POPULATION SIZE AND HUMAN-PRIMATE CONFLICT: A CASE STUDY ON: GRIVET MONKEY (Chlorocebus aethiops) AROUND AWSIE NATURAL FOREST, AMHARA REGION, NORTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Human-primate conflict is common phenomenon in the world including tropical countries such as Ethiopia. They are among agricultural pests. This study was conducted to assess the population size, human-grivet monkey conflict and traditional practices used by the local people to reduce crop loss by grivet monkey. The study was carried out from June2020 to December 2020 in three purposefully selected villages (Lay-gafit, Tach-gafit and Wekari) around Awsie Natural Forest. The data on human-grivet monkey conflict were collected through questioner, interview and direct observation. 3 and 2Line transects were used to estimate the population size in dense and fragmented forests the length of 0.6 km respectively and to estimate the crop loss were used 5 quadrates that was 5m with 10m. The target populations in the study were 869 households from three villages. The sample sizes of this study were274households. Grivet monkey, porcupine, colobus monkey and others were identified as crop raiders. Grivet monkey was the major crop raider primate in the study area. Maize (Zea maize) crop was the main cultivated and more exposed to damage by grivet monkey was damaged at different stages in three kadas,0.087% damage was at seedling, 4.19% was at flowering and 2.5% was in the maturation stage. The population size of grivet monkeys according to their age- sex category were 51( 13.6% ) adult males, 65( 17.3% ) adult females, 218 (58.1% )sub-adults and 41( 1% )were also juveniles. The population density of grivet monkey was 5 per hectare and 8 per hectare in dense and fragmented habitat respectively. More maize crop was damaged in flowering stage compare to seedling and maturation stages. Permanent guarding, making hanger bed, chasing with dog and making scarecrow were traditional methods used by local people to reduce crop loss by crop raiders. 175(63.7%) of the respondents replied that permanent guarding was the main traditional methods used by the local people. Farmers should keep their farm against crop raiders cooperatively to minimize crop loss by using permanent guarding method in the study area.