The Chimpanzees of Bossou
Chimpanzees of Bossou are well known for using a stone hammer and anvil to crack open the nuts of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis). Among all the tool use behaviors observed in the wild, nut cracking is probably the most sophisticated performed by chimpanzees.
Watch the Videos View Their ProfilesBehaviors of Chimpanzees in Bossou Research Thematics Research History
Bossou Chimpanzees Facing Crisis
The number of Bossou chimpanzees has decreased to seven (3 males and 4 females) following the death of Velu in March 2017. The Bossou chimpanzee community remains semi-isolated from neighboring groups of chimpanzees; no females have transferred to the Bossou community from neighboring communities in four decades. Three out of the four females in the Bossou community are estimated to be over 50 years old. Their genetic diversity and indeed their survival is now critically threatened.
Note: chimpanzees have a life expectancy of 50 years in the wild.
Green Corridor Project
In January 1997, Professor Matsuzawa and his colleagues launched the “Green Corridor Project" with the goal of connecting the isolated forest fragment in Bossou to the forests of the Nimba Mountains. This was to be achieved by planting trees along a 300m wide and 4km long stretch of savanna extending between these two areas. The aim is to re-establish a flow of migration between the Bossou chimpanzee community and the neighboring Nimba populations.
Video Library See Index
This section will introduce you to 100+ video clips from our chimpanzee field research site in Bossou and Nimba.
The Claudia Sousa Memorial Fund for the Advancement of Portuguese Primatology and Wildlife Sciences
was founded to encourage Primatological and Wildlife studies by Portuguese students. This fund provides financial support for one student, per year, to spend several months in Japan, at both the Primate Research Institute (PRI) and the Wildlife Research Center (WRC).
Contact
Please note that our URL has changed to https://greencorridor.info/
