Running the Risk: Road-Crossing Behavior in Wild Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in an Anthropogenic Habitat in Uganda

Abstract

Recent research highlights the behavioral flexibility of wild chimpanzees in response to human-induced changes in their environment, including agricultural and infrastructural development. The expansion of road networks threatens chimpanzee populations across Africa. Studying their road-crossing behavior, especially outside protected areas where road impacts are greatest, helps identify factors influencing their choices and flexibility. This study seeks to gain a deeper understanding of how chimpanzees navigate busy roads and assess the danger posed by roads. Such insights are needed to develop effective conservation strategies in regions facing escalating human impact, including recommendations for the design and management of traffic on existing and future roads. Using a dataset of 129 video-recorded road crossings spanning 38 months, we analyzed the behavioral adjustments of chimpanzees in Bulindi, Uganda, when crossing a recently paved, busy main road within their home range. Using generalized linear mixed models, we investigated chimpanzee risk perception, protective and cooperative behaviors, vigilance, and progression order during road crossings. We identified variations in their behavior according to age-sex of individuals, group composition, and level of risk. We found that Bulindi chimpanzees exhibit behavioral strategies to reduce risks of collision or close encounters with humans on the road, as previously described. However, they were less vigilant than expected. We suggest that the chimpanzees have developed tolerance of the risks presented by the road, owing to their long history of crossing it before it was tarmacked and widened, and their familiarity with local people and motor traffic. Our results provide further evidence of the flexibility of wild chimpanzees. However, road crossings remain highly risky for large mammals like great apes, necessitating measures to mitigate the impact of road development on this and other endangered species (e.g. speed bumps, police enforcement, public awareness raising).