By Paula Kahumbu
The Angolan colobus monkey (Colobus angolensis ssp
palliatus) is a large conspicuously handsome black
and white
monkey with an extraordinarily gentle nature.
Dressed in
flowing glossy black coats with contrasting long
white shoulder
flashes, it has a black impish face surrounded by
contrasting
long white cheek hairs. These are welcomed frequent
visitors
to private gardens and hotels in the seaside resort
area of
Diani on the south coast of Kenya. Long time Diani
residents
are proud of their resident colobus troops that
quietly have
become an expected component of a successful garden.
Although not currently listed as threatened, the Angolan colobus monkey is at least susceptible to extinction as result of habitat loss (Oates, personal comment). This
sub-species is
now restricted to the northern Tanzanian highlands and
southern Kenyan coastal forests. It has already
disappeared
from much of its former range, and now occurs as
pockets in
the fragmented isolated forest patches.
In Kenya the colobus is afforded protection only in
the
Shimba Hills while other populations in Diani,
Shimoni, and
Chale forests are likely to decline and disappear
unless
ongoing forest clearance is checked. Already over
75% of the
forest cover has disappeared in Diani, leading to the
disappearance of lion, leopard, spotted hyena and
elephants.
Many other mammals survive in these fragmented forest
patches. These animals include numerous species of
primates,
small antelope, mongoose, and a variety of other
types of
animals. Some of these mammals are rare and are
threatened
with local extinction. In addition, we have a bird
list of 133
species for this forest that includes the endemic
and rare
Uluguru sunbird (Anthreptes collaris).
Recent events, however, have led some to believe
that the
colobus population is declining as a result of
habitat loss and
the unusually high rate of road kills. This has
sparked an
emotional outcry against forest clearing and high
speed traffic
on the main road, and has led to a publicity
campaign, to
'Save the Colobus', which aims to brings the
residents of Diani
together in a joint effort to save Diani's mascot.
The forest loss threatens the long term future of
the colobus
monkeys throughout their range, however, in Diani,
they face
the added threat that they are unusually
handicapped when it
comes to crossing the high speed beach road. Over a
period
of less than three months, we recorded 17 road
killed colobus
monkeys along a stretch of road no more than 2
kilometers
long.
We know that their dependence on leaves restricts
these
monkeys to forest habitats which have been bisected
by the
main beach road in Diani. They cross this road
frequently
during the long dry season (September to November)
when
the availability of food (new leaf shoots) is
particularly low and
they are forced to expand their home ranges. All
the other
monkey species are apparently road smart and safely
cross
the road, at least most of the time.
Colobus monkeys are uniquely clumsy on the ground and
don't run but bound in a manner more akin to
squirrels than
monkeys. When crossing the road it seems as though
only the
leader looks before leaping, while all followers
sprint across in
nervous rapid succession. Many motorists have
admitted to
hitting colobus monkeys, but they often blame the
monkeys for
unpredictable behavior. Since we can't educate the
monkeys,
we must convince motorists that they have to be
more alert.
The colobus campaign was initiated by a group of
concerned
residents of Diani who tried unsuccessfully to save
an injured
female colobus, one of a pair that were killed
within minutes of
each other by separate vehicles.The shocking incident
catalysed us into action and the movement began. Our
immediate response was to build arboreal colobus
bridges, or
'colobridges', which we erected to link trees on
each side of
the road. We put up four in places known to be
favourite
crossing points, and accident black spots.
The results were not wholly satisfying, although
some colobus
monkey troops do use them, some monkeys continue to be
killed on the road near the bridges. They do not
utilize them
regularly and may be too conservative to suddenly
change
their routes. The sykes monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis
albogularis), on the other hand, adopted these
bridges in
preference to the balancing act of crossing on
single telephone
wires. We are hoping that the colobus monkeys will
learn from
the sykes, that these bridges really are useful and
safe. To
convince them, we may need to lure them with gifts
of sweet
potato leaves which we are planning to grow on a
nearby
farm.
Longer term initiatives that we have been pursuing,
include
publicity and public education. To date this has
involved
exposing destroyers of forest and by employing radical
measures to put pressure on one land owner to stop
felling
forest trees. We would prefer, however, to find
ways of
convincing property developers that forest
destruction is not
necessary or beneficial to the tourism industry,
and that in
tomorrow's world, ecotourism and environmentally
friendly
projects will be much more popular than the cheap mass
tourism hotels that are choking Diani.
We are lobbying for regulated development through
the Diani
Residents Association, while independently we have
publicised threats facing the environment and
specific animals
in Diani through posters, press articles,
questionnaires,
information sheets and posters around Diani.
Vehicle stickers
were very popular and all the public vehicle
drivers were
proud to display a sticker stating that they 'slow
for crossing
colobus'.
On the 30th of November, we fulfilled one of our major
objectives and conducted colobus census in Diani.
This was
an event that drew 30 volunteers and generated a
wealth of
information regarding the primates and habitats in
Diani. As
we suspected, the Diani colobus population is not
very big at
only 200-230 individual monkeys in an area of
almost 10
square kilometers.
It was no surprise that the highest density of
monkeys was in
the relatively undisturbed forest patches which is
also the area
with the highest rate of road kills where 18% of
the resident
monkeys died in 3 months. The lowest density of
colobus
monkeys was in private gardens and hotel grounds, and
surprisingly the protected sacred kaya forests had
small
populations amounting to only 10% of the total. We
suspect
from the monkeys behavior, that hunting for skins
may be the
cause. This census was the first of its kind in
Diani and we can
say with confidence that the colobus population in
one area
has declined significantly since 1989.
The census also revealed that less than 3 square
kilometers of
closed canopy forest remains in Diani. Despite
their protected
status, the kayas are being eroded by clearing
around their
boundaries. Degraded areas that contain bush and
isolated
clusters of trees occupy most of the area, and
almost half of
the primate population. Diani Forest (1.5 square
kilometers),
the largest continuous patch of coral rag forest,
had three
times the density of primates than the other areas.
This forest has recovered significantly from
degradation since
1989, but renewed clearing is a threat. Ironically
the private
ownership of this property which guaranteed
protection to this
date, represents the greatest threat today. This
recent spate of
clearing may be due to the depressed state of the
tourism
industry. Property owners claim that to recover
financial
losses, they are sub-dividing and selling off small
plots.
Clearing has already begun and unless immediate
conservation
efforts are implemented we could witness the local
extinction
of a timid primate and the exit of Diani Forest.
Efforts to save
Diani Forest must take into account the private
ownership of
the forest, and the effects of political and
economic changes
on tourism and land value.
The main threats to forest dependent animals
include the main
road which represents a real barrier for movement of
terrestrial animals between the east and west
blocks, garbage
disposal in the forest that the primates are
foraging upon,
colobus kills for skins used in traditional dance,
and snare
hunting for small antelopes.
One of the benefits that the colobus campaign has
achieved is
a sense of responsibility by residents for the
colobus monkey.
Some residents have volunteered to assist us, and we
frequently get calls from members of the public who
have
information and ideas. Recently, one resident
alerted us to
another serious threat, she had observed two colobus
monkeys in her garden, each had an arm missing.
These were clearly the victims of traps illegally
laid for small
antelope. This is a new problem that the campaign
will address
and it will involve organizing veterinary care and
removal of
snares. Other land owners lament the illegal
felling of trees on
their property and the charcoal business which is
destroying
colobus habitat. This is another sensitive issue
that we will
address in the coming months.
In order to effectively conduct conservation
activities, a trust
has been set up to protect the colobus monkeys and
their
habitat. The existing trustees are all
professionals in various
fields with jobs and commitments outside of this
project.
There are no full time staff as yet, and we have
had the good
fortune of access to computer, video, and camera
facilities to
promote our cause. We also have the Diani community to
thank for support and unfaltering encouragement.
Our plans for the future include an environmental
awareness
campaign, coating of high voltage electrical
cables, lobbying
for speed reduction on the roads, research studies
and further
censuses, fund raising events, and proposals for
managing the
remaining Diani forest patches for the conservation
of the local
flora and fauna. We will articulate our plans at a
workshop
that the Kenya Wildlife Service has offered to
organise for our
benefit, in order to bring all interested parties
to the table.
To date, almost all expenses have been met by one
man, Mr.
Van Velzen, who initiated the campaign and provided
the
means (vehicles, equipment and funds) for activists to
contribute effectively. Now that the Wakuluzu
Friends of the
Colobus is a registered trust, we expect to have
greater
involvement of other interested parties, and we are
appealing
for funds, and ideas to assist us to effectively
conduct our
various conservation projects.
About the author: Paula Kahumbu is a Kenyan
national. Her
interest in wildlife and conservation was
influenced by Dr.
Richard Leakey who was her neighbor and role model.
She is
currently enrolled at Princeton University and is
studying
elephants and their habitat relations in the
tropical rainforests
of the Shimba Hills, close to Diani. Her
involvement in the
colobus project came about following a chance
meeting with
Mr. Van Velzen. This project represents the first
privately
initiated conservation effort in the South Coast of
Kenya. To
assist Friends of the Colobus Trust email:
paula@Users.AfricaOnline.Co.Ke
© Copyright 1997 by Paula Kahumbu