carrying out survey in the far North Kiandjo-Kakuzi sector as originally planned (Annex 2). As the 

 current surveys aimed at carrying out a reconnaissance, it was decided that all signs, direct sightings of 

 target species and indirect evidence of them, such as tracks and signs (including dung/pellets, night nests, 

 evidence of feeding, trails, debarking), would be used to estimate relative abundance of large mammals in 

 the survey areas. The method used was the reconnaissance walks termed Recce (field observations 

 collected following the path of less resistance), and every effort was made to follow pre-existing human 

 or animal paths by minimising disturbance to the forest (White & Edwards, 2000). Habitat quality was 

 assessed using a protocol developed for this purpose and botanical data was collected in Kyembwa, 

 Apanga, Kyanju, Kasolokochi, and Lubembula (Makenda area) on forest types, including canopy cover, 

 under storey, regeneration, and ground cover, surveying along five transects (Annex 1 ). 



For each sighting, the time, GPS position, altitude, wildlife species or t)^e of human sign identified, 

 method of identification, number of wildlife individuals identified and, some times, habitat type where 

 the species or sign of wildlife presence was detected were noted. Sound, dung, tracks or nests were the 

 most common indicators of species' presence (Plumptre et al. 2002; Plumptre et al. 2003). Skins, trophies 

 and other evidence were also examined, whenever possible. 



A simple data sheet was designed to enable standardized data collection on wildlife and habitat variables. 

 Data collected fi-om the field was used to ground truth available satellite imagery and, accordingly, helped 

 to determine different habitat types following the remote.sensing applications. Levels of human pressure 

 on the habitat and on wildlife were assessed by recording distance to the nearest village, evidence of 

 agricultural activities in the vicinity, signs of hunting (fresh and old), current paths through the study area, 

 and signs of recent mining. 4-8 hours per day were spent investigating the reconnaissance paths and 

 recording data, at a pace of 4.22 km per day. Throughout the study, field teams of experienced staff and 

 several guides from the local communities were used. 



ItombiM Massif 

 Conservation 



3. Results and Discussion 

 3.1 Species richness 



Signs of at least 44 species and sub species, out of 94 species described by Omari et al ( 1 999), were found 

 during the surveys. Most of the duiker species (large and small) and monkeys were identified and 

 classified. .More than three hundred and eleven types of evidence were found, with a presence index 

 varying between 13 and 38 (Mbayma, 2004), except for the cane rat (Tryonomys sp) and the blue duiker 



' {Cephalophus monticola) which had a total record 



index of around 9 while it was around 5 for the water 



\ " chevrotain (Hyemoschus aquaticus) For gorilla 



{Gorilla beringei graueri), chimpanzee {Pan 



\ troglodytes schweinfurthi) and other primate species, 



the number of evidence varied between 1 and 2. Blue 



monkey {Cercopithecus mitis). Red-tailed monkey 



{Cercopithecus ascanius) and yellow-backed duiker 



{Cephalophus sylvicultor) were present but at 



extremely low densities. Based on the data from the 



I surveys, it was clear that poaching is a common activity 



,? given the low densities of prey. L'Hoest's monkey 



{Cercopithecus Ihoesti) was reported by hunters to be 



S present in surveyed areas. Based on its habitat 



requirements and distribution, this species was 



expected to occur in Itombwe, however, the existence 



■ of the owl-faced monkey Cercopithecus hamlyni 



remains questionable. Although little information was 



gathered from hunters on this specific species, existing 



,tomb«e Massif ccns«v„ion u^jscpe ^ "teraturc suggcsts that it may be present in the area. 



TangMiyikan Escarpment Forest 



J 



Nature & Faune Vol. 23, Issue 1 



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