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Miss Waldron's Colobus
Scientific Name
Procolobus badius waldroni
Systematics
Colobus belong to the family of colobid monkeys, which are characterised by a small thumb and a slim body structure with long limbs. They mainly eat leaves. The red colobus is divided into several sub-species, many are highly endangered.
Description
The red colobus has a reddish fur with dark brown parts on the head, back and tail. Males are significantly larger that females. The young are similar in appearance to the adults from birth onwards.
Distribution
The Miss Waldron’s colobus lives exclusively in the Upper Guinean Rainforest of the eastern part of Cote d’Ivoire and western Ghana.
Habitat
This species lives in pristine rainforest only and prefers the highest canopy strata.
Life History
After 6 ½ months the females give birth to one young, which stays in close contact with its mother for one year. There is a 2-year birth interval. It is not known how long they can live in the wild or in captivity.
Diet
Red colobus depend on leaves of certain tree species but they also eat blossoms and seeds. 40% of their favourite trees are used on a large commercial scale by humans, which make them especially vulnerable to logging processes.
Behaviour
Miss Waldron’s Colobus move in large groups of up to 80 animals through the upper part of the canopy. Most of the time they join up with other guenon species to travel together as a protection against predators. Males stay in the natal group whereas females leave the group when maturing. Thus, the females of the group are not related to each other.
Conservational Status
The Miss Waldron’s colobus was scientifically declared extinct in September 2000 since no individual has been seen alive in surveys since the 70’s. There are rumours about remaining individuals but those certainly don’t form a viable population. Thus, the Miss Waldron’s colobus is the first primate species of the new millennium to become extinct due to human influence.