Community-Led Insights Reveal Hope for Red Colobus Conservation in Cameroon

Abstract

Current knowledge situates the natural range of Preuss's red colobus (Piliocolobus preussi) within south-eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon, with the Korup National Park and its periphery being its stronghold. Nevertheless, some suggest the primate may have become extirpated in parts of the periphery of the Korup National Park. Reports from some nearby communities however suggested otherwise. Meanwhile, because of insecurity caused by a socio-political crisis affecting the two English-speaking regions since 2016, very few formal surveys of the species have been carried out. Yet, confirming the presence or absence of the species was considered important for a survey to be designed and carried out. From April to July 2024, we conducted a targeted, community-based assessment of the presence/absence of Preuss's red colobus in the south-eastern peripheral zone of Korup National Park, an area where red colobus were reported in past surveys to have been extirpated. While taking security precautions, we relied on local ethnoecological knowledge and wildlife experiences of ex-rangers and communities to inform geographic information systems-assisted mental-mapping of red colobus encounters. Our results suggest that red colobus are still present in the south-eastern peripheral zone of the Korup National Park. We offer suggestions for their conservation.