Another proof oh how unstable even the scientific facts has been discovered as a monkey thought extinct was found in an African forest. The specimen upon whose genus most scientists had agreed it has disappeared was seen in a forest from Congo. The researchers who have discovered it were coming back from a scientific trip in that Congo forest and when their journey ended they have also brought a surprising photograph which pictured the red primate, until now presumed to be extinct.
The Bouvier’s red colobus monkey hade been thought to be long gone, given the fact that researchers have not spotted in its natural habitat a specimen belonging to this genus since the seventies. The red monkey lives in the forests of the Republic of Congo, on the shores of the Congo river and it leads its life organised in groups of primates. But the Bouvier’s red colobus monkey have not had an easy fate. The red primates have been hunted for long in the Congo forests, and the population was dramatically decreased in number. Thus it has become a frequently heard voice within the academic communities in connection to this matter which indicated that the red colobus monkey has disappeared forever.
But now, the view on the population of Bouvier`s red colobus monkeys looks like it will go through a change, as a group of researchers who are not affiliated to any institute have spotted the monkey in one of the forests on the shores of the Congo river.
Belgian Lieven Devreese and Congolese Gaël Elie Gnondo Gobolo started their journey to find the red monkeys two months ago. Even if the researchers are independent, their expedition has been funded by two main sources. Firstly, the crowdfunding managed by the Indiegogo website and secondly by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Lieven Devreese has commented on the fact that they have proved the existence of the red monkeys in our days, saying that the images they have captured are the first which have been taken presenting the colobus monkeys in the wild, after almost everyone agreed that they are gone.
“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,”
biologist Fiona Maisels said in a statement. Maisels is also an expert in the problems of Central Africa, representing the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Image Source: Discovery
