Tana River mangabey [SEP] IUCN conservation status
Tana River mangabey
The Tana River mangabey ("Cercocebus galeritus") is a highly endangered species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Some authorities have included the taxa "agilis" and "sanjei" as subspecies of this species, while others award these full species status.
It is endemic to riverine forest patches along the lower Tana River in southeastern Kenya. It is threatened by habitat loss and degradation, which has increased in recent years. This species was, together with the equally endangered Tana River red colobus,
"P. tephrosceles", "P. foai" and "P. tholloni" as subspecies of "P. rufomitratus" instead of recognizing them as separate species.
Conservation status.
The Tana River red colobus had been considered one of The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates. It was, together with the equally endangered Tana River mangabey, the main reason for the creation of the Tana River Primate Reserve in 1978, but human encroachment within this reserve continues. Recently, it has been suggested that 20,000 hectares of the Tana River