The Population Status of the Ursine Colobus (colobus Vellerosus) at Boabeng-fiema, Ghana

Introduction The population of Ursine colobus (Colobus vellerosus) is thought to be declining throughout most of its range in West Africa. In eastern Côte d'Ivoire and southwestern Ghana, sightings of C. vellerosus in various reserves and National Parks is reported as rare or few today, in contrast to 'common' In Togo, there have been no published sightings for over 20 years [Asibey, 1978]. In Bénin, only a few small groups of C. vellerosus have been found in a few forest fragments [Inoussa & Nobimé, 1997; Sinsin et al., 2002;] and in southwestern Nigeria, the Ursine colobus' eastern-most range, I. Faucher (pers. comm.) reported no sightings of C. vellerosus despite searches between 1997 and 2001 and Happold [1987] suggests C. vellerosus may be locally extinct in this area. This decline in population is likely due to the loss of forested habitat and the In fact, hunting and the bushmeat trade are probably a more significant impact on the population of West African colobus than moderate habitat disturbance [Oates, 1992]. In East Africa, for example, moderate levels of habitat disturbance are not associated with declines in densities of black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza) This may be due to the greater availability of fast-growing, high-protein/lower-fiber colonizing plants preferred by the black-and-white colobus in edge or disturbed habitats [Onderdonk & Chapman, 2000]. The ability of Colobus guereza to thrive on such secondary growth may also explain their ability to live in small (approx 1-10 ha) patches around Kibale [Onderdonk & Chapman, 2000]. In West Africa, Martin [1991] also suggests C. vellerosus may be able to better adapt to low levels of logging than many other primate species due to its use of secondary forest. In contrast, the hunting of black-and-white colobus in West Africa has had a devastating effect on the population. Historically, Booth [1979] suggests the Ursine colobus was one of the most preferentially hunted primate species in Ghana. It was sought after for its meat and coat until it was hunted to scarcity in many areas. In the 1890s, an estimated 190,000 C. vellerosus skins were exported from Ghana [Grubb