Rare New Tanzania Monkey "At Risk of Extinction"
Summary
Effects of human activity are causing the newly-discovered species of Tanzanian
monkeys to go extinct. The “Rungwecebus Kapunji” monkey was discovered a couple of years
ago. DNA analysis exposed in 2006 indicated that Kapunji was the first new primate genus to be
discovered since 1923. These monkeys live on trees of high-altitude mountains. They can live on
heights up to 8000 feet above ground. Kapunji monkeys are omnivores. An adult is about 3 feet
tall and has grayish-brown fur. According to a census published this month, there are only 1,117
individuals left in the area. These individuals are restricted to only 6.28 square miles of the two
isolated forests of Udzungwa Mountains and southern highlands of Tanzania. Parts of both these
forests have been illegally logged and used for agricultural purposes. This has caused many
ecologists to believe that Kapunji monkey may go extinct. This species is not only losing its
limited habitat but is also targeted by poachers. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has
asked for this species to be classified as “critically endangered”. The WSC is helping in habitat
restoration of this endangered species as well as raising awareness among the locals.
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Source: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/WireStory?id=5469771&page=1
Date of Publication: July 29, 2008
Original Article
Rare New Tanzania Monkey "At Risk of Extinction"
By Daniel Wallis
July 29, 2008
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A new species of Tanzanian monkey is threatened with extinction just two
years after it was formally identified, conservationists have warned.
The rare "kipunji" monkey was first spotted in the country's remote Udzungwa Mountains and
Southern Highlands, becoming the first new genus of a living primate from Africa to be
discovered in 83 years.
A census published this month found just 1,117 individuals restricted to only 6.82 square miles
of forest in the two isolated areas, which are both severely degraded by illegal logging and
agriculture.
The species itself is also targeted by poachers.
"The kipunji is hanging on by the thinnest of threads," Tim Davenport, Tanzania country director
for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said in a statement late on Monday.
"We must do all we can to safeguard this extremely rare and little understood species while there
is still time."
The WCS wants the monkey classified as "critically endangered," meaning it is threatened with
extinction in the wild if immediate conservation action is not taken.
Rare and shy, the elusive Rungwecebus kipunji was identified only by photographs until a
farmer trapped one and it died, allowing scientists to get a close look.
DNA analysis revealed in 2006 that the species was the first entirely new primate genus to be
discovered since 1923. An adult kipunji is about 3 feet tall with a long tail, long grayish-brown
fur, a black face, hands and feet.
Adults make a loud, low-pitched "honk-bark" call. They live in mountainside trees at heights of
up to 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) and eat leaves, shoots, flowers, bark, fruit, lichen, moss and
invertebrates.
WCS said its population estimate, published in the journal Oryx, was the result of more than
2,800 hours of field work.
The group said it was helping fund the protection and restoration of the kipunji's existing habitat,
as well as educating local people to protect the remaining primates.