Saving Africa’s Primates!

Dublin Zoo is excited to share that a new conservation action plan has just been published in an effort to save some of Africa’s most threatened primates.

Made possible in part by funding by Dublin Zoo, the “Cercocebus and Mandrillus conservation action plan 2024–2028” aims to conserve nine species of African monkeys, including species such as the white-naped mangabey, which visitors to Dublin Zoo will recognise from the African Plains habitat.

The species covered by this action plan represent some of the least studied African primates but are also those that are among the most threatened with extinction. Habitat loss and commercial and subsistence hunting are some of the key causes impacting the populations of these species. Habitat loss is being driven by global demands for timber, rubber, palm oil and local demands for natural resources, including firewood and charcoal.

Due to limited knowledge of these species and given their current threatened status, a region-wide collaborative approach to catalyse conservation efforts was needed, identifying a series of concrete conservation interventions for each species. This new plan was developed in collaboration with a variety of conservation practitioners, local community representatives, and a variety of other stakeholders. It aims to raise the profile of the Cercocebus and Mandrillus species, while also encouraging collaboration between conservation practitioners, local communities, and government agencies to prevent the extinction of these amazing species.

Dublin Zoo supports conservation efforts for the Endangered white-naped mangabey in Ghana, through our Conservation Partner, West African Primate Conservation Action (WAPCA). Dublin Zoo was one of 11 European zoos which helped to create WAPCA in 2001, and we have been supporting them ever since. WAPCA works in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire to preserve and protect the threatened primates of West Africa through community empowerment, research, education, and conservation breeding.

Commenting on the significance of this partnership, Andrea Dempsey, Programme Manager at WAPCA, said:

“With the support of Dublin Zoo WAPCA has been able to grow a reserved population of highly threatened species, protect areas of wild habitat with the local communities, undertaken research to understand the primate landscape; and engage, inspire and empower local and urban communities on the importance of biodiversity.”

Commenting on the launch of the new “Cercocebus and Mandrillus conservation action plan 2024–2028”, Dr Andrew Mooney, Senior Conservation and Science Officer at Dublin Zoo, said:

“As a conservation organisation, Dublin Zoo is incredibly proud to have been able to support the publication of this ambitious Conservation Action Plan. The threats faced by African primates require an inclusive and holistic approach to conservation, and this plan sets a strong precedent for local community and political engagement. Collaboration really is key to conservation, and through our support for WAPCA we are directly helping to conserve some of the species covered in this Plan, such as the white-naped mangabey.”

You can read the full plan here.