Zanzibar, Tanzania (July 2017)
If you get the chance to escape the sound of tourists combing Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park with their selfie sticks, you may stumble across a beautiful, calm scene of an endangered mother Zanzibar red colobus monkey snoozing while nursing her infant. She may grant you the opportunity to sit with them (at a respectful distance away) for a while. Her baby may keep a curious eye on you. You may look around and notice that the forest is decreasing inch by inch, and this incredible species that evolved to thrive here is facing a very uncertain future.
The Zanzibar red colobus is a severely fragmented primate species endemic to Unguja Island, Zanzibar. This means that they are native to no other place, and that if they are eradicated from this island, their prospects are not good. Human encroachment on the forest, deforestation for a multitude of purposes, and the bushmeat trade are largely to blame for their decline. Those living within protected areas like Jozani tend to face less threats than those that live amongst humans. The Zanzibar red colobus monkey, like so many others facing the same fate, is a species that is worth saving.