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Pigs, Peccaries and
Hippos Status Survey and Action Plan (1993) Chapter 4.3 The Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) Jean-Pierre d'Huart Status and Action Plan Summary Status category 3 - 5 (rare to endangered) according
to subspecies or population. The available data on the biology and distribution
of this species are far from complete, though its conservation status is
already a matter for concern in many parts of its former range. Three
subspecies are recognized. Of these, the only truly 'giant' form, H. m. meinertzhageni, has the smallest
range but appears relatively secure in its eastern montane habitats. However,
various threats (including over-hunting for local markets and deforestation)
are identified as causative factors in the diminution and fragmentation of
the species' range and numbers in Central and, especially, West Africa. The
lack of an adequate network of protected areas for the long-term protection
of the smallest and most threatened race, H.
m. ivoriensis, in West Africa is particularly worrying and is reflected
in the conservation measures proposed. These measures also emphasize the need
to assess the taxonomic (and conservation) status of the poorly known,
isolated populations of the southern Ethiopian highlands, and to review of
status of populations in the contact zone between the Central African
subspecies, rimator, and the
eastern giant, meinertzhageni.
Other proposals include the possible restocking of animals in newly protected
forests in Rwanda/Burundi, assessment of population status in some still
poorly known areas, the revision of protective legislation in several
countries, and the creation of new parks and reserves in the most critical
parts of its fragmented range. In addition, some specific recommendations concerning
the most threatened populations in Central and West Africa detail needs for
the allocation of forest concessions, studies of bush-meat markets and
desirability of a captive-breeding initiative for H. m. ivoriensis. Introduction The 'giant' forest hog, Hylochoerus meinertzhageni, is one of the most recently
discovered large mammals, being first described in 1904 from specimens
collected near Kaimosi in Kenya. These specimens proved to be of relatively
large size, since there is an east to west cline in body size in this
species, with adult males of the nominate H.
m. meinertzhageni, from the highlands of East Africa, reaching a body
weight (>225 kg), total (head + body + tail) length (>230 cm) and
shoulder height (>110 cm), greater than any other extant suid. By
comparison, the largest male H. m.
ivoriensis, reported by Rode (1944), weighed only 150 kg and measured 205
cm total length, 94 cm shoulder height. Apart from their body size, the
enlarged, discoidal snout and antorbital protuberances are diagnostic, as is
their relatively long, but sparse, bristly black pelage. Forest hogs occupy a variety of essentially closed
habitats over a wide altitudinal range. As such, the species is potentially a
useful indicator of natural and human-induced changes in its forest habitat.
As a social, sedentary species, it is susceptible to hunting pressure, though
its population biology and other aspects of its ecology and behaviour remain
rather poorly known owing to its retiring and essentially nocturnal habits. However,
studies have been conducted in east Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo)
by d'Huart (1978) and in Kenya by Kingdon (1979), whose accounts include
references to earlier published data on the species' systematics, anatomy,
pathology, behaviour in captivity, distribution and trophy measurements. Seven subspecies have been described, but the most
recent revision of the genus (Grubb, 1985 and this vol., Section 4.1),
suggests that only three of these are valid, i.e.: H. m. meinertzhageni (East African highlands), H. m. rimator (Central Africa) and H. m. ivoriensis (West Africa). This
treatment, which is followed here, does not recognize the separation of the
two Central African populations (i.e. the western 'ituriensis' and eastern 'rimator')
as distinct subspecies, but it acknowledges that the systematic relationships
of the forest hog populations in Ethiopia remain unknown. It is probable that
the Ethiopian hogs are derived from the H.
m. meinertzhageni stock, since sightings have been reported in southern
Sudan and eastern Uganda, on the right bank of the Nile (Cotton, 1936).
However, given the wide and early separation of these two populations by the
ancient eco-climatic montane boundary along the 4th parallel North, which
might favor the evolution of a distinct race, it is possible that the
Ethiopian population comprises a different, as yet described, subspecies
(d'Huart, 1978; Yalden et al.,
1984; J. C. Hillman in litt.). The
approximate former and present distribution limits of all these forms is
shown in Fig. 8. Link to Fig. 8:
Approximate former and present distribution of the forest hog, Hylochoerus meinertzhageni ssp. Former and Present Distribution Forest hogs are unevenly distributed through the
still forested areas of west-central Africa. This distribution is similar to
that of the bongo (Boocercus eurycerus),
and although both species have habitat preferences, they are not confined to
particular forest communities. In West Africa (south Guinea, Sierra Leone,
Liberia, south Ivory Coast and south Ghana), the range of the subspecies ivoriensis now roughly corresponds
with the least disturbed remnants of the lowland humid forests. In other
parts of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, the species also occurs in
montane forests (e.g. in the Mamou Mts., Foutah Djallon, and Loma Mts.), and
in gallery forests (Outamba N.P., Comoe N.P.) in the Guinea savanna zone.
Some of these sites are now isolated, and it is certain that forest hogs have
been extirpated from many intervening sites in the primary forest and in the
Guinea savanna, in some of which they still occurred until recent times (e.g.
in Guinea Bissau and in south Togo; d'Huart, 1978). Their present
distribution is becoming increasingly fragmented, though the full extent of
this process is poorly documented. Western populations of the subspecies rimator (i.e. those between the rivers
Niger/Benoue and Zaire/Oubangui - see Fig. 8) still occur in five countries
from the Nigeria /Cameroon border to north Gabon, north Congo and extreme
south-west Central African Republic. However, though their presence in
Nigeria, where only four sites are known, was reported only as recently as
1976. The species is absent from Bioko Island (T. Butynski, in litt.) and is believed to be extinct
in the vicinity of the Rio Muni in Equatorial Guinea. Forest hogs have also
disappeared from many areas in west Gabon and south Congo, though recent data
indicate their continued occurrence in numerous protected and non-protected
areas in south Cameroon and south-west Central African Republic (Table 5).
Further east, this subspecies remains almost continuously distributed along
the right bank of the Zaire River to the southernmost limits of the equatorial
forest in central-east Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) in the south,
to extreme north and north-east Zaire, east Central African Republic and
south-west Sudan in the north. It occurs in all types of primary, secondary
and gallery forests. The northern limit of its range is the vicinity of the
Massif des Bongo, south of the Manovo-Gounda-St. Floris National Park, though
the progressive fragmentation of the forest galleries linking the Massif to
the forests in the south is likely to isolate this population in the future.
This subspecies has also disappeared from several sites in north Central
African Republic and north-west Zaire. Its reported presence in three sites
on the left bank of the Zaire River (Schouteden, 1947) has never been
confirmed. In the easternmost limits of the forest hog's range
(along the west branch of the Rift in east Zaire, west Uganda and Rwanda, and
in some locations along the east branch in east Uganda, west and central
Kenya and north Tanzania), the giant form, H. m. meinertzhageni, now survives only in isolated montane
forests, from 1,000 to 3,800 m. Some connecting corridors still exist within
the complex of the Ruwenzori/Virunga N. P./Queen Elizabeth N.P. /Bwindi
Forest/Virunga Volcanoes, but most of the remaining populations in this
region are now isolated. A similar situation obtains in south-central and
west-central Ethiopia (J. C. Hillman, in litt.,
Yalden et al., 1984), where the
fragmented populations of south-central Ethiopia are isolated from the
nearest neighboring populations of Kenya and Uganda. Habitat, Ecology and Behavior In common with the red river hog, Potamochoerus porcus, Hylochoerus is more dependent on
forest than the other African suids. Throughout its range, it inhabits a wide
variety of forest types, including forest galleries, lowland humid forest
(even in marshy areas), secondary forests, escarpment forests, lowland and
montane dry forest, montane mosaics, montane forests up to 3,800 m in the
Ruwenzori Mts. and certain thickets and woodlands. Within these habitats,
however, it is more likely to occur where there is a convenient and permanent
water source, thick understory cover in some parts of the home range, and a
variety of vegetation types. The forest hog is an ecotonic species, which
seems to prefer intermediate habitat zones, where the edge effect is
maximized. In the central plain of Virunga National Park in Zaire (now
Democratic Republic of Congo), forest hogs inhabit forest galleries
(dominated by Croton sp., Pterygota sp. and Rauwolfia sp.), dry forests (Euphorbia
sp., Olea sp.) and bush
thickets (Capparis sp.). These
three habitats constitute a sequence in the natural succession from forest to
savanna, and forest hogs move from one habitat to the other. On a continental scale, the variety of forest
habitats occupied implies a high degree of adaptability to local climatic
conditions. Mean annual rainfall, for example, varies from 750-800 mm in the
Masai-Mara National Park in Kenya to 3,200 mm in western Liberia. Over most
of its range, mean monthly midday temperatures vary between 20oC and 30oC,
but night temperatures often fall to 0oC in some montane habitats where the
species occurs. Forest hogs feed mainly on grasses, selecting a few
species preferentially at different times of the year. In forest, their diet
also includes many dicotyledons. Carrion and eggs are consumed occasionally,
and coprophagy and geophagy are common. Details of diet and foraging
behaviour are given in d'Huart (1978) and Rahm & Christiaensen (1963). Forest hogs are naturally retiring, and their shy
and essentially nocturnal behaviour, coupled with a relatively low density
population and forest habitat, accounts for the rather poor understanding of
their ecology and behaviour over most of their range. In Zaire (now
Democratic Republic of Congo), forest hogs live in family sounders in rather
small territories, each of which includes resting sites situated in the
densest thickets, a network of tracks, a water hole (which is also used for
mud-bathing), saltlicks (where soil is dug out with the tusks), and latrines.
Semi-diurnalism may be acquired in areas where the animals are not hunted,
but the species is nocturnal over most of its range. In Virunga National
Park, the hogs are active for about 10 hours per day, of which about 60% is
spent grazing in savanna. The distances covered daily are between 8 and 12
km. Sounders, usually of 6-14 individuals, are led by an
adult male, but normally include one or more other adult males, as well as
two or more adult females and dependent juveniles or infants. Sex ratio of
sounders is usually about 1 male:2 females. Larger groupings of several
sounders have been reported occasionally. Fighting behaviour is less
ritualized than in some other suids (e.g. warthogs) and can be violent.
Combatants are often wounded, sometimes fatally. Sexual maturity is attained
at 18 months in both sexes and reproduction is strongly seasonal. In the
Virunga National Park, there are two distinct mating seasons in
February/April and August/October; the corresponding birth seasons being in
January/March and July/September, respectively. The gestation period is
approximately 151 days, and 2-4 piglets are born in nests of tall grasses
under piles of branches, constructed by the mother. Weaning occurs at about 9
weeks. Growth is relatively rapid and adult body size is reached by about 18
months. The juvenile mortality rate of approximately 50% is attributed to
predators, crushing by the mother or weaning stress. Dispersal of young males
and fighting amongst older animals are important mortality factors, as well
as parasitism and, in older animals, extreme wear of teeth (d'Huart, 1973;
Grzimek, 1963). The age structure observed in Virunga National Park was 67%
adults, 15% subadults and 18% young. Maximum longevity is around 18 years and
mean life expectancy (all age classes combined) exceeds 5 years in natural
conditions. However, further studies are required to ascertain whether the
behaviour, ecology and population biology of the hogs in Zaire is similar in
other parts of the continent. Population Status and Threats to Survival According to the recent (1989/90) Pigs and Peccaries
Specialist Group questionnaire survey, the population status of forest hogs
was reported as 'giving cause for concern' in all west African countries,
except Guinea and the Ivory Coast where this was thought to be
'satisfactory'. Elsewhere, its status was also reported as satisfactory
except in Gabon and in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) where the
extent of deforestation and hunting (i.e. poaching) pressure were causing
concern. As summarized in Table 5, the species is reported as
having a 'restricted distribution at low density' over most of its range and
that not all suitable habitats within the same biogeographical zone are
occupied. The exceptions to this pattern are Guinea and the Ivory Coast,
where the national population status was categorized as 'widespread at low
density, but locally abundant', and the Congo, where the species is reported
to be 'widespread at high density'. However, there is some doubt about the accuracy of
these reports, which, in the absence of any proper census data, are highly
subjective. Indeed, the only population density estimates ever made were in
Zaire and these ranged from 0.4 animals per sq. km in Gangala na Bodio
(Cornet, 1957) to 2.6 per sq. km in Virunga National Park (d'Huart, 1978).
Even these estimates may be rather unreliable, since they were extrapolated
from spot samples over large areas, in only part of which forest hogs may occur.
Local population densities may therefore be much greater. This may be the
case in Zaire, Uganda, Central African Republic and Sudan, where the species
was reported to have a 'restricted distribution at low density, but locally
abundant in the most suitable parts of its habitat'. However, the species was
not reported to be 'very abundant' anywhere over its extensive range, except
possibly in the immediate vicinity of well protected forests and neighboring
cultivated areas. Forest hogs reportedly occurred in great numbers in this
situation in the Rutshuru area of Kivu National Park, east Zaire, in
1950-1952. |
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Table 5. Population trends,
status and occurrence in protected areas of the Forest Hog, Hylochoerus meinertzhageni ssp. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Population
Population Legal Subspecies
Country Status Trend
Status Protected Areas ______________________________________________________________________________________ H. m. ivoriensis Guinea W-LD-LA U NP
No data Sierra
Leone RD-LD D NP
Outamba N.P.; Loma Mts. N.P.; Gola Mts.
N.R.(?)
Liberia
RD-LD D G Sapo N.P.; some F.R's.
Ivory Coast W-LD-LA U G Tai N.P.;
Comoe N.P.; Azagny N.P.(?)
Ghana RD-LD D G Bia N.P.; Bia
G.P.R., Nini-Suhien N.P., Ankasa
Game Prod. R. H. m. rimator (western populations)
Nigeria
RD-LD U GJK
Gashaka-Gumti G.R.;
Cameroun RD-LD D H
Dja W.R.; Campo W.R., Douala-Edea W.R.; Takamanda
F.R.; Pangar Djerem W.R.
Gabon RD-LD U H
Ipassa-Makokou N.R. Congo W-HD I H Odzala N.P. H. m. rimator (eastern populations)
Central African RD-LD-LA S,D HJK(+)
Dzanga-Sangha N.R; Zemongo W.R.;
Republic
Manovo-Gounda St. Floris N.P.; Zaire RD-LD-LA
S,D HJK Garamba N.P.; Maiko N.P.; Virunga
N.P.;
Kahuzi-Biega N.P.Okapi N.P.;
Luama G.R.;
Rubi Tele G.R.; Azande-Gangala-Mondo G.R.;
Epi G.R.; Maika Penge G.R.; Bili-Uere
G.R.(?) H. m.
meinertzhageni
Sudan
RD-LD-LA S G Bangangai N.R.; Bire Kpatuos
N.R.;
Mbarizunga
N.R.
Uganda
RD-LD-LA D HJK Rwenzori N.P.; Queen Elizabeth
N.P.;
Bwindi
Forest N.P., Toro G.R.; Kigezi G.R.;
Kibale F.R.;
Mgahinga F.R.
Rwanda RD-LD D JK Nyungwe F.R.; Volcans N.P.(?)
Burundi (no
data) (no data) (no data) Kibira
N.P. (?); Rusisi Valley
Tanzania RD-LD U GJK Ngorongoro C.A.; Ngurdoto Crater
N.P.
Kenya RD-LD U HJK
Aberdares N. P.; Mt. Kenya N.P.; Masai
Mara G.R.
Ethiopia RD-LD S HJK Bale Mountains N.P. _________________________________________________________________________________________
Key: Population status: W = widespread; RD = restricted distribution; LD
= low density; HD = high density; LA = locally abundant. Population trend: U
= trend unknown; S = stable; D = decreasing; I = increasing. Legal status: NP
= no protection; G = total protection; H = partial protection; J = possession
and/or national trade prohibited or regulated; K = international trade
prohibited or regulated; (+) = stricter protection than any other taxon in
same catergory. All data from Pigs and Peccaries Specialist Group African
Suiform Survey (1989/90), excepting for some legal status data extracted from
African Wildlife Laws (IUCN, 1986). See text for further explanation. |
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The principal threats to the species are habitat
destruction and hunting pressure. Deforestation is undoubtedly the single
most important reason for the diminution of its remaining range, especially
in West Africa, where the lowland forests are being fragmented and destroyed
at an alarming rate. Consequently, the species has already disappeared from
most of its former range and in several countries it now occurs only in
national parks and reserves. Forest hogs are also widely hunted for food or in
reprisal for their damage to crops. Subsistence hunting is generally not
considered a particularly serious threat to their survival except possibly in
lowland forests where their numbers have already been greatly reduced and the
population fragmented. Nevertheless, subsistence hunting is practiced over
most of their range, excepting much of East Africa and in some other areas
where Islam predominates (mostly between 5º and 10º S), and the consumption
of pork is taboo. Some tribal groups in the northern Congo also avoid hunting
them or eating their flesh because of a local superstition, uniquely applied
to this species, of calamity if they are killed. Elsewhere however, the
species' social and sedentary habits make them a relatively easy target,
especially for pygmies and other forest peoples who relish its meat
(Carpaneto & Germi, 1989). By comparison, commercial meat hunting for urban
markets is a far more important cause of decline, especially in forested
areas around cities. This trade represents an increasing threat to the
species in north-east Zaire, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There is no
significant trade of other body parts, though hog tusks are sold as ivory in
Liberia. Allocation of excessive quotas of hogs in hunting concessions in the
Central African Republic also constitutes a potentially serious threat. Persecution of the species for damaging crops has
been reported from Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Zaire (now Democratic
Republic of Congo). In the Rutshuru area of Zaire, an 18 months pest control
operation in 1945-46 led to the destruction of 329 bush pigs, 77 warthogs and
619 giant forest hogs (Hubert, 1957). In common with other suids, forest hogs are
important vectors of rinderpest, but no specific eradication scheme to combat
the spread of rinderpest has ever been organized. |
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Table 6: Status of H. meinertzhageni ssp. according to
the Pigs and Peccaries Specialist Group categories (Appendix One). ______________________________________________________________________________________
Subspecies Populations Status Category
Nationally Overall ______________________________________________________________________________________
H. m.
meinertzhageni Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, E. Zaire 3 3-4 Rwanda, Burundi: 5 H. m. subsp? Ethiopia Indeterminate (poss. 4) H. m. rimator S. W. Sudan, N. & N. E. Zaire, (eastern populations, Central &
N. Central African Rep.: 3 3-4 formerly ituriensis) + H. m. rimator S. W. Central African Republic, (western populations) Congo, Gabon,
S. Cameroon, 4-5 E. Nigeria, N. W. Cameroon: 5 H. m.
ivoriensis Guinea, Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana 5 5 |
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Conservation Measures Taken H. meinertzhageni is accorded total protection or
partial protection (i.e. hunting permitted only under license) in most
countries where it occurs (see Table 5). The only exceptions are Guinea and
Sierra-Leone, where the species has no legal protection, which is most
unfortunate in view of the critical conservation status of the species in
these two countries. Elsewhere, the existing protective legislation would
probably be sufficient to ensure the survival of the species if the relevant
laws were properly implemented, but this is seldom the case. According to the
1989/90 questionnaire survey, wildlife protection laws in a large majority of
countries within the range of this species were either poorly enforced, or
not enforced at all. In some countries legislation was reportedly implemented
only in national parks (e.g. Ghana, Liberia, Zaire) or in hunting concessions
(e.g. Central African Republic, Gabon), though even this was questioned by
other informants. Although the forest hog is relatively well
represented in the network of parks and reserves over its range (as listed in
Table 5), it is doubtful if these areas are sufficient to ensure the
protection of the species in several countries over the longer term. In West
Africa, in particular, H. m. ivoriensis
is already under heavy pressure from deforestation, and is now thought to be
securely established in only three sites, i.e. Sapo N. P. in Liberia, Tai N.
P. in the Ivory Coast and Bia N. P. in Ghana. In central-west Africa, the few
large forest parks and reserves are unlikely to ensure the long-term
protection of the western populations of H.
m. rimator from the continued high levels of deforestation and hunting
pressure, and additional protected areas for these populations are required
as a matter of some urgency. The situation is less bleak for this race in
central-east Africa, owing to the existence of several large parks and
reserves in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), though the continuing
pressure on these areas requires careful monitoring. Despite its much smaller
range in East Africa, H. m.
meinertzhageni is thought to be adequately safeguarded in its remaining
montane forest habitats provided the existing reserves continue to be
actively protected. In Ethiopia, forest hogs are reported in only one
national park and in several non-protected forest areas and hunting
concessions, but their overall status and management needs in this country
need to be properly assessed. On an international level, Hylochoerus is included
on Class B of the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources, which regulates or prohibits hunting, killing, capturing
or trade of listed species. However, international trade in this species is
negligible and it is not listed on the Appendices of CITES. Captive Breeding Relatively few animals have been kept in captivity,
and no captive births have been reported. The maximum recorded longevities (a
female in the Leopoldville Zoo, from 19.4.55 to 31.5.57, and a female in the
Frankfurt Zoo, from 14.5.54 to 5.4.57) are less than 4 years. The species has
been exhibited in only four other European collections (i.e. London Zoo: four
males and two females from 1936 to 1938; Hamburg Zoo: three males and two
females from 1938 to 1941; Antwerp Zoo: one male and two females in 1955; and
Amsterdam Zoo: a female in 1954), in two collections in the U.S.A. (single females
in the National Zoo, Washington, and in the Bronx Zoo, New York, in 1939) and
in a few African zoos (e.g. Nairobi, Abidjan and Monrovia), though none of
these animals survived for more than a few months. Grzimek (1963) and Mohr
(1960) suggest that these failures might reflect a lack of knowledge of the
species dietary requirements and other basic ecological needs. As far as is
known, there are no forest hogs in captivity at the present time. Conservation Measures Proposed: An Action Plan Given the varying status of this species in
different countries within its range, it is hardly practicable to identify a
single set of recommendations. The following priority objectives and
recommendations are therefore directed at only the most threatened forms and/or
topics of foremost research interest. Objectives: 1. To promote
the survival of the most threatened subspecies and those populations whose
taxonomic status is uncertain. 2. To propose
legislative revisions that could improve the protection and management of
particular, threatened populations. 3. To identify
topics of research interest which will provide a better understanding of
aspects of the species' biology and future management requirements. Priority Projects: 1. Assess the
taxonomic and conservation status of the forest hog population in Ethiopia
and carry out field surveys in selected areas. The population in Ethiopia
currently attributed to H. m.
meinertzhageni, but which may represent an as yet undescribed taxon.
Field surveys are also required as a matter of some urgency to: a) ascertain
the distribution and status of the populations in south-central Ethiopia
(possibly extending into the Sudan-Ethiopia border area around the 4th
parallel N.); and b) develop of practical management initiatives to enhance
protection of some or all of those populations, with particular emphasis on
the regulation of hunting and the creation of additional reserves. 2. Assess
management options for enhanced future protection and/or restoration
(including possible restocking with translocated hogs) of the H. m. meinertzhageni populations in
the newly created Nyungwe (Rwanda)/Kibira (Burundi) complex and in Mgahinga
Forest Reserve (Uganda) where the local hog population has been depleted by
over-hunting. 3. Re-evaluate
the systematic relationships of the western and eastern populations of the
subspecies rimator, which were
formerly treated as two separate subspecies in the interface (or intergrade?)
zone of the Zaire and Oubangui Rivers. These two populations were
formerly treated as two separate subspecies (i.e. rimator and ituriensis,
respectively). The present separation of meinertzhageni
and the easternmost populations of rimator
(formerly ituriensis) along the
western Rift, should also be reassessed in order to the identify possible
local intergradation between these taxa. 4. Assess
forest hog status in the north-western corner of Zaire (Bosobolo, Gemena,
Businga areas) and gazette the projected Mondjo N.P. as the westernmost
protected area for the eastern form of rimator
(formerly ituriensis). 5. Promote conservation measures for forest hogs in
the Central African Republic. This will require: a) revising
hunting quotas for this species; b) enforcing protective legislation; c)
developing incentives to halt fragmentation of forest galleries along
tributaries of the Oubangui river; and d) develop special conservation
measures for the Massif des Bongo. 6. Assess
status and management needs and promote conservation of the most threatened
western populations of H. m. rimator.
Actions required include: a)
surveys of their distribution and abundance in the northern Congo, especially
between the Sangha and Oubangui Rivers; b) evaluation of the need for
additional protected areas in north Congo, north Gabon and south-west
Cameroon; c) creation of additional forest reserves in south Cameroon, as
recommended by IUCN for EEC funding (Gartlan, 1988); d) securing the small
populations inhabiting remnant forest sites along the Nigeria/Cameroon
border, especially in the Obudo Ranch and Takamanda Forest Reserve area,
where a trans-boundary conservation scheme should be initiated; and e)
evaluating the level of implementation of both traditional and sport hunting
legislation in Gabon and its effect on Hylochoerus populations. 7. Promote
early implementation of measures designed to protect remnant populations of
the smallest and most threatened subspecies, H. m. ivoriensis. This should be done with
particular reference to: a) improving protection measures for the now
isolated populations in the Guinea Savanna zone of Guinea, Sierra Leone and
Ivory Coast; b) promoting creation of large, new protected areas in lowland
forest of Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana, where forest hogs still occur in
relatively large numbers; c) revising forest land tenure and concession
allocation systems and the implementing traditional hunting legislation in
all range states, with a view to better conservation of forest mammals in
general; d) investigating the bushmeat market and other related activities to
ensure that utilisation of forest game is sustainable and to develop
alternative sources of income for rural people; and e) initiating captive
breeding and research programmes for this subspecies in the zoo community. Acknowledgements Grateful thanks are extended to Dr. J. Verschuren,
Prof. P. Lebrun and Prof. J. J. Symoens whose enthusiastic support enabled
the first field research on the forest hogs in Virunga National Park, Zaire,
which was conducted by the author in 1972-75. I am also indebted to the
following correspondents who completed the 1989/90 African Suiform Survey
report forms, supplied reprints, unpublished data or other assistance: M.
Alers, F. O. Amubode, D. Babu, A. Blom, T. Butynski, G. R. Cunningham-van
Someron, G. Davies, R. Dowsett, J. M. Fay, J.-M.Froment, S. Gartlan, M. E. J.
Gore, A. A. Green, J. A. Hart, P. Hecketsweiler, J. C. Hillman, K.
Hillman-Smith, L. Macky, H. Mertens, N. Montfort, I. Nganga, M. Nicoll, B. Y.
Ofori-Frimpong, A. Peal, R. Prickett, H. Roth, V. J. Selmeir, C. A. Spinage,
M. Storz, G. Teleki, P. C. Trenchard, S. Werihkeand D. Yalden. Several
Members of the Pigs and Peccaries Specialist Group also provided useful
comments and suggested improvements to earlier drafts of this text, including
W. Oliver, P. Grubb, D. Mason. P. Vercammen kindly provided much valuable
information on captive forest hogs, and he and Peter Cuypers prepared the
distribution map. References Carpaneto, G.
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