Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Predicting Optimal Release Sites for Rehabilitated Monkeys: a Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) Case Study

  • Published:
International Journal of Primatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Primate rehabilitation is challenging but has become crucial as many species are threatened with extinction. Vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) are a widespread primate species in Africa. Despite the release of comparatively large numbers of rehabilitated monkeys, the success rate is poor, with low survival. This is partly due to choosing substandard release sites. Here we use an environmental envelope model that combines species-specific environmental and spatial data (including environmental conditions such as temperature and rainfall, access to permanent water, and proximity to anthropogenic influence) to predict the best areas for release of rehabilitated vervet monkeys in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Approximately 80% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal qualifies as general habitat. However, only 6225 km2 (6.7%) is classed as habitat desirable for release, as human occupation and limited water access render other areas unsuitable. Unsurprisingly, ideal release land is limited and may prove difficult to access. However, there are accessible land areas that may be viable despite human impact. This uncertainty highlights the need for site visits early in the selection process. Our model provides easily read maps that rehabilitators can use to assist with this process and potentially optimize release site selection. This method could be easily adapted to other primate species.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baker, L. R. (2002). Guidelines for nonhuman primate re-introductions. In P. S. Soorae & L. R. Baker (Eds.), Re-introduction NEWS (Vol. 21, pp. 29–57). Abu Dhabi: Special Primate Issue, Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, A., Brown, L., Barrett, L., & Henzi, S. (2006). Phytosociology and plant community utilisation by vervet monkeys of the Blydeberg Conservancy, Limpopo Province. Koedoe, 49(1), 49–68.

  • Beck, B., Rodrigues, M., & Unwin, S. (2007). Best practice guidelines for the re-introduction of great apes. Gland: SSC Primate Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union, IUCN.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Borner, M. (1985). The rehabilitated chimpanzees of Rubondo Island. Oryx, 19, 151–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brennan, E. J., Else, J. G., & Altmann, J. (1985). Ecology and behaviour of a pest primate: Vervet monkeys in a tourist-lodge habitat. African Journal of Ecology, 23, 35–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardini, A., Jansson, A. U., & Elton, S. (2007). A geometric morphometric approach to the study of ecogeographical and clinal variation in vervet monkeys. Journal of Biogeography, 34(10), 1663–1678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cawthon Lang, K. A. (2006). Primate factsheets: Vervet (Chlorocebus) taxonomy, morphology and ecology. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/vervet.

  • Cheyne, S. (2006). Wildlife reintroduction: Considerations of habitat quality at the release site. BMC Ecology, 6(1), 5.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cheyne, S. M. (2008). The role of reintroduction in gibbon conservation: Opportunities and challenges. In S. Lappan & D. Whittaker (Eds.), The Gibbons (pp. 477–496). Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. New York: Springer Science + Business Media.

  • Cheyne, S. M. (2009). Challenges and opportunities of primate rehabilitation—gibbons as a case study. Endangered Species Research, 9(2), 159–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowlishaw, G., & Dunbar, R. (Eds.) (2000). Primate conservation biology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, A. A. (1996). Disease risks of wildlife translocations. Conservation Biology, 10(2), 349–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dade, M., Pauli, N., & Mitchell, N. (2014). Mapping a new future: Using spatial multiple criteria analysis to identify novel habitats for assisted colonization of endangered species. Animal Conservation, 17(S1), 4–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar, R. I. M. (1992). Time: A hidden constraint on the behavioural ecology of baboons. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 31(1), 35–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar, R. I. M. (1998). Impact of global warming on the distribution and survival of the gelada baboon: A modelling approach. Global Change Biology, 4(3), 293–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar, R., & Barrett, L. (2000). Cousins our primate relatives. London: BBC Worldwide.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engelbrecht, B. M. J., Comita, L. S., Condit, R., Kursar, T. A., Tyree, M. T., et al (2007). Drought sensitivity shapes species distribution patterns in tropical forests. Nature, 447, 80–82.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. (2008). Norms and standards for the management of primates in KwaZulu-Natal (Vol. File No. 3.2.6). KwaZulu-Natal: Board of the KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service.

  • Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. (2011). KwaZulu-Natal land cover 2008 V1.1 Unpublished GIS Coverage (Clp_KZN_2008_LC_V1_1_grid_w31.zip). Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Biodiversity Conservation Planning Division EKZNW.

  • GBIF. (2013). Biodiversity occurrence data. Arctos, California Academy of Sciences, Marine Science Institute UCSB,University of Helsinki Department of Applied Biology, and University of Washington Burke Museum (Accessed through GBIF Data Portal, data.gbif.org, April 4, 2013).

  • Goossens, B., Setchell, J., Tchidongo, E., Dilambaka, E., Vidal, C., et al (2005). Survival, interactions with conspecifics and reproduction in 37 chimpanzees released into the wild. Biological Conservation, 123(4), 461–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, T., Phan, C., & Long, B. (2010). Modelling species distribution at multiple spatial scales: Gibbon habitat preferences in a fragmented landscape. Animal Conservation, 13(3), 324–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guy, A. J., & Curnoe, D. (2013). Guidelines for the rehabilitation and release of vervet monkeys. Primate Conservation, 27, 55–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guy, A. J., Stone, O. M. L., & Curnoe, D. (2011). The release of a troop of rehabilitated vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Outcomes and assessment. Folia Primatologica, 82(6), 308–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guy, A. J., Stone, O. M. L., & Curnoe, D. (2012a). Animal welfare considerations in primate rehabilitation: An assessment of three vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) releases in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Animal Welfare, 21(4), 511–515.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guy, A. J., Stone, O. M. L., & Curnoe, D. (2012b). Assessment of the release of rehabilitated vervet monkeys into the Ntendeka Wilderness Area, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: A case study. Primates, 53(2), 171–179.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guy, A. J., Curnoe, D., & Stone, O. M. L. (2015). Assessing the release of rehabilitated vervet monkeys in South Africa. African Journal of Wildlife Research, 45(1), 63–75.

  • Hijmans, R. J., Cameron, S. E., Parra, J. L., Jones, P. G., & Jarvis, A. (2005). Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas. International Journal of Climatology, 25, 1965–1978.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horwich, R. H., Koontz, F., Saqui, E., Saqui, H., & Glander, K. (1993). A reintroduction program for the conservation of the black howler monkey in Belize. Endangered Species UPDATE, 10(6), 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • IUCN. (2016). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved June, 2012, from www.iucnredlist.org.

  • Jarvie, S., Besson, A., Seddon, P., & Cree, A. (2014). Assessing thermal suitability of translocation release sites for egg-laying reptiles with temperature-dependent sex determination: A case study with tuatara. Animal Conservation, 17(S1), 48–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, A., Reuter, H. I., Nelson, A., & Guevara, E. (2006). Hole-filled seamless SRTM data V3, International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Retrieved April 7, 2009, from http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org.: http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org.

  • Kagira, J. M., Ngotho, M., Thuita, J. K., Maina, N. W., & Hau, J. (2007). Hematological changes in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) during eight months’ adaptation to captivity. American Journal of Primatology, 69, 1053–1063.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kavanagh, M. (1978). The diet and feeding behaviour of Cercopithecus aethiops tantalus. Folia Primatologica, 30(1), 30–63.

  • Kingdon, J., Gippoliti, S., Butynski, T. M., & De Jong, Y. (2008). Chlorocebus pygerythrus: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T136271A4267738. Retrieved July 4, 2016, from http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T136271A4267738.en.

  • KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport. (2009). KwaZulu-Natal road network map. ver. 2 Pietermaritzburg.

  • Lehohla, P. (2014). Mid-year population estimates 2014. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa, South Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • MammalMAP. (2012). Animal Demography Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Cape Town. Retrieved July 8, 2012, from http://MammalMAP.adu.org.za.

  • McDougall, P. L. (2010). An examination of social arousal and its implications for social congnition in the South African vervet monkey. Lethbridge.: University of Lethbridge, Department of Psychology.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDougall, P., Forshaw, N., Barrett, L., & Henzi, S. (2010). Leaving home: Responses to water depletion by vervet monkeys. Journal of Arid Environments, 74(8), 924–927.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melnick, D. J., & Pearl, M. C. (1987). Cercopithecines in multimale groups: Genetic diversity and population structure. In B. B. Smuts, D. L. Cheney, R. Seyfarth, R. W. Wrangham, & T. T. Struhsaker (Eds.), Primate societies (pp. 121–134). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostro, L. E. T., Silver, S. C., Koontz, F. W., & Young, T. P. (2000). Habitat selection by translocated black howler monkeys in Belize. Animal Conservation, 3(2), 175–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saj, T. L., Sicotte, P., & Paterson, J. D. (2001). The conflict between vervet monkeys and farmers at the forest edge in Entebbe, Uganda. African Journal of Ecology, 39(2), 195–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shimada, M. K., & Shotake, T. (1997). Genetic variation of blood proteins within and between local populations of grivet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops aethiops) in central Ethiopia. Primates, 38(4), 399–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smit, S. (2010). Monkey Helpline Charts. Durban.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, O. M. L. (2014). The biogeography and palaeobiogeography of the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus). Ph.D. dissertation, University of New South Wales.

  • Stone, O. M. L., Laffan, S., Curnoe, D., & Herries, A. I. R. (2013). The spatial distribution of chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) habitat based on an environmental envelope model. International Journal of Primatology, 34(2), 407–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, O. M. L., Laffan, S. W., Curnoe, D., & Herries, A. I. R. (2015). Potential human impact on the environmental central niche of the chacma baboon. South African Journal of Science, 111(11/12).

  • Struhsaker, T. T. (1967). Ecology of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus Aethiops) in the Masai-Amboseli Game Reserve, Kenya. Ecology, 48(6), 891–904.

  • Struhsaker, T. T. (1976). A further decline in numbers of Amboseli vervet monkeys. Biotropica, 8(3), 211–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tappen, N. C. (1960). Problems of distribution and adaptation of the African monkeys. Current Anthropology, 1(2), 91–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viggers, K. L., Lindenmayer, D. B., & Spratt, D. M. (1993). The importance of disease in reintroduction programmes. Wildlife Research, 20, 687–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittsit, F. (1995). Social behaviour and rehabilitation of primates. Onderstepoort: Paper presented at the SASOL Synopsium on Wildlife Rehabilitation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willems, E. P., & Hill, R. A. (2009a). A critical assessment of two species distribution models: A case study of the vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops). Journal of Biogeography, 36(12), 2300–2312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willems, E. P., & Hill, R. A. (2009b). Predator-specific landscapes of fear and resource distribution: Effects on spatial range use. Ecology, 90(2), 546–555.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willems, E. P., Barton, R. A., & Hill, R. A. (2009). Remotely sensed productivity, regional home range selection, and local range use by an omnivorous primate. Behavioral Ecology, 20(5), 985–992.

  • Wimberger, K., Downs, C. T., & Boyes, R. (2010a). A survey of wildlife rehabilitation in South Africa: Is there a need for improved management? Animal Welfare, 19, 481–499.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wimberger, K., Downs, C. T., & Perrin, M. R. (2010b). Postrelease success of two rehabilitated vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) troops in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Folia Primatologica, 81, 96–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, M., Griffith, B., Reed, C., & Temple, S. A. (1996). Avian and mammalian translocations: Update and reanalysis of 1987 survey data. Conservation Biology, 10(4), 1142–1154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodford, M. H. (1994). Disease risks associated with wildlife translocation projects. In P. J. S. Olney, G. M. Mace, & A. T. C. Feistner (Eds.), Creative conservation: Interactive management of wild and captive animals. London: Chapman & Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrangham, R. W. (1981). Drinking competition in vervet monkeys. Animal Behaviour, 29, 904–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeager, C. P. (1997). Orangutan rehabilitation in Tanjung Puting National Park. Indonesia. Conservation Biology, 11, 802–805.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zinner, D., Peláez, F., & Torkler, F. (2002). Distribution and habitat of grivet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops aethiops) in eastern and central Eritrea. African Journal of Ecology, 40(2), 151–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife for allowing access to their data sets and the University of New South Wales for access to facilities and resources. Thank you to the editor and anonymous reviewers whose helpful comments much improved this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology, Environment and Community Planning, La Trobe University, Melbourne Campus, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia

    Olivia M. L. Stone

  2. School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Olivia M. L. Stone & Amanda J. Guy

Authors
  1. Olivia M. L. Stone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amanda J. Guy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Olivia M. L. Stone.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Joanna M. Setchell

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Stone, O.M.L., Guy, A.J. Predicting Optimal Release Sites for Rehabilitated Monkeys: a Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) Case Study. Int J Primatol 38, 485–499 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-017-9956-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-017-9956-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation