Rodents in tropical Africa have been recognized for decades both as important pests of agriculture and as reservoirs
of numerous diseases that affect humans and livestock (Keesing 2000). Despite this recognition, however, little is
known about the ecology and behaviour of these abundant and widespread animals. Because the impacts of small
mammals as pests are expected to be some function of their population density, most ecological research on African
rodents has focused on their population dynamics (Delany 1972, 1986; Leirs et al. 1994, 1996a).
