Researchers snap monkey so rare, it was feared extinct
Image: Lieven Devreese/World Conservation Society
Digital Reporter
Monday, April 20, 2015, 11:42 AM - Take a good look at the monkey in the picture above, and her baby.
It's said to be the first-ever photograph of Bouvier's red colobus, and when scientists caught a glimpse of that fine-looking specimen earlier this year, they were unbelievably fortunate: The World Conservation Society (WCS) says it's so rare, no one has seen one since at least the 1970s.
Researchers Lieven Devreese and Gaël Elie Gnondo Gobolo found it in Ntokou-Pikounda National Park in the Republic of Congo in February, guided by locals familiar with the species.
"Thankfully, many of these colobus monkeys live in the recently gazetted national park and are protected from threats such as logging, agriculture, and roads, all of which can lead to increased hunting," the WCS's Dr. Fiona Maisels said in a release from the organization.
The species was first sighted in the late 1800s, and is believed to live mostly in the Congo, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, living in forest areas in social groups of around 30 individuals.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature is a bit more conservative than the WCS about how long it's been since anyone's seen one, but they agree that many suspected the Bouvier's red colobus was extinct.
As it is, the IUCN lists it as "Critically Endangered", due to an estimated 80 per cent population decline over the last three decades.
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