Miss Waldron's Red Colobus

Black fur covers the majority of Miss Waldron's red colobus, but a distinctive pattern of bright red fur can be found on its forehead and thighs, allowing it to be distinguished from conspecifics. An Old World monkey, it grows to a height of about 3 feet (1 m), with a head that is small for its frame. No photograph of a living Miss Waldron's red colobus is known to exist.

High-canopy forests (rainforests) in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire serve as the exclusive habitat of Miss Waldron's red colobus. The monkey usually forms large family groups of 20 or more. It is a social and highly vocal animal, frequently communicating with others using loud calls, shrieks and chattering. Its strategy for safety depends on using the many eyes and ears of the group. Fruit, seeds and foliage provide the primary food source of Miss Waldron's red colobus. The western red colobus frequently is hunted and eaten by larger carnivores, including common chimpanzees (specifically western chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus, in the range of P. b. waldronae), leopards, pythons, eagles and humans.

Decline to (near-)extinction. The monkey was frequently (and illegally) poached for bushmeat, with little interference by local governments. Habitat destruction also played a role in its decline. Miss Waldron's red colobus is the first primate to be suspected extinct in the 21st century, but there is considerable debate over whether this assessment is indeed correct. A series of forest surveys, conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society from 1993 to 1999, failed to uncover any evidence of the monkey's existence, and the animal was declared extinct a year later. …