Kipunji (formerly the highland mangabey) Rungwecebus kipunji (Ehardt, Butynski, Jones & Davenport in Jones et al. 2005) (formerly Lophocebus kipunji Ehardt, Butynski, Jones & Davenport in Jones et al. 2005) Tanzania (2006)

The discovery of this new species of monkey in 2003 was the first in Africa in 20 years (Jones et al. 2005). First classified as Lophocebus kipunji, the highland mangabey, it has since been placed in a new genus Rungwecebus Davenport et al., 2006, on the basis of molecular data from an immature male specimen found in a trap in a farmer’s field near Mt. Rungwe, Tanzania. While concerns have been expressed with respect to the designation of this new genus (Ehardt and Butynski 2006b), there is growing molecular (Olson et al. submitted) and also morphological evidence that Rungwecebus is valid. Taxonomic debates aside, this monkey is, without doubt, one of the world’s most threatened primates (Davenport 2005; Davenport et al. 2006, submitted; Ehardt and Butynski 2006b). It has been assessed as Critically Endangered, following the IUCN Red List categories and criteria (Ehardt and Butynski 2006b; Hoffmann 2006). The kipunji is believed to be endemic to two areas in Tanzania that are separated by c.350 km. The Ndundulu population lives at 1,300–1,750 m asl in an area of <700 ha of submontane forest in the Ndundulu Forest Reserve (about 18,000 ha of closed forest) in the Udzungwa Mountains of south-central Tanzania. Only three groups have been confirmed in this population, which is probably no more than 200 individuals in all (C. L. Ehardt unpublished; Ehardt and Butynski 2006b). The Mt. Rungwe-Livingstone population occupies <7,000 ha of degraded submontane and montane forest at 1,750–2,450 m asl in the Mt. Rungwe-Livingstone Mountains (about 562 km², including the Kitulo National Park) of Tanzania’s Southern Highlands (Davenport et al. 2006; Davenport et al. submitted). The Rungwe-Livingstone population has received more research attention than the Ndundulu population (Davenport 2005; Davenport et al. 2006, submitted, in prep.; De Luca et al. submitted), although a complete census of both populations has been completed recently (Davenport et al. submitted). The most serious threat to the Mt. Rungwe-Livingstone population is the destruction of its forest habitat, a process which has proceeded unabated in this area for many years. The Livingstone Forest has been incorporated into Kitulo National Park, which should significantly improve protection for the kipunji groups in this area. Mt. Rungwe, however, remains a Catchment Forest Reserve and the level of protection there continues to be inadequate (Davenport 2006). There is already evidence that the Mt. Rungwe-Kitulo portion of the population consists of a number of isolated sub-populations (Davenport et al. submitted). The situation is compounded by the imminent loss of the narrow (<2 km wide) Bujingijila Forest Corridor that joins Mt. Rungwe and Livingstone (Davenport 2005). With the loss of this corridor, the Mt. Rungwe-Livingstone population will be further fragmented. In addition to the continuing loss of habitat, this population continues to be hunted (Davenport 2005, 2006; Davenport et al. 2005, in prep.). Current rates of forest degradation and loss, especially through logging and charcoal production, could soon lead to the extirpation of the Mt. Rungwe-Livingstone population. What remains of the Mt. Rungwe-Livingstone forests requires immediate and sustained protection (Davenport and Jones 2005; Davenport 2006). Of particular concern for the Ndundulu population is its extremely small size and the fact that poachers operate in this area (Ehardt and Butynski 2006b). Although local people have historically hunted in other parts of Ndundulu, there is no evidence that kipunji have been hunted here, and human disturbance in this part of the forest is minimal (Davenport and Jones 2005). The Ndundulu population is very small (Jones et al. 2005; Ehardt and Butynski 2006b; Davenport et al. submitted) however, and sizes of the groups thought to comprise this population appear to be smaller than those in the Mt. Rungwe-Livingstone population (Davenport et al. 2006, submitted; Ehardt and Butynski 2006b). These facts, alone, call into question the viability of this population of kipunji (Ehardt and Butynski 2006b; Davenport et al. submitted). Ndundulu Forest Reserve is currently subject to community-based management; however, with sanction from Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Division of Forestry and Beekeeping, Tanzania National Parks is providing rangers to patrol the Ndundulu Forest Reserve, and a ranger post has been established at the edge of Ndundulu Forest. Found in other forests of the Udzungwa Mountains is another of Tanzania’s endemic monkeys, the Sanje mangabey Cercocebus sanjei Mittermeier, 1986, known to science only since 1979 (Homewood and Rodgers 1981). This mangabey is currently listed as Endangered (IUCN 2006), but was included in the 2004-2006 list of the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates (Ehardt and Butynski 2006a). Like the kipunji, it occurs in two populations (separated by c.100 km) and probably numbers fewer than 1,300 animals (Ehardt et al. 2005). The Mwanihana population occurs entirely within the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, where there is adequate protection and management based on continuing ecological research (Ehardt et al. 2005; Ehardt and Butynski 2006a). The Udzungwa Scarp population is found within the Udzungwa Scarp Forest Reserve, and is under severe threat as a result of habitat degradation and hunting. Thus far, efforts to extend the Udzungwa Mountains National Park to include the Udzungwa Scarp Forest have been unsuccessful. As such, at least 40% of the world’s population of the Sanje mangabey remains at substantial risk of decline and eventual extirpation. These two of Tanzania’s endemic species of monkey, both recently discovered, are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss and hunting. Without significant improvement in the protection of the Mt. Rungwe-Livingstone Forest, where roughly 85% of the kipunji monkeys are found, and of the Udzungwa Scarp Forest, where nearly half of the Sanje mangabeys live, these two flagship species will have been part of Africa’s known primate diversity for only a brief period in history. Carolyn L. Ehardt, Thomas M. Butynski & Tim R. B. Davenport

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