The primates of Nyungwe National Park
The primates of Nyungwe National Park, Nyungwe National Park is a regional biodiversity hot spot with a high level of endemism. It is one of the largest national parks in Rwanda, and its presence has boosted the country’s tourism industry. Nyungwe is known for housing over 1068 plant species, 300 bird species, 85 mammal species, and 13 primate species. The forest is located in the southwestern part of Rwanda, towards the Burundi border south of Lake Kivu and west of DRC Congo in the Rusizi district. Nyungwe forest is also home to the great African river Nile which it shares with Congo. It was gazette as a park in 2004 as an important conservation area making it Rwanda’s tourist spot and its declaration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is a step towards ensuring the long-term conservation of the forest and its inhabitants.
The biodiversity of Nyungwe Forest National Park is further supplemented by other landscapes including swamps, and other vegetation zones that act as home for the different wildlife creatures.
The primate species of Nyungwe forest National park are the major attractions in this park and these include;
Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are one of the great apes that always find residence in tropical forests and savannahs. They are characterized by by having black fur covering their bodies and which change to grey as they grow old have hands, palms and toes that resemble those of human beings. Chimpanzees are closet human relatives, with arms longer than the legs, have and amazing way of moving , they climb trees, jump from one tree to another using their four limbs and when moving on land, they can use their two legs only or use both the legs and arms.
Chimps always stay in groups of 15 – 150 individuals though they can split when feeding. The gestation period is eight months, and the young ones stay breast feeding up to three years when they get accustomed to vegetation. These charming apes usually feed on plant leaves, roots, barks of trees, stems, and fruits. In times of scarce vegetation, they feed on honey, ants and termites. Chimpanzees are always threatened by habitat loss, poaching and diseases like Ebola.
In Nyungwe Forest national park in Rwanda, chimpanzees are a commitment to environmental conservation and serve as significant draw for tourists looking for memorable wildlife encounters in the natural wilderness.
Monkeys
Black and white colobus monkeys
The black and white colobus monkeys can be distinguished from other types of monkeys by their appearance. They have black and white fur as well as the long white fur on their backs and long tail. They only have four fingers on each hand without thumbs.
These primates live in mixed groups of males, females, and young ones of 8-15 individuals. When the young males mature, they join other groups or at times remain alone until they take over a group of females. There is no specific breeding season for these black and white colobus monkeys but the females are said to be sexually active between four to six years and every 20 months, a female will give birth.
The young ones are born with pink muzzles covered with white fur but at three to six months, their bodies start changing to black.
The life expectancy of these colobus monkeys is approximately 22 years though some can live up to 30 years.
Socially, when members re unite with another group, they perform a a reaffirmation ritual, they use their special greeting behaviour which is later accompanied by grooming. The physical greeting behavior is classified into three that is, mounting, head mounting (grabbing the shoulder) and hugging. These actions are not related to mating and grooming.
The black and white colobus monkeys sleep in the middle of high reaches of large trees and near their food (leaves and fruits). They always change sleeping places and always keep an eye on their predators like snakes and other strong wild animals like lions and leopards. They are also threatened by poachers and habitat destruction .
In Nyungwe forest National park colobus monkey tracking is one of the main activities done . tracking begins at 7:00am at Uwinka park headquarters and guests are led by trained game guides into the forest jungles where they can move for few hours trying to spot these wild apes and when sighted, visitors are allowed to spend one hour with them. Tracking the black and white colobus monkeys costs $60 per person and the tracking permits are obtained from RDB offices in Kigali.
Red-tailed monkeys
This is another group of primates found in Nyungwe forest national park . these primates distinguished from others by their red tails though other body parts have varying colours lie orange, black and red. They are commonly known to survive in place with fruits, leaves, insects and flowers .
They are omnivores and have big cheeks where they can store their food and consume it in a place they find safety.
These monkeys can communicate physically to show strength and dominancy in the group. They also communicate visually and vocally when trying to scare away predators or warning group members about any danger ahead of them.
Though they are polygamous, the females only give birth to single offspring during the breeding season. They are considered endangered creatures but can be easily spotted during chimpanzee trekking or having a canopy walk in Nyungwe forest National Park.
L’hoest monkeys.
This is a monkey specie that always dwell in the mountainous forests of central and east Africa. Their altitudinal levels have not been fully established as they can at times be found at the edges of forests close to cultivated fields which are at times lowlands.
They socially live in groups of several females and one male. When it comes to breeding, their gestation period is five to six months and always give birth at the beginning or end of the rainy season.
They spend most of the day time on the ground searching for food and when it comes to the night, they climb high up in the trees. They don’t love being seen by humans so they are always on a hide though you can luckily spot them at the road side as you enter Nyungwe forest park.
Blue monkeys
This type of monkey can also be called ‘Sykes’ monkey or ‘samango’. Their size ranges from 50 to 60 centimetres (22 to 26 Inches) and females weigh about 4 kg while the male weigh about 9kg. The bleu monkeys are not really blue as many think, they are light grey and olive but canopy in which they spend their time, and the sunlight gives the view the sight of the blue colour.
Blue monkeys spend most of their time in the topmost branches of trees and rarely cme down, so as you visit Nyungwe forest national park, seeing them may prove difficult but as you spend more time looking up in the tree branches, you will spot them especially during the canopy walk.
Like the red-tailed monkeys , these blue monkeys stay in groups of 20 to 30 members comprising several infants, females and a single male. They mainly feed on plant leaves, fruits and insects and their main predators are the large raptors.
The blue monkeys are also common in southwestern Uganda in Bwindi national Park, the Virungas and Echuya forest.
Owl-faced monkeys
It is also referred to as ‘Hamlyn’s monkey’. It is another primate specie in Nyungwe national park.
They exist in less numbers of the bamboo forested zone at the south end of Nyungwe and on a lucky day you can spot them during a guided nature walk in the park. they are always very silent which makes spotting them difficult. They always move in groups of less than ten members made up of infants, females and one male. Such monkey species can be spotted in eastern DR Congo, and in Kibale Forest National Park in Uganda.
Dent’s Mona Monkeys
These are rare monkeys commonly found in central and eastern Africa, specifically the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Western Uganda, and Rwanda. They are considered to be the old-world-primates.
They are characterised by golden eyes, flat ,long dark nose, pink chin and mouth. The backs are covered by dark grey fur with a reddish spot in the center.
They have huge chicks in which they fill with gathered fruits and enjoy them in a safe spot in the forest canopy.
The males and females always look alike in colour and size except for the males have a larger blue scrotum that is thought to attract females for mating.
They always stay in small-sized groups of 1 to 12 members comprising, infants, females, and one leading male. Their gestation period is five to six months, and a single infant is born at a time.
The dent mona monkeys are always difficult to spot as they often join other groups of monkeys and for the case of Nyungwe national park, only one mona monkey has been spotted along with the colobus monkeys. According to trackers, this mona monkey acts as a spy for the colobus monkeys and has to first check the area where the colobus monkey are heading to and alerts them of their safety. On a lucky day, you can spot it during the colobus monkey tracking activity in Gisakura, a part of Nyungwe National Park.
Vervet monkeys
The vervet are small, black-faced monkeys common in East Africa. Their bodies are generally greenish or silver-grey with black eyes, ears, hands, feet, and the tip of the tail.
Their main dwelling areas are savannah grasslands, woodlands high bush, and thicket, and are considered omnivorous though they spend most of their time feeding on plant leaves, roots and insects. Vervets that live near areas inhabited by humans tend to become pests, steal food and other items, and destroy crops. This leads to poisoning, trappings, and gunshots.
The males are slightly larger than the females and distinguished by a blue scrotum and red penis. When males reach maturity, they leave the group to go and start theirs. Dominance in a group largely depends on age and fighting ability.
Their gestation period is 165 days and always one offspring is born at a time. twins are also born but on rare occasions. When one female gives birth, all the females in the group take care and responsibility of the newborn.
Vervet monkeys weigh between three to five kilograms, are 400 -600 millimetres long and their tails are about 20 inches long.
They are understanding primates that communicate to each other using different alarms hence alerting each other about an enemy. Some of their predators include Leopards, baboons eagles, and humans. You can spot them in while on a guided nature walk in Nyungwe National Park.
Grey Cheeked Mangabeys
This is another troop of primates in Nyungwe National Park. they are also known to be found in the Central African forests of Cameroon and Gabon. They are species of the old-world primates and are listed by IUCN as endangered wild creatures.
They live in social groups of 30 members or small groups of 5. Unlike other primates, the grey-cheeked mangabeys do not have a dominant male in the group. Their groups always comprise of females and males and when males mature, they leave the group.
When the group becomes large, some members leave it and make another group in a different territory or feeding area. They mainly feed on figs, fruits, flowers, and insects as they keep on circulating in their feeding areas.
Grey-cheeked mangabeys have been planned as the next group of primates to be habituated in Nyungwe National Park as another tourist attraction in addition to the chimpanzees and colobus monkeys.
Olive baboons
Olive baboons are another primate species in Nyungwe national park. this primate derives its name from the olive colour of its body covering. Baboons commonly reside in the mountainous forests, savanna and the Sahara desert. Baboons are said to be the largest primate species in the natural wilderness. Males are bigger than females and their teeth have different sizes. Like other primates, baboons also have a cheek pouch to store food while feeding.
Olive baboons always live in groups of 15 to 150 members with more males than females. The dominant male always leads the group and when the group becomes bigger, it may split up and with baboons, there’s always a fight for dominancy in the group which leads to formations of new groups. When it come to movements, they vote, and the majority lead the group. They cannot follow one member even if the dominant male.
The newly born infants are cared for by their mothers and they always carry them on their bellies when they are not able to walk. The females in this situation help to protect the young one from predators.
Baboons have different means of communicating to each other like warning, calling and using facial expressions to alert against a predator.
In Nyungwe National Park, Olive-baboons can be spotted at the forest edge and always conflict with humans in the local community due to spoiling their crops and at times stealing cooked food. They are omnivores as they feed on both vegetation and meat.
Golden Monkey
Golden monkeys as primates prefer dwelling in the bamboo forested zones of mountainous forests. In Rwanda, they are mainly spotted in Volcanoes National Park but also found in Nyungwe Forest park. They are known for the golden-orange colour . They live and move in groups to go feeding and return to their sleeping places in the late evening hours.
Golden monkeys are considered herbivores though they enjoy feeding on fruits and bamboo shoots.
Crowned monkeys
This is another group of primates in Nyungwe, they always live in groups of 25 or lesser members mainly dwelling in lowland forested areas. Groups are led by the dominant male and is responsible for alerting the group in case of an enemy. They make a hard call or alarm or make facial signs when they see a predator. In Nyungwe National Park , the crowned monkeys can only be spotted when you focus deep in the dese forests.
Nyungwe National Park also houses nocturnal primates known as bush babies or galago such as the Eastern Needle-Clawed Galago, Greater Bush baby and the dwarf galago. They are some of the smallest primates.
