Do Stray Dogs threat Bushbabies in Zanzibar?

Stray dogs are everywhere in Zanzibar. Tens of thousand of dogs are living in the streets, and local people are afraid from them. Can these dogs be a problem for the bushbaby, this small and defenseless monkey?

Stray dogs in Zanzibar are a real problem. For many years the Zanzibari government tried to control its large population through mass exterminations methods (which are criticized by the World Society for the Protection of the Animal).

One of the main reasons for killing these dogs is the rabies. Rabies is carried by mammals (usually dogs or small monkeys) and is passed to the human through a bite. You must always assume that a bite from a unknown dog in Zanzibar is rabid.

There are 2 species of Bushbabies in Zanzibar: the Lesser Bushbaby (Galago senegalensis zanzibaricus) and the Greater Bushbaby (Otolemur garnetti garnetti). Both are common in Zanzibar and Africa as a whole. This animal is mainly active during the night, and lives in the ground water forest, in the coral rag forest or sometime in the mangrove forest.

The main threats for the Bushbaby are:

• The habitat degradation because of the humans (places degradation and loss where the Bushbaby lives) is the main threat. In Zanzibar, the main reason is forest clearing for agriculture activities, charcoal production and logging.

• In some cases (but not in Zanzibar) people hunt bushbabies, sometime to eat it (it is the case of an island in West Africa called Bioko island.

• Another problem is that the bushbaby can die because of being caught in trap for birds (this happened in Equatorial Guinea, not in Zanzibar!).

But as far as I know, there is no reported case of threat from stray dog that could threaten bushbabies in Zanzibar. As they usually stay in the trees, they are safe from the dogs. The main predator for them are the large snakes.

So remember : take care with the dogs, they may be rabid! And if you want to help the bushbaby, try to preserve their natural habitat, that's the most important!

More information about Bushbaby

Is seaweed farming a good idea for Zanzibar?

Since more than half century, seaweed resources has contributed to Zanzibar economy. After a couple of decade of wild seaweed harvesting, the overpressure and governemental policies contributed to the decline of this activity during the 1970's.

Cultivation has been introduced at the end of the 80's, initially with local strain, and after with the philippines Euchema dentilacum. Women first, and then men (when they saw that seaweed farming was economically viable!) started cultivating this algae.

Now seaweed farming has become an important part of the coastal society economy in Zanzibar. Almost all the places suitable to grow Eucheuma are occupied by farms. But this activity rises questions:

• Seaweed farmers are keeping very few of the crop added value. For example, the retail value of a kilogram of lower grade carrageenan products ranges from $30 to $50, meanwhile the price paid to farmer used to be 9 cents in Tanzania (ok, these data may be little old, but it is still the same range!).

• There is a margin to improve farming practices in Zanzibar: seedling, growing, drying, management, colective organization... others experiences in Asia or in other islands (Kiribati) may be useful...

• Eucheuma has been recorded by IUCN as a potentially destructive invasive algae in Hawaiian waters. Its high growth rate, ability to regenerate by vegetative fragmentation rises questions about its impact on environment, especially on coral ecosystems.

Think about all these questions, and then go to help seaweed farmers in Jambiani!

Some references:

• Euchema farming in zanzibar
• Algae sheet / invasive alien
  
• Farming seaweed in Kiribati: a practical guide for seaweed farmers