Habitual ground nesting in the Bugoma Forest chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), Uganda

We report the presence of habitual ground nesting in a newly studied East African chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) population in the Bugoma Central Forest Reserve, Uganda. Across a 2-year period we encountered 891 night-nests, 189 of which were classified as ground nests, a rate of ∼21%. We find no preliminary evidence of socio-ecological factors that would promote its use and highlight local factors, such as high incidence of forest disturbance due to poaching and logging, which appear to make its use disadvantageous. While further study is required to establish whether this behaviour meets the strict criteria for non-human animal culture, we support the argument that the wider use of population and group-specific behavioural repertoires in flagship species, such as chimpanzees, offers a tool to promote the urgent conservation action needed to protect threatened ecosystems, including the Bugoma forest.