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Crop damage by wildlife is a very prevalent form of human-wildlife conflict adjacent
to protected areas, and great economic losses from crop raiding impede efforts to
protect wildlife. Management plans are needed to decrease damage by raiding wildlife,
yet conservation biologists typically lack the basic information needed for informed
conservation strategies. Red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius) raid a variety
of crops adjacent to protected forests in East Africa; however, the role of group
structure on crop raiding has not been explored. Here, crop raiding patterns of solitary
males and social groups were investigated during 10 months in a plantation of mature
cocoa in Uganda. Monkeys gained access to the plantation via trees planted as wind
breaks and shade trees, and the sighting frequency of groups was negatively related
to the distance from the forest edge. In contrast, solitary males were sighted more
frequently far from the forest edge and caused proportionately greater damage than
members raiding in a social group. These results highlight that for social animals,
crop raiding behavior can vary among types of social groupings; appropriate strategies
to cope with raiding must therefore respond to this variation. Deborah Baranga, G.
Isabirye Basuta, Julie A. Teichroeb, and Colin A. Chapman.
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