Dr. Innocent Masiala
The objectives of our study are: (i) to characterize the dominant vegetative materials by stratum and season that show preference in nest type construction and (ii) to give the part of vegetative materials most used in nest construction, the regenerative aspect of frugivorous trees in terrestrial nest sites by season, the heights taken in the construction of different types of aerial nests and its mode of home range use by season. The study was able to identify areas visited by Chimanuka gorillas, terrestrial and aerial nest categories, nest frequency and type, plant species used in nest construction, and defecated seed regeneration sites. The overall objective is to contribute to the study of nesting in sightseeing tourism through seasonal knowledge of the different strata reflected by the vegetative materials compacted by the gorillas in nest construction.
