Preuss's red colobus (Piliocolobus preussi`)
Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 182518735
Protecting Preuss’s red colobus (Piliocolobus preussi): An integrative conservation strategy through education, ethnographic, and ecological research.
Piliocolobus preussi, Preuss’s Red Colobus, is classified as Critically Endangered since 2008. It is endemic to forests between Nigeria’s Cross River and Cameroon’s Sanaga River and fragmented into two sub-populations; one in the contiguous forests of the southwestern Cameroon (Korup National Park) and southeastern Nigeria (Cross River National Park) and the other in Cameroon’s Ebo-Makombe Ndokbou forest block. To date, most of the detailed information about this monkey has come from forest and bushmeat surveys in and around Korup National Park (hereafter Korup). Research on P. preussi has been prevalent in the Korup area since the 1980's, focused on population monitoring, bushmeat offtake, and socio-economic surveys (Edwards 1992; Walter et al. 2002; Linder 2008; Linder and Oates 2011). This work suggests that hunting for subsistence and to supply the commercial trade in bushmeat has led to extirpation across much of its range (Hofner 2016; Linder and Oates 2011).
Following the suggested conservation actions for red colobus outlined in ReCAP, and with funding by Mohammad bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the Primate Society of Great Britain, and the University of Georgia we have initiated “Partners for Red Colobus.” This is a collaborative group of researchers and organizations that contributes to the development and implementation of education and outreach as a tool for red colobus conservation while supporting biomonitoring and ethnographic data collection relevant to the conservation of this highly threatened species.
Our objective is to improve regional understandings of the plight of P. preussi through rural and urban conservation outreach programming. Specifically, we aim to increase conservation knowledge of the fragility of natural resources and the need to preserve P. preussi and other wildlife. Within this objective, we strive to build a foundation for sustained, long-term education programs in that highlight the unique and irreplaceable species and ecosystems in Cameroon.
In 2018-2019 we developed outreach materials and educational programing for the Limbe Wildlife Center (LWC) (Limbe, Cameroon) and Korup Rainforest Conservation Society (KRCS) (Mundemba, Cameroon). At the LWC we set up an educational exhibit in the Nyango Exhibition Hall, a heavily trafficked area within the center. Additionally, we held a special event during the LWC Saturday Nature Club, “Red Colobus Nature Club,” and gave a presentation and training to Limbe Wildlife Center Staff on red colobus monkeys and our program. All education materials were made collaboratively with student artists and P. preussi researchers from the United States, England, and Cameroon. These materials include a red colobus calendar, a short comic, and posters to highlight and this species as unique to the region and communicate research related to ecology and conservation. All materials are translated in both French and English and ready to be replicated for other areas across the range of P. preussi. They are the result of long-term ethnographic work in Cameroon, ensuring cultural sensitivity and relevancy. We aim to increase participant’s knowledge of endemism, basic ecology, conservation status, and local involvement in red colobus conservation.
You can track this work on Instagram and Facebook @partners4redcolobus and check out our outcomes so far on www.partnersforredcolobus.weebly.com