4.3. Wildlife presence in the Mwaro ecological
corridor
The Mwaro ecological corridor is historically well known for
being frequently used by wildlife to migrate between the Nyamulagira and Mikeno
sectors. Results of this study show the presence of 11 species of mammals
including 6 primates: mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, blue monkey, Black and
white colobus, chimpanzee and Baboon. Chimpanzees and baboons were inventoried
in the lower altitude in the Mwaro corridor (below 2000 m above sea level)
while the calls of the golden monkey were heard at around an altitude of 2900
m. The mountain gorilla in this region ranges in higher altitudes between 2900
and 3000 m above sea level. According to the trackers and park rangers who have
assisted us, these are the families of gorillas not yet accustomed to human
presence.
Fresh trails of elephants and buffaloes were recorded at the
foot of the Mashahi hill. We have also noted signs of grazing of duiker near
Mashahi. All These observations predict a rich diversity of wildlife in the
area.
Figure 28. Nest of mountain gorillas at 6300 m on the line
transect
Figure 29. Mountain gorilla habitat
towards 6300 m on
the line transect
Three distinct zones are particularly important for wildlife
that we have identified along the line transect. The first zone of wildlife
concentration was noted at the origins of the 7 Km line transect in the forest
dominated by Olea hochstetteri (Figure 12), the second area is in
middle position of the line transect in the secondary forest dominated by
Neoboutonia macrocalyx and finally the third zone is located at the
highest altitudes at the end of the transect.
4.4. Human Activities
As elsewhere around the Mikeno sector, the Mwaro corridor is
surrounded by a dense growing human population. The consequence of this
population growth is the pressure exerted on the natural resources of the park.
Indeed, signs of human activity were seen in the Mwaro ecological corridor.
However, the majority of these activities are noted in the first half of the
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line transect, that is to say, near the foot of Mount Mashahi
(Figure 13). We did not notice these types of signs at the highest altitudes.
Over 80% of signs of human illegal activities consist of trails, most of which
are actively used for poaching. The remaining signs are cuts of shrubs with
machetes. We noted a strong pressure on natural resources of plant origin at
the limit in the park near the Kibumba ranger outpost for finding tutors used
in the fields of climbing beans. A more spectacular case was the removal of
plastic labels three weeks after their fixations on 8 individuals of the
species Maytenus arguta at the distance of 1250 m on the transect.
Another interesting case is the cutting of the trees of the type of Olea
hochstetteri used to manufacture wheel of a type of traditional wooden
bicycle known locally as the "Chukudu" and utilized for transporting food
products and charcoals. Olea hochstetteri is also highly prized for
the quality of charcoals it produces; this exposes the species to potential
threats.
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