Officials in Ghana have announced the discovery of a new breed of Monkey called the Cercocebus Lunulatus which is a rare terrestrial Monkey in one of the country’s forest reserves.
The discovery which happened in the Atiwa Forest Reserve in the Eastern part of the country has excited scientists.
Starr FM reported that the Scientists discovered the globally threatened White-naped Mangabey (Cercocebus lunulatus) a few days ago using infrared camera trap.
This special kind of Monday is reported to have lived in only a few sites in western Ghana, eastern Cote d’Ivoire and southern Burkina Faso but now endangered.
The IUCN Redlist of threatened Species includes the mangabey as Critically Endangered.
The lead Scientist for the new discovery, Dr Jeremy Lindsell is quoted as saying that “Unfortunately, this newly discovered population of this endangered monkey in Atiwa is threatened by a bauxite mine being planned for this biologically important forest, as well as by snare traps and hunting for the bush-meat trade”.
Ghana’s Atiwa Forest is home to a high diversity of threatened and endemic species including birds, mammals, reptiles, butterflies and amphibians.
In November Wild life experts in Ghana warned that Primate Species like Apes, Lemur, and Monkeys are facing extinction in Ghana due to the activities of humans.
They have blamed the current trend on deforestation in forest reserves, destruction of habitants in parts of the country and illegal mining activities.
Source: Africafeeds.com
