Wild Places

Goualougo

With a group of gorillas and a community of chimpanzees habituated to human presence, monitored and observed on a daily basis, the Goualougo research site aims to:

• Document and study social lives and health of sympatric great apes, and the impact of forestry and environmental changes.
• Quantify forest diversity, seasonality, and carbon in intact and logged forests to promote best conservation practices.
• Support national conservationists by providing opportunities for capacity-building, continuing education, and career development

Daily data collection on great apes and their high-integrity environment enables research into:

• Sociality: direct observation makes possible the tracking of seasonal changes and changes in the availability of preferred resources and its influence on the sociality and mobility of gorillas and chimpanzees.
• Tool use and culture: targeted research on tool sharing by chimpanzees has yielded new insights into cognitive abilities and the evolution of social teaching mechanisms.
• Health: the use of molecular analyses in combination with direct observations enables monitoring of ape health and the emergence of natural and external pathogens.

Our conservation priorities are as follows: 

• Forest certification and protection: our monitoring of the impact of landscape change on apes provides data for regional and global land-use certification systems. 
• Local capacity-building: we ensure that we have a diverse staff working to deliver high-quality, science-based conservation projects using the latest technologies and training. 
• Strengthening community engagement: our long-term collaboration with the neighboring forestry company helps us involve communities in the best management practices for their forests and wildlife