Conservation project in Ghana (Africa) of the white-naped mangabey (Cercocebus atys lunulatus), in collaboration with West African Primate Conservation Action and Wildlife Division.

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Main researcher: Sònia Sánchez López

Institution: Universitat de Barcelona

Description:
Wild populations of the white-naped mangabey (Cercocebus atys lunulatus) are rapidly decreasing due to the reduction of the tropical forests where they live. Despite their ability to adapt, today this species only survives in small forestry areas of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. In fact, it is catalogued by the UICN as one of the 25 most endangered species of primate in the world.

With the aim of promoting the in situ conservation of this and other primate species, the West African Primates Conservation Action (WAPCA), comprised of 12 European zoos, was created in 2001. In 2005, WAPCA began its work in Ghana, creating the Endangered Primate Centre (EPC), in Accra Zoo, in the country's capital, with the specific aim of promoting the conservation of the white-naped mangabey and other primate species.

The aim of this project is to reintroduce a group of captive mangabeys into their natural habitat and monitor their adaptation. The first phase was successfully completed in 2010, and the aim now is to carry out the behavioural rehabilitation of the mangabeys at Accra Zoo, preparing them for their introduction into a semi-free facility in the Ankasa Protected Area, in western Ghana.

The behavioural rehabilitation process consists of different types of training with the animals focused on social and ecological behaviour so that through rehabilitation, the mangabeys are stimulated using environmental situations that aid the appearance of typical behaviour of the species, so ensuring that the animals find themselves in a more similar environmental situation to that of their wild cospecifics.

Sponsors of Research and preservation of the Zoo: