Contribution starting at $3,400
Exported from Streamline App (https://app.streamlineicons.com)
12 days (avg. $283 a day) Includes accommodations, food, and all related research costs
Wildlife & Ecosystems

Investigating Threats to Chimps in Uganda

Location
Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda Map it
Lead Scientist
Activity Level
Strenuous
Accommodations
Wilderness Camp/Dorm
Food
Chef-prepared meals
Chimp in Uganda
Track primates as they look for food. You'll record where they go and what fruits they eat.
Chimp in Uganda
Help scientists understand why many tree species are no longer bearing fruit by recording which trees have fruit and monitoring the rainfall and temperature throughout the forest.
You'll assess how the decline in fruit is affecting bird populations.
Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda
Chimp in Uganda
Track primates as they look for food. You'll record where they go and what fruits they eat.
Chimp in Uganda
Help scientists understand why many tree species are no longer bearing fruit by recording which trees have fruit and monitoring the rainfall and temperature throughout the forest.
You'll assess how the decline in fruit is affecting bird populations.
Budongo Forest Reserve, Uganda

As food supplies in the forest decline, chimps in the Budongo Forest are raiding farmers’ crops. What is causing the decline in food? How can the area support both farmers and primate foragers?


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In the Budongo Forest Reserve in Uganda, fruit production by forest trees is mysteriously declining. As a result, chimps and other primates are raiding local subsistence farms. Dr. Fred Babweteera of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, along with graduate students from Makerere University, Kampala, is studying the foraging habits of primates and the fruiting cycles of fruit trees with the goal of developing new approaches to sharing resources between people and primates—and they need your help.

On this expedition, you’ll have a unique opportunity to meet our closest relatives in their natural habitat. About 700 chimpanzees live in the Budongo Forest Reserve, the largest remaining tropical rainforest in East Africa. In addition, there are four other major primate species in the Budongo Forest. You’ll team up with field assistants at the Budongo Conservation Field Station to observe chimps and other primates as they forage for food in the morning and late afternoon. You’ll learn to identify local trees, work alongside researchers to monitor trees, and assess the phenology (timing) of their flowering and fruiting. You’ll also help assess how changes in food availability affect local bird populations by setting up mist nets and assisting in banding forest birds. Back at the research camp, you’ll help write up the data, relax, enjoy sports with reserve staff members, or walk the “Royal Mile” to take in the natural beauty of the rainforest.

 

 

A Typical Itinerary

  • Day 1: Rendezvous in Entebbe, drive to Budongo Conservation Field Station
  • Days 2–3*: Educational lectures, trainings, and demos; COVID rapid test
  • Days 4–5*: Birding and phenology fieldwork; educational lectures; COVID PCR test at local facility
  • Days 6–7: Chimpanzee foraging fieldwork
  • Days 8–9: Recreational days
  • Day 10: Monkey foraging fieldwork; conservation activities
  • Day 11: Snare patrol; debrief
  • Day 12: Return to Entebbe, departure

*The first five days of all teams include an isolation period and mandatory COVID-19 testing to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission among the primate population.

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HOW YOU WILL HELP

While hiking through the forest (depending on the day), you will:

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Follow foraging primates
FOLLOW FORAGING PRIMATES

Track primates (chimpanzees, blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and/or colobus monkeys) as they look for food. You'll record feeding time, where they go, and what fruits they eat.

Interview community members
HIKE TO RECORD VEGETATION

Help scientists understand why many tree species are no longer bearing fruit by recording which trees have fruit and monitoring rainfall and temperature patterns throughout the forest.  

Hike to record vegetation
MONITOR BIRD POPULATIONS

You'll also assess how the decline in fruit affects frugivorous (fruit-eating) bird populations by setting up mist nets and assisting in banding these vital seed dispersers. You may have the opportunity to speak with people who live near the reserve to find out when and how often primates raid their crops so that researchers can correlate raids with the timing of fruit growth in the forest.

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Field conditions and research needs can lead to changes in the itinerary and activities. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.

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FEEDBACK & QUESTIONS

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6 Reviews on this Expedition

If you have been on this expedition, others considering attending would love to hear about your experience.
Isabel Tate |
Being at the Budongo field station was an honour. We were surrounded by hugely knowledgeable and passionate staff (field 'assistants' very much included), who welcomed us to learn from them and join their varied activities. I was treated with kindness and respect (despite not being a scientist) and would very happily return whenever my work allows!
Susan Pollack |
This expedition was so much more than I could have imagined. It was my first Earthwatch expedition and my second trip to Uganda, a truly beautiful country. The rooms were adequate and very comfortable. Accommodations were provided in the latrines for those individuals uncomfortable with squatting. The whole field station was comfortable and enjoyable. Everyone ate dinner together, sometimes with other researchers staying there. The food was delicious. Each morning we would hike into the forest with a different field assistant to help them gather data about different aspects of the forest. The field assistants were so knowledgeable and friendly. I was often amazed about how much knowledge is being gleaned from the Budongo forest, information that will have value for all tropical forests. While each day’s activity was eye-opening to me, my favorites, besides the time with the chimpanzees, was the birding. Learning about the different birds in the forest, watching Patrick’s and Godfrey’s skilled hands freeing the birds from the mist nets, measuring, weighing, and banding the birds before releasing them was so interesting. Maybe also, it was the time in between each hike to collect the birds from the nets. Just sitting quietly in this beautiful forest was so calming to me.
Jennifer Coats |
This was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience. I think it's really difficult to describe what to expect during this expedition in a written briefing. The community at the field station was more than the staff and it takes a few days to have even a sense of how everything fits together between the field station management, our expedition leader, the students doing research, the field assistants (who should be called "field experts" in my opinion), and the professionals and researchers who come in to participate. But it was just that sense of community and chance to interact with experts from the local community and students from around the world that made the experience so special.

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