1. Translocation of Mount Kenya guereza (Colobus guereza kikuyuensis):
Human-nonhuman primates conflict mitigation
Peter Fundi, Stan Kivai, Tom Kariuki &Esther Nyawira
Institute of Primate Research – Kenya

2. Introduction
 Human-nonhuman primates conflict mediated by
Complex social organizations
Rapid learning ability
Dietary plasticity
Anthropogenic activities and
Climate change
 Worse outside Protected areas
and human modified habitats
Several mitigation measures available
 Translocation used as last result
Combined with other conservation solutions

3. Problem
 In Nyandarua county, Central Kenya
Human population increasing rapidly
Large parcels of land subdivision
Clearing of riverine forests
Palatable crops
Human-wildlife interactions
 Arboreal primates vulnerable
Primates persecution on the increase
 Translocation the only solution

4. Human-colobus Conflict Mitigation measures
 Guarding and Chasing
 Use of dogs
 Trapping
 Scare crows
 Mixed crop farming
 Clearing their habitats

5. Why translocate Mount Kenya guereza
 The only arboreal primate
 Difficulty to migrate in fragmented farmland
 Narrow dietary plasticity
 Pricey skins and ready market

6. Sink Habitat
 Karura forest
A tropical urban rain forest
Secondary indigenous forest
Surrounded by non-farmers
Fenced and protected
Tourism hub in Nairobi

7. Project Objectives
 Translocate a population of Mount guereza in conflict with humans
 Boost aesthetic value and biodiversity of Karura forest
 Develop a working model for colobus capture, translocation and
monitoring

8. Methods
 Groups surveys outside protected areas
 Human-colobus interactions assessments
 Sink and source habitat characterization
 Translocation approvals
 Groups habituation and diet surveys
 Capture and translocation
 Release and post release monitoring
Both capture and release sites

9. Results
 Thirty six groups outside protected areas in the county
In five riverine locations
mean group size of six individuals
 Eighty five plant species in Karura
Two colobus habitats characterized at source site
Habitat characterization and species sharing
 263ha of indigenous forest at Karura to hold 100 colobus
Approved by National Primate Task Force
KWS translocation committee
Location No. species No. shared
species
No. shared
food species
Gilgil 61 14 8
Wanjohi 89 19 11

10.  Human colobus interactions used in prioritizing the groups
All five locations sampled 20 households per site
Location Interacted
(%)
Crop raiding
(%)
Translocation
support (%)
Wanjohi 60 65 60
Gilgil 40 40 85
Gathiriga 78 88 92
Miharati 55 69 83
Tulasha 84 74 96
Translocation approval: Kenya Wildlife Service
National Primates Task Force
100 animals to be translocated in two phases
Phase 1=40 individuals
Phase2=60 individuals

11.  Capture targeted whole groups
Phase 1 had 87.5 % of the target and
Phase 2 had 75% of the target
six groups moved in phase 1 and 10 groups in phase 2
 Success in transport and release
All individuals transported safely
All individuals released after four days
 Site occupancy after translocation
Source
Colobus – nil
Sykes – 5 individuals

12. Sink
Riverine habitat – 14 groups
Edge habitat – 5 groups
Outside forest – nil

13. Local impacts of translocation
 Single crop farming
 Increased in time farming
 Consistency in attending school
 Minimal citation of dogs in farms
 Reduction in complaints at local KWS office

14. Conclusion
 Translocation requires careful planning
 Capture methods need to be flexible
 Transport in single cages
Community involvement emphasized
 Translocation used when all methods fail
 Post translocation key in understanding success

15. Acknowledgements
Institute of Primate Research (IPR)
Friends of Karura Forest (FKF)
Kenya Forest Service(KFS)
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW) - funding
County government of Nyandarua - Support

16. Thank you