Illegal Hunting and Chimpanzee Distribution in the Seringbara Region of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve: A Multi-Scale Modelling Approach.

Guinea is home to approximately two-thirds of the remaining Critically Endangered western chimpanzee population, and the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve has been identified as one of eight West African regions with exceptionally high chimpanzee densities. Despite its protected status, the reserve faces three major threats: subsistence agriculture, poaching, and industrial mining. This study focuses on understanding chimpanzee habitat use in relation to human hunting activities within the Seringbara region of the reserve. Using GPS data on chimpanzee feeding/travelling, nesting, and human hunting evidence, we develop multi-scale ecological niche models for each activity type using both generalised linear models and a boosted regression tree approach. The models identified potential illegal hunting areas, zones of high chimpanzee activity, and the spatial overlap between them. Chimpanzee activities were primarily predicted at altitudes above 750 m, in areas with a high Enhanced Vegetation Index and steeper slopes, while hunting activities were less prevalent in areas with dense tree cover. Both chimpanzees and hunters avoid research camps, but chimpanzees show a stronger avoidance of human presence overall. High elevations, while offering relative refuge from human disturbance, also emerge as zones of greatest predicted chimpanzee-hunter encounter probability. Our findings offer key insights for conservation planning, identifying potential zones for targeted conservation and monitoring efforts. Specifically, areas with significant overlap of chimpanzee and human hunting activities qualify as strategic areas for concerted conservation efforts.