Bouvier's red colobus monkey, a rediscovered rare primate species in RD Congo

Once again, RD Congo becomes one of the African hotspots with its rainforest large surface but the poverty, political unestable and the war play against biodiversity conservation.

This new photograph is the first ever taken of Bouvier's red colobus monkey. The rare primate is native to the forests of the Republic of Congo and highly threatened by the bushmeat trade.mar

Very little is known about the Bouvier's red colobus monkey. It was first described in 1887 and recorded only sporadically over the ensuing century. The last unverified sightings had been nearly 50 years ago. Is it extinct?

According to independent researchers, Lieven Devreese and Gaël Elie Gnondo Gobolo, it's not. The pair just released photographs of this rare primate taken in Congo's Ntokou-Pikounda National Park, a protected area created in 2013 on WCS's advice.

"Our photos are the world's first," Devreese said, "and confirm that the species is not extinct."