red colobus monkeys
In Africa, there are two types of monkeys, the Cercopithecines and the Colobines. Cercopithecines are characterized by having cheek pouches to store food. Colobines are unique because rather than having these cheek pouches, they have a specialized stomach to aid in digestion of their unique diets. Red colobus monkeys are colobines unique to the forests of Africa, from Senegal on the Atlantic coast to the island of Zanzibar. There are 19 forms of red colobus across West, Central, and East Africa differing from one another in aspects of their red and orange fur color and design, facial patterns, behavior, and vocalizations. They are specialized herbivores, meaning that they eat plants. Their diet consists mainly of leaves, but they are also known to eat fruit, shoots, flowers, and stems. Because of this, they have multi-chambered stomach with microbes to break down the cellulose in plants.
The name colobus comes from the Greek word, kolobus, which means 'mutilated,' because their thumbs are very, short and almost nonexistent. Being highly arboreal and occupying high forest canopies, they use their four long fingers to wrap around tree branches. They live in large groups of up to 100 individuals, and are often found with other species of monkey in "polyspecific groups". Living in big multi-species assemblages is helpful because calls communicate different messages used to alert the group to potential danger.
As a taxonomic group, red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus spp.) have been identified as one of Africa’s most threatened. Because of their uniquely large digestive track, colobus monkeys are large bodied. They have somewhat sluggish movements in comparison to other arboreal species and take long resting periods (around seven of the ten hours a day), often attributed to the fermentation process occurring in their large bellies. Additionally, their large bodies yield a relatively high economic value in comparison to other, smaller primate prey. As such, researchers note that they are particularly vulnerable to human hunting activity, as they are somewhat “easy” and valuable targets for hunters.
Research in primate studies, wildlife biology, and conservation management demonstrates that large-bodied mammals are the primary targets for both subsistence and commercial hunters. In Africa hunting is often to support the illegal bushmeat trade. “The bushmeat crisis” represents the illegal and unsustainable nature of hunting, the increasing demand, wealth, and burgeoning global economies of wildlife beyond habitat countries.
The trade in bushmeat is criminalized due to the prevalent use of illegal hunting methods (guns, wire cable snares), unsustainable off-takes, and the hunting of protected, often endangered species. Globally, bushmeat represents a major source of food and income for both rural and urban human populations. In rural communities, the sale of bushmeat very often makes up a substantial part of the local economy. In these spaces, there are typically few livelihood options, leaving hunting wild animals a necessary practice and the management of the bushmeat trade a complex conservation problem. Additionally, the cultural significance of food, specifically bushmeat, to local diets results in greater challenges. As red colobus monkeys are particularly vulnerable to hunting, we must conduct research that integrates ecology, economics, and cultural to understand how we can best protect these species.
Being a highly arboreal leaf eating species, red colobus are also threatened by ongoing forest degradation and habitat loss. Such problems are ever increasing with the rise in global populations and the need for natural resources. Unfortunately, we do not know the ramifications of losing these species on forest environments. As such, the importance of these species to forest health is an area of research that deserves attention. Like other primates, the role of red colobus species in maintenance of trees and seed dispersal likely plays an important role in forest regeneration, health, and stability.
All of the forms of red colobus are threatened by human activities. Without targeted conservation action, Africa stands to lose many of these beautiful monkeys. One red colobus species, Miss Waldron's red colobus may be extinct already. Unfortunately, red colobus species do not do particularly well in captivity and without conservation in the wild, we face the consequence of extinction. Despite the threats to these unique monkeys, few populations have been studied in the wild and they are little known to the general public, even in their habitat countries.
In 2018 at the International Primatological Society congress in Kenya, the Red Colobus Action Plan (ReCAP) was presented, representing the first Action Plan to target an entire group of African monkeys. Drawing on the suggested conservation actions for red colobus outlined in (ReCAP), Partners for Red Colobus contributes to the development and implementation of education and outreach as a tool for red colobus conservation and supports ethnographic and ecological data collection that aids in locally sensitive conservation efforts.
The name colobus comes from the Greek word, kolobus, which means 'mutilated,' because their thumbs are very, short and almost nonexistent. Being highly arboreal and occupying high forest canopies, they use their four long fingers to wrap around tree branches. They live in large groups of up to 100 individuals, and are often found with other species of monkey in "polyspecific groups". Living in big multi-species assemblages is helpful because calls communicate different messages used to alert the group to potential danger.
As a taxonomic group, red colobus monkeys (Piliocolobus spp.) have been identified as one of Africa’s most threatened. Because of their uniquely large digestive track, colobus monkeys are large bodied. They have somewhat sluggish movements in comparison to other arboreal species and take long resting periods (around seven of the ten hours a day), often attributed to the fermentation process occurring in their large bellies. Additionally, their large bodies yield a relatively high economic value in comparison to other, smaller primate prey. As such, researchers note that they are particularly vulnerable to human hunting activity, as they are somewhat “easy” and valuable targets for hunters.
Research in primate studies, wildlife biology, and conservation management demonstrates that large-bodied mammals are the primary targets for both subsistence and commercial hunters. In Africa hunting is often to support the illegal bushmeat trade. “The bushmeat crisis” represents the illegal and unsustainable nature of hunting, the increasing demand, wealth, and burgeoning global economies of wildlife beyond habitat countries.
The trade in bushmeat is criminalized due to the prevalent use of illegal hunting methods (guns, wire cable snares), unsustainable off-takes, and the hunting of protected, often endangered species. Globally, bushmeat represents a major source of food and income for both rural and urban human populations. In rural communities, the sale of bushmeat very often makes up a substantial part of the local economy. In these spaces, there are typically few livelihood options, leaving hunting wild animals a necessary practice and the management of the bushmeat trade a complex conservation problem. Additionally, the cultural significance of food, specifically bushmeat, to local diets results in greater challenges. As red colobus monkeys are particularly vulnerable to hunting, we must conduct research that integrates ecology, economics, and cultural to understand how we can best protect these species.
Being a highly arboreal leaf eating species, red colobus are also threatened by ongoing forest degradation and habitat loss. Such problems are ever increasing with the rise in global populations and the need for natural resources. Unfortunately, we do not know the ramifications of losing these species on forest environments. As such, the importance of these species to forest health is an area of research that deserves attention. Like other primates, the role of red colobus species in maintenance of trees and seed dispersal likely plays an important role in forest regeneration, health, and stability.
All of the forms of red colobus are threatened by human activities. Without targeted conservation action, Africa stands to lose many of these beautiful monkeys. One red colobus species, Miss Waldron's red colobus may be extinct already. Unfortunately, red colobus species do not do particularly well in captivity and without conservation in the wild, we face the consequence of extinction. Despite the threats to these unique monkeys, few populations have been studied in the wild and they are little known to the general public, even in their habitat countries.
In 2018 at the International Primatological Society congress in Kenya, the Red Colobus Action Plan (ReCAP) was presented, representing the first Action Plan to target an entire group of African monkeys. Drawing on the suggested conservation actions for red colobus outlined in (ReCAP), Partners for Red Colobus contributes to the development and implementation of education and outreach as a tool for red colobus conservation and supports ethnographic and ecological data collection that aids in locally sensitive conservation efforts.