Azuero Howling Monkey (Alouatta coibensis trabeata)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 1025476

The Fundación pro-Conservación de los Primates Panameños (FCPP), was created by Panamanian biologists with the interest to expand an initial population project where we survey non-human primate groups living in fragmented forest on the Azuero Peninsula. The “For-Conservation Project for the Azuero Endemic Primates”, started in April 2001.The project is contributing with information of actual distribution, population and conservation status of three of the less known primates in Central America, the endemic and Critically Endangered Azuero howler (Alouatta coibensis trabeata) and Azuero spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi azuerensis).  The study added recently this year 2010 the Vulnerable Coiba Island howler monkey (following IUCN red list).

 

The surveys done at the moment have calculated 3000 individuals remaining of Azuero howler monkey and 150 individuals left of Azuero spider monkeys, population results from nine years population data. The perspective of our goals is to maximize our approach with local people as they are the important key to help the fauna of Azuero. We work with community volunteers, community leaders and Panamanian biologist students from the University of Panama to promote the good attitudes and practices from the human community to mitigate deceasing of the primates population living in the fragments forest and living fences out to the protected areas.

 

Thanks to the cooperation of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the Fundación pro-Conservación de los Primates Panameños obtained the first data to calculate the total population of Alouatta coibensis coibensis still surviving in Coiba Island. The project also visited other sites into Azuero Peninsula expanding the distribution data of the Azuero howler and Azuero spider monkeys to the southeast area. With this information we will be able to complete our long-term data in order to analyze our first 10 year period results, which will help to obtain real information about population ecology of those primates and based on this, evaluate our next step in our conservation program in Azuero Peninsula.

 

 For two articles about Azuero Howling monkeys in Panama please click here for December 2005 and April 2005.

 

For three videos related to Azuero and Coiba primates please click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvldLq-Tsn4

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ztLEHom6M&feature=related

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ztLEHom6M