Conservation of cetaceans in The Gambia and Senegal, 1999-2001, and status of the Atlantic humpback dolphin.

Abstract

A second project of the West African Cetacean Research and Conservation Programme (WAFCET-2) was implemented in Senegal and The Gambia, from December 1999 till December 2001. It generally aimed at collecting information on the conservation status of coastal cetaceans, with emphasis on the Atlantic humpback dolphin, and support activities to improve it. A base for the recently formed ngo COREWAM (Conservation and Research of West African Aquatic Mammals) was made operative near Dakar. Nineteen new cranial specimens, representing six cetacean species, were added to the COREWAM reference collection: short-snouted and long-snouted common dolphins (n= 9), bottlenose dolphins (n= 3), Atlantic humpback dolphin (n= 1), harbour porpoise (n= 3), ordinary Bryde’s whale (n= 1) and incomplete bony remains of unidentified delphinids (n= 2). Presently, 34 skeletal voucher specimens are curated. The Gambian cetacean reference collection was enriched with at least a dozen skulls, mostly bottlenose dolphins, conserved at Kiang West National Park.