Golden Monkey Cercopithecus mitis ssp. kandti

The Democratic Republic of the Congo; Rwanda; Uganda

Endangered

Golden Monkey Cercopithecus mitis ssp. kandti

The Golden monkey Cercopithecus kandti are Old World monkeys that live nestled deeply into the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa. They are found in four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga and Kahuzi-Biéga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. They are restricted to highland forest.

The Golden Monkey is an #oldworld #monkey living in #volcanic #jungles of #Congo #Uganda #Rwanda. Human demand for #timber #palmoil has made them endangered. To help them, #Boycott4Wildlife the supermarket brands causing #deforestation

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The largest part of the geographic range of the Golden Monkey is probably in Rwanda, followed by Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Forest in all three countries is seriously threatened by harvesting of trees and bamboo, clearance for agriculture, palm oil, charcoal production, and grazing of livestock.

IUCN red list

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The Golden Monkey was previously thought to be a subspecies of the Blue Monkey. The two species look similar, although the Golden Monkey has a golden-orange patch on the upper flanks and back.

Not much is known about the Golden Monkey’s behaviour. They are highly social and live in troops of up to 30 individuals. They eat mostly bamboo, leaves and fruit, although have been known to also eat insects.

The human population growth rate is high in all three countries. Rwanda’s human population growth is 2.7% (PRB 2019). Rwanda’s population increased from 2.9 million people in 1960 (World Bank 2020) to 12.6 million people in 2019 (PRB 2019), and is projected to increase to 17.9 million by 2036 and to 23.0 million by 2050 (PRB 2019). The geographic range of Golden Monkey has, no doubt, decreased and fragmented greatly in recent decades as a result of human demands for forest products and land. From 2001 to 2018, Rwanda lost 320 km² of tree cover, or 6.4% of the nation’s tree cover in 18 years (GFW 2020).

Although the Golden Monkey mostly, if not entirely, within four protected areas, this subspecies remains threatened by habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation and degradation. Illegal collection of bamboo and trees occurs at unsustainable levels in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Twinomugisha et al. 2003, Twinomugisha and Chapman 2008, Sheil et al. 2012). The illegal taking of forest products often occurs together with poaching (Sheil et al. 2012)

You can support this beautiful animal

There are no known conservation activities for this animal. Make art to raise awareness and join the #Boycott4Wildlife.

Further Information

Butynski, T.M. & de Jong, Y.A. 2020. Cercopithecus mitis ssp. kandti. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T4236A92571626. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T4236A92571626.en. Downloaded on 06 June 2021.

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