from the Park and only a small proportion cited negative impacts. Rather than direct economic returns, the benefits most commonly noted by respondents can be characterized as ecosystem services. Most individual respondents and a large majority of the local political leaders said that the Park should continue to exist. Crop raiding by animals from the Park is a problem in some locations but resource restrictions and expulsion were not widely cited by our respondents. The fact that the large majority of residents migrated to the area after the Park was established may be an important explanatory factor for these responses, and this is also likely to be the case for many other mid altitude tropical forest parks, the demographic and land-use histories of which differ from those around many savannah parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kibale National Park (KNP), Uganda, has a number of chimpanzees habituated for tourism. The close genetic relationship between humans and chimpanzees means that there is the potential for disease transmission between the two. The aim of this study was to establish the diseases to which chimpanzees may be exposed by surveying the medical histories of humans in contact with the chimpanzees of KNP. Medical questionnaires were given to tourists visiting KNP and to the population of a village close to the park. The 62 tourist surveys returned indicated a high prevalence of disease symptoms, in particular diarrhoea, as well as ongoing infectious diseases and a lack of current vaccinations. The 50 local surveys returned also indicated a high prevalence of disease symptoms, in particular respiratory disease, along with a low rate of vaccination and a high frequency of visual contact with the chimpanzees both within and outside KNP. This study indicates that humans are a potential source of infection for chimpanzees. The results, which have been communicated to the appropriate authorities, will assist in the devising of proper tourist viewing regulations and provide local health authorities with the information necessary to improve both public health and chimpanzee health. Further recommendations include education of tourists regarding appropriate vaccinations, hand washing prior to the visit, the use of facemasks during the visit, and the provision of latrines. Chimpanzee ecotourism is becoming increasingly popular and protecting the chimpanzees’ health will help to ensure that ecotourism is a sustainable activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]