Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-7qhmt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-18T09:00:23.723Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The mandrill in Gabon's rain forest—ecology, distribution and status

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Michael J. S. Harrison
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, West Mains Road, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JT, UK
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Little is known about the mandrill Mandrillus sphinx in the wild. It is an elusive primate and thus difficult to study in its rain-forest habitat in equatorial Africa. As human pressure on its habitat grows it has become increasingly urgent to discover more about the species so that appropriate conservation measures can be planned. The author made a 15-month study of the mandrill in Gabon and discovered that it was not as widely distributed as had been believed. Although it is threatened by hunting pressure and habitat disruption, populations still remain and five reserves protect some of these.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1988

References

Gartlan, J.S. 1970. Preliminary notes on the ecology and behaviour of the drill Mandrillus leucophaeus Ritgen, 1824. In Old World Monkeys (eds Napier, J.R. and Napier, P.H.), pp. 445480. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Gautier, J.P. and Gautier-Hion, A. 1969. Les associations polyspécifiques chez les Cercopithèques du Gabon. Jerre et Vie, 23, 164201.Google Scholar
Gautier-Hion, A. and Gautier, J.P. 1974. Les associations polyspecifiques de Cercopithèques du plateau de M'Passa (Gabon). Folia Primatol. 22, 134177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grubb, P. 1973. Distribution, divergence and speciation of the drill and mandrill. Folia Primatol. 20, 161177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haltenorth, T. and Diller, H. 1977. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Africa. Collins, London.Google Scholar
Harrison, M.J.S. 1988. A new species of guenon (genus Cercopithecus) from Gabon. J. Zool. 215, 561575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, M.J.S. and Hladik, CM. 1986. Un primate granivore: le colobe noir dans la forêt du Gabon. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie), 41, 281298.Google Scholar
Hoshino, J., Mori, A., Kudo, H. and Kawai, M. 1984. Preliminary report on the grouping of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) in Cameroon. Primates, 25, 295307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeannin, A. 1936. Les Mammifères Sauvages du Cameroon. Lechevalier, Paris.Google Scholar
Johns, A.D. and Skorupa, J.P. 1987. Responses of rainforest primates to habitat disturbance: a review. Int. J. Primatol. 8, 157192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jouventin, P. 1975. Observations sur la socio-écologie du mandrill. Terre et Vie, 29, 439532.Google Scholar
Kudo, H. and Mitani, M. 1985. New record of predation behaviour by the mandrill in Cameroon. Primates, 26, 161167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lahm, S.A. 1986. Diet and habitat preference of Mandrillus sphinx in Gabon: implications for foraging strategy. Am. J. Primatol. 11, 926.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malbrant, R. and Maclatchy, A. 1949. Faune de l'Equateur African Francois. Lechevalier, Paris.Google Scholar
Nicoll, M. and Langrand, O. 1986. Conservation et utilisation rationelle des ecosystèmes forestiere du Gabon. WWF/IUCN report no. 3247.Google Scholar
Sabater Pi, J. 1972. Contribution to the ecology of Mandrillus sphinx Linnaeus 1758 of Rio Muni. Folia Primatol. 17, 304319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skorupa, J.P. 1986. Responses of rainforest primates to selective logging in Kibale Forest, Uganda: a summary report. In Primates: The Road to Self-Sustaining Populations (ed. Benirschke, K.), pp. 5770. Springer-Verlag, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tutin, C.E.G. and Fernandez, M. 1984. Nationwide census of gorilla (Gorilla g.gorilla) and chimpanzee (Pan t.troglodytes) populations in Gabon. Am. J. Primatol. 6, 313336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolfheim, J.H. 1983. Primates of the World: Distribution, Abundance and Conservation. University of Washington Press, Seattle.Google Scholar