The Dryas monkey is back from the dead! Researchers capture Congo primate thought to be almost extinct on video
- Dryas monkeys, locally known as Inoko, were first discovered in 1932
- But, they are very elusive, and scientists believed they're nearing extinction
- They've now been captured on film, revealing a new population in Congo
For the first time, researchers have captured footage of the critically endangered Dryas monkey, an elusive species that’s ‘mastered the art of hiding’ deep in the Congo basin.
In order to observe the monkeys, researchers had to set up remote camera traps throughout the rainforest, even scaling tall trees to place cameras up in the canopy.
Dryas monkeys, locally known as Inoko, were first discovered in 1932, but years of unregulated hunting and small population size has caused scientists to believe they are nearing extinction.
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For the first time, researchers have captured footage of the critically endangered Dryas monkey, an elusive species that’s ‘mastered the art of hiding’ deep in the Congo basin. Dryas monkeys, locally known as Inoko, were first discovered in 1932
The researchers from Florida Atlantic University discovered the population at the 2.2 million acre Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
One of these monkeys was previously found dead by field teams from the Lukuru Foundation TL2 Project near the border of the park, with a local hunter.
But, it’s been difficult to pinpoint the monkeys in their home.
‘The Dryas monkey is extremely cryptic and we had to think of a creative strategy to observe them in the wild,’ said Kate Detwiler, PhD, a primatologist and an assistant professor of anthropology in FAU’s Dorothy F Schmidt College of Arts and Letters.
‘Dryas monkeys are drawn to dense thickets and flooded areas. When threatened, they quickly disappear into a tangle of vines and foliage, mastering the art of hiding.’
Dewiler has worked with scientists at the Lukuru Foundation for more than eight years, and helped to discover a new species, the Lesula monkey at the park in 2012.
To find the elusive Dryas monkeys, the researcher called on Daniel Alempijevic for help.
Alempijevic had to learn to climb trees, and once he’d obtained his certificate, the researcher placed cameras on the ground, mid-level, and up high in the canopy.
It was the first time researchers have conducted an arboreal camera trap survey in the TL2 Landscape, and required an entire semester to set up the traps.
‘This was an opportunity of a lifetime,’ said Alempijevic, now a master’s candidate in FAU’s Environmental Sciences Program.
‘It was an incredible experience to work in the canopy of such a remote site, and to get the first camera-trap videos of an extremely rare and elusive species.’
Not only will the effort aid research on these critically endangered monkeys, but the traps will be used to gather information on other animals at Lomami National Park, including the bonobo, African palm civet, and potto.
In order to observe the monkeys, researchers had to set up remote camera traps throughout the rainforest, even scaling tall trees to place cameras up in the canopy
The researchers are also working to determine if the species is closely related to the Vervet monkey.
‘The Congo Basin rainforest is the second-largest rainforest in the world, and contains some of the least known species on the planet, many of which are threatened from hunting pressure and deforestation,’ said Detwiler.
‘Our goal is to document where new Dryas populations live and develop effective methods to monitor population size over time to ensure their protection.
‘Understanding where they reside is important, because the animals living inside the Lomami National Park are protected, as it is illegal to hunt.’
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