See the monkey pictures:
It appears that the red-tipped Bouvier monkey may be extinct after four decades without a single verifiable vision. Until suddenly it was photographed in 2015 in Ntoku Piconda National Park, now managed by the Republic of the Congo and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Jaap van der Waarde, the area conservation projects coordinator on behalf of WWF, went on a three-day expedition to capture the species in a movie. And it was successful. Mariska Kret, who studies monkey behavior at Leiden University, says the video is compelling.
“I hope a scientist will want to research this species,” Van der Waarde says of his discovery. “This is a species that occurs naturally here, in small numbers and in a small habitat. This makes it vulnerable by definition. If the environment changes a little, for example due to climate change, it can really be severely affected.”
“There was no count before, but when you see how few you encounter these monkeys, it is clear that there are very, very few. Fortunately, the area has been protected for several years and poaching has largely stopped. But it is important to learn more if we want to protect the species. This video can also raise awareness of these areas, and we can show how unique they are. ”
