Social Strata among Captive Chimpanzees’ Community and their Rehabilitation Process at Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Center
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Date
2024
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Abstract
Chimpanzees in the wild live in cohesive social units known as communities, where kinship and social strata significantly influence group dynamics. However, threats such as habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade, poaching, the bush meat crisis, climate change, and diseases disrupt this social structure, especially for rescued chimpanzees, leading to longterm behavioral changes in captivity. This study aimed to evaluate the social and intergroup dynamics of the chimpanzee community at UWEC and how these factors affect their rehabilitation process. Using experimental and observational research designs—including focal, scan, ad-libitum, and all-occurrence sampling techniques—the study found a moderate positive correlation between aggression and mating behavior (r = 0.3) and a strong negative correlation between grooming behavior and both aggression and mating (r = -0.7). The chimpanzee community was categorized into four social strata, with Stratum 2 having the highest number of individuals, appearing 91 times between a lower bound of 17.6 and an upper bound of 40.7 at a 0.05 significance level. The findings highlight the importance of understanding social strata when rehabilitating rescued chimpanzees, as these dynamics influence group behavior and cohesion. By considering individual social positions, caretakers can better manage rehabilitation and release strategies, minimizing conflicts and enhancing the chimpanzees’ long-term well-being. Early intervention during juvenile or infant stages is crucial for successful rehabilitation, and promoting grooming behavior may help reduce aggression in captivity. The study recommends training more caretakers in ethology and expanding research collaborations with academic and conservation organizations to improve chimpanzees’ rehabilitation practices and their conservation efforts globally.