Gnako Lionel Fares Gohore
Facing the growing context of human pressures on natural resources and climate changes, wildlife in Sub-Saharan African countries, particularly mammals, is exposed to more threats and conflict with Human. This is the case of the common hippopotamus in Cote d’Ivoire, which is involved in many and recurrent conflicts with human populations living nearby rivers. This led to a need of management and preventing strategy to reduce conflicts, improve cohabitation between Human and hippopotamuses and enhance the species conservation. In addition, scientist communities expect from new data for developing a regional conservation plan in western African countries where the species is outdated such as in Cote d’Ivoire. To fill these gaps, this project aims to provide ecological data of common hippopotamus in the Comoe National Park where there is the biggest number of hippos estimated last years in Cote d’Ivoire.
Hippo female and juvenile resting in Comoe river. © Lionel Gohore, CSRS-CI.
Our main objective is to understand how climate change and human activities are influencing the hippopotamuses space use in the Comoe park and its peripheral areas, in order to identify the potential area of conflict risk in the few years. Thus, we collect presence and demographic data on common hippopotamus, also of its habitat characteristics in the CNP, in order to determine distribution, abundance, habitat use and movement of the species in the park. These data are collected with GPS and datasheets through pedestrian surveys, camera trapping, direct counting from a canoe on field and from the Comoe Park’s team manager databases. Anthropogenic factors are also collected by interview with the Comoe park rivers riparian populations and human activities index direct and indirect observations in the park and riparian villages. Climate and others environmental datas are collected through direct measurements of temperature and precipitation with a direct-reading outdoor thermometer and conic rain-gauge. Also, by data downloading from international climate institution databases and from a geographic information system software.
After statistical analyses and spatial modelling, we expect, first, knowing common hippopotamus ecological factors in order to update data, which will allow improving monitoring plan of team managers. Secondly, we expect highlighting information on threat and conflicts in order to identify areas with high risk of Human-Hippopotamus conflict risks in the Comoe park space, which will allow raising-awareness in the local communities. Finally, we expect providing information on the species spatial distribution in the Comoe Park for future period which will help decision-making in the conflict preventing and management plan.
Header: Two canoeists of KAFOLO village accompanying me as field assistant for Hippos counting with a dugout canoe on the Comoe River. © Lionel Gohore / CSRS-CI.