At a Glance
Preuss’s Red Colobus is a large arboreal monkey that lives high in the canopies of dense tropical forests in Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria. The species lives in groups that can range in size between 20 and 100 monkeys.
There are 17 species of red colobus monkeys across Africa and the easiest way to distinguish between them is by their coat colorations and patterns. Preuss’s Red Colobus has a brownish coat and a light belly.
Like other red colobus species, Preuss’s Red Colobus are often the first large animals to be hunted out of forested areas, even though hunting the species is illegal in many places. The monkeys follow set routes through the forest, are large, and they often don’t move from their perches in trees when they encounter hunters—meaning they are easy to hunt in large numbers.
In addition to hunting pressure, the forests where Preuss’s Red Colobus live are being logged and cleared for agriculture.
The largest population of Preuss’s Red Colobus Monkey lives in Korup National Park in Cameroon, but sightings of the species are becoming rarer. That mirrors what has happened in other areas where the species once lived. As recently as 2017, Preuss’s Red Colobus could be found in Cameroon’s Cross River National Park. Conservationists have not been able to find any groups of the species in Ebo, Makombe or Ndokbou forests in Cameroon in recent years.
At a glance
Taxa
Mammals
Geography
Cameroon, Nigeria
Status
Critically Endangered
Habitat
Tropical rainforest
Estimated Population
Under 5,000
Threats
Hunting, habitat loss, logging
Potential Recovery Actions
Hunting prevention
