Monkey Thought to Be Extinct Found in Congo A group of researchers in the Republic of the Congo have discovered an adventure of a lifetime with the finding of a type of African monkey thought to be extinct after not being seen in the wild after the 1970s. Now, they are sending back the first ever pictures of the Red Colobus monkey for the world to see. The expedition into the Congo was financed by the Wildlife Conservation Society and crowd funding through Indiegogo . The search was led by Belgium scientist Lieven Devreese and Congo researcher Gael Elie Gnondo Gobolo, who have been searching for the rare monkey for several months. Red Monkey Thought to Be Extinct due to Hunting, Logging The Red Colobus monkeys were thought to be extinct because of their decline from being hunted for bush meat, as well as their habitat being endangered by logging. They are said to be unafraid of people, so were easy prey when hunters travel into the area. These small monkeys live in family groups along the swampy forest areas in the jungle. …show more content…
Prior to this discovery of the Red Colobus monkey in the wild, those studying it had to rely on museum specimens that were more than 100-years old. According to the WCS, there is actually very little known about this variety of the Bouvier's red colobus monkey, which is scientifically known as Piliocolobus bouvieri, so this new knowledge of it being alive, when it was thought to be extinct, is cause for
There are contrasts in tool kits used by different groups of chimpanzees, which seem to be a result of the environment in which they live as well as information that is shared by the group. For example, in 1973 it was reported that chimpanzees in Gombe did not use hammer stones, but those of Cape Palmas did. We will explore the tool use of Chimpanzees from the wild, including Gombe, Tai National Forest, and the Congo Basin---and contrast those with Chimpanzees in captivity in locations of Zoo’s both in the United States and abroad.
I visited the Sacramento Zoo during the afternoon of April 21, 2017. The weather was wonderful, sunny, warm, and there was a slight breeze. It got a bit more breezy the longer I was there. Visiting the zoo to observe primates allowed me to become a little more aware of how primatologists study primates. Even though I’ve been to many different zoos several different times, I never realized how many primates were associated with the zoos, as well as the variety of primates in the zoos. The Sacramento Zoo has eight different primates, all in different classifications, superfamilies, or subfamilies. While observing the Chimpanzees, White-Handed Gibbon, Mongoose Lemur, White-Faced Saki, and the Wolf’s Guenon I could see the differences
Species fragmentation could create long-term issues in the Cross River gorillas future. In a study, researchers found that “gene flow accompanied the divergence of western lowland and Cross River gorillas until just 400 or so years ago, which rather supports a scenario in which intensifying human activities may have increased the isolation of ape populations. The recent decrease in the Cross River population is accordingly most likely attributable to increasing anthropogenic pressure over the last several hundred years”(Thalmann et al., 2011). Human encroachment on Cross River gorillas natural habitat, paired with their small numbers, creates a problem of gene diversity. Unlike the
“The Victoria Colonist, July 3, 1884, reported the capture of a "gorilla type" creature, six feet six inches tall, weighing from 400- 1000 pounds and covered with glossy hair an inch long.” Although, other 19th
Throughout situations and research conducted by not only Robert Sapolsky or Jane Goodman, but from many other credited sources, we can blatantly see the, if not identical, similarities between the two species of humans and baboons. The most apparent likewise characteristics of this can be read and documented in Professor Sapolsky’s book, A Primate’s Memoirs. Sapolsky, who spent hundreds if not thousands, of hours studying these Savanna Baboons, sheds a vast insight into ideas of social dominance, mating strategies, instinctual prowess, community settings, hygiene, and reform of an entire generation; many of which can be unknowingly seen directly in the common occurrence of a humans daily life.
Now that the gorillas are very close to being extinct is our job to help them and stop poaching and hunting. theres only about 45% left of the gorilla population. They will always have to fight for their survival and to protect their younge from poachers. Also they will eventually be all moved to conservation areas where people like us will not be able to see them.
From a far distance I was able to see the largest of the primates, Gorillas. The gorillas at the
To wrap up, researchers have found that there is a very clear difference in the behavior of observed chimps and those who are observed naturally. The presence of observers clearly changes the behavior and using a human made environment to house them for research is sure to cause abnormal behavior within the chimpanzee communities. It’s becoming clearer and clearer that the future advancement of our understanding of chimpanzees, our closest animal counterparts, is going to be just as dependent on our direct, lab research as it will be on our naturalistic research of the animals.
I observed chimpanzees in the Kimberly-Clark Chimpanzee Forest exhibit at the Dallas zoo. These African apes, like humans, are hominoids and fall into the larger category of catarrhines. Their scientific classification is Pan troglodytes. There were about ten chimpanzees in that habitat. Most of them were grown adults, except two children. They were robust and had black fur. The average weight of the chimps was listed on a display to be about 115 pounds.
“ Refer to Figure 2”, the skull from furthest right has a relativity small brain capacity and sloped face. However as years of evolution occur it is seen that the skulls progressively get bigger, and brain capacity increases. Besides similarities in anatomy, our close biological bond with many of the primate species is indicated by DNA evidence. It confirms that our closest biological relatives were chimpanzees, whom share many DNA traits. DNA also shows species and chimpanzees had split from a common ancestor species that lived around 8 million years ago. Our last common ancestral monkeys and apes appeared to live 25 million years
The destruction of their habitat and destruction are the two great threats to the gorillas. The places where they are found are poor and densely populated. The land that is set aside for gorillas is being taken over by agriculture. The wire traps that poachers set out for antelope usually end up catching gorillas instead. People kill them for their heads and hands as trophies. The western lowland gorilla is listed as an endangered species.
"Their Story." One Small Step: The Story of the Space Chimps - Their Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 30
Chimpanzees are part of the non-human primate group. Though we share a common ancestor, evolution has pushed us in different directions. However this common ancestor causes humans to be curious about these creatures. As discussed in Jane Goodall’s video Among the Wild Chimpanzees we were once considered to be human because of our use of tools but once we observed these non-human primates using tools, this perception was changed forever. The question now at hand is if having the chimpanzees that we study in captivity makes a difference between studying wild chimps. These interesting creatures can be found naturally in the rainforests of Africa.
The mountain gorilla was first discovered roaming the Virunga Volcanoes in Rwanda (von Beringe, 2002, p.9). German Captain Robert von Beringe and his African soldiers stumbled upon two mountain gorillas around the volcanic region on October 17, 1902 (von Beringe, 2002, p.9). Von Beringe captured and killed one of them and sent the body to the Zoological Museum in Berlin, Germany. Professor Paul Matschie, who worked with the museum, identified the gorilla as a new class and named it after its founder: Gorilla beringei beringei (von Beringe, 2002, p.10). Twenty-three years later, American naturalist Carl Akeley persuaded King Albert of Belgium to turn a Belgian trust territory, near Rwanda, into a national park for the conservation of mountain gorillas. The Albert National Park, later named the Virunga National Park, was the first park established in Africa (Ngowi, 2002).
Baboons belong to the Old World monkey family, Cercopithecidae. They are found in Africa, south of the Sahara as well as in the Saudi Arabia desert (Class Notes 6/12/01). There are five subspecies of baboons including the hamadryas, the Guinea, the yellow, the chacma, and the olive baboons.