Colobus Trust

Category: Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Research | Date: Nov 21 2008 | By: colobus

Mount Kasigau is a remote peak of the Eastern Arc Mountains bordering the southernmost reaches of Tsavo West National Park. Located a third of the way between the Taita Hills and the Indian Ocean it rises majestically 3,000 feet above the Taru Desert, a refuge from the deserts dry heat. Although clearly visible from the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.Mt Kasigau has seen limited scientific study and still holds a great deal of mystery about its ecological makeup. This is due to the limitations imposed by its remote location and inaccessibility; due to its thick, forested slopes and shear rock faces.500×146When the Colobus Trust heard that a black and white monkey had been spotted on the mountain interest was stirred, notably mine! The population of C. angolensis palliatus is known to stretch inland into the southern highlands of Tanzania, but according to literature held at our site the remaining Kenyan population is confined to what is left of the coastal forests of the Kwale District, with the most inland population being in the Shimba Hills NR, a mere 30 km from the coast.Therefore the identification of a surviving inland Kenyan population of our focal species would be of great significance, not just for ensuring the protection of the forest but also for the scientific study of the causes and effects of isolation.Last month we were kindly invited to stay at Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary, otherwise known as Camp Tsavo (visit http://www.campsinternational.com for more information), an 80,000 acre area of land in the Tsavo Migration Corridor. We set out with the specific intent on shedding more light on the situation. At their wonderful camp we got talking to Ken, who has worked and lived in and around Kasigau for many years. We also got talking to Rob Dodson, who set up Rukinga and who led IUCN Primate Group Director Tom Putchinski around the mountain to answer the same question as us after spotting what he believed to be Colobus monkeys traversing a rock face. We learnt of several other sightings. In the end there was nothing conclusive and the general consensus was that there was no population present. However, we were still keen to investigate further as there were still unanswered questions.The next day we headed for the mountain. Led by Ken, we climbed up the slopes past Blue Gum Trees and Wild Bananas to the home of an old farmer who’s farm has one of the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen. He made his living farming maize, oranges and other crops high on the slopes of the mountain with thick forest bordering the fields. With a lifetime spent on the mountain we decided he would be a good person to ask if he’d ever seen a Colobus and we’d brought along my Kingdon Field Guide to Mammals to help.375×496Conversing in a mixture of Taita and Swahili I was only able to pick up a few words. So Ken helped by translating for me. The farmer said that there were three kinds of monkey he has seen on the mountain. Kima (Sykes Monkey), Tumbili (Vervet Monkey) and one he had no name for. We confirmed this by showing him drawings of the monkeys in the field guide.500×375Then we asked him about the unnamed species. He said they lived in groups up to 50 (Colobus troops in Diani usual have from 4-12 members), were black and white and visited his farm regularly. We showed him the field guide and as a test asked him to distinguish whether they were the Angolan Colobus (below left) or Guereza Colobus (below right) as a test. The Guereza are found in mountainous regions in East Africa, such as Mounts Kilimanjaro, Kenya & Meru, as well as in numerous parts of the Rift Valley.500×189He was certain that it was the Angolan Colobus he saw. He even pointed out that they have shorter epaulets (white hair on the shoulder). This is one of the distinguishing features of our sub-species (C. angolensis palliatus). This was very exciting! We asked when he last saw them. He said they passed through about half an hour ago! We tried to track the monkeys for about an hour, but to no avail. This was a shame but more interesting information was to come on the way back. The farmer was convinced that the monkeys we were looking for occasionally raided his crops. This was strange to hear, as Colobus are not known to be crop raiders at the coast. More excitement was to come when we were nearing his house. We found skulls of what appear to be two large male Colobus! These were taken back to our office where they await a proper scientific analysis.499×334The questions posed by this discovery on return to the Colobus Trust caused quite a stir. As I said, the possibility of locating this isolated, inland population not only will help promote the protection of one of the remaining forests in the area, but will also open up many scientific questions about the effects of isolation.  One example is how they got there? When discussing it with Danny Woodley, KWS Senior Warden of Tsavo West NP, he mentioned that many animals (including several Sable Antelope) were displaced from the coast by the effects of the 1997-98 El Nino. Could they have been driven there in response to the change in rainfall patterns, or have they been there since the lowland forest receded 3,000-5,000 years ago? If they have been isolated for such a long period then there could be every chance that their behaviour could be so altered that they live in troops of such a large number (other subspecies of C. angolensis have troops this size) and could the gradual decrease in the size of their habitat have driven them to feed on different food sources? It would explain why the farmer was so certain they raided his crops?   More excitement came when Camps International were told by one of their students that a picture of a Colobus had been taken on Kasigau. Sadly though, when the photo was examined it was nothing but a rather large, fluffy male Sykes Monkey! We are currently looking for funding to send a team up the mountain for a 3-night, 5-day expedition. During this time we will undertake a sweep census of all primates (and hopefully other wildlife) and a thorough analysis of the known Colobus food species of Diani’s population. If Colobus are deemed present, then we have our work set out for us!Watch this space!Gwili

Tags: Angolan Colobus, colobus, Habitat Restoration/Conservation, Kasigau, Monkey