The critically endangered white-thighed colobus, Colobus vellerosus, is on the brink of extinction, necessitating the implementation of effective conservation management strategies. The population in Kikélé village serves as the primary remaining stronghold for this species in Benin, comprising around twenty-eight individuals in the small Kikélé Sacred Forest and an additional eight individuals in the community-managed Okuta Kobunan Forest. These two populations are believed to have descended from a single founding pair introduced to the Kikélé region circa 1800. Given the small population size and the possible severe genetic bottleneck at its foundation, the genetic diversity might be extremely low. In our study, we conducted a first analysis of the genetic diversity of the two populations using mitochondrial markers, the complete cytochrome b (cytb) and a segment of the hypervariable control region (D-loop, 750 bp). Our findings revealed only one cytb haplotype, along with two haplotypes that differ by just one site in the D-loop. We recommend a range-wide population genetic assessment of the species to explore the possibility of translocations as a potential genetic rescue strategy.

Native sows contribute to a large extent to food security and poverty alleviation in Benin. However, their reproductive performance particularly under extensive systems is poorly characterized. The objective of this study was to fill this knowledge gap by selecting 284 multiparous sows based on hair color and some reproductive parameters. The results showed that native sows of Southern Benin can be clustered into three groups with group 3 showing the best reproductive performances including highest average litter size (LS, 10.31 piglets), live-born piglets (LBP, 10.31 piglets), number of functional teats (10.94), and shorter average farrowing interval (6 mo). The analysis of sows’ performances based on their origin revealed that sows from agro-ecological zone 8 have the highest number of LBP and the lowest age at first mating and first farrowing. The analysis of sows’ performances based on the hair color showed that those with black hair have the largest LS and the highest number of LBP. This study showed that Benin’s native sows have good reproductive ability with enough variation to develop a sustainable pig industry for a better contribution to food security and wealth creation.