Lesula: The New Discovered Monkey In Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not only popular for its rare mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas and chimpanzees but it also offers refuge to one of the rarest and newly established primate on earth. The Lesula which is scientifically called Cercopithecus lomamiensis features as the newly discovered monkey species that also belongs to the old world monkey species in the guenon family. This unique specie thrives mostly in Lomami forest basin of the DR Congo. This was discovered by American scientists by led by John Hart. The first discovery took place around 2007 though it was only publicly confirmed till intense research was conducted in 2012. While these rare primates have been famous to local hunters for a period of time, it is the first instance that they have been documented scientifically.
Lesula features as the second newly discovered primate species in Africa ever since 1984 about 28 years. This unique monkey specie comes with human like eyes, blue backsides and the adult males feature a large bare patch of skin in the buttocks, testicles and perennial area. They weigh about 5.4 kilograms and measure around 53 centimeters with males weighing about twice the weight of the females. Lesula thrive in small families of about 1 to 5 (five) members and their diet comprises of fruits, flower buds and vegetation. Unlike other monkeys, the Lesula spend much of their time in the forests and the males have a low frequency, booming call that can be heard in the clip below. While these rare monkeys are a bit similar to owl faced monkeys that thrive further in the east of the DRC, the 3 years of genetic and morphological analyses have confirmed that they are wholly different monkey species. The faces and fur of these 2 (two) monkey species indicate marked differences with the golden beards being the most obvious one plus their shapes and sizes.
The Lesula monkeys thrive within 17000 kilometers in a lowland forest between Lomami and Tshuapa Rivers across the eastern central basin of the DR Congo. They are shy and come in bright colors and a glimpse at them rewards visitors with dramatic experiences. They also listed among the top ten new species 2013 and they were discovered in 2012 as chosen by the International Instituted for Species Exploration at Arizona State University from over 140 nominated species. They also feature among the vulnerable species as they are mostly hunted for bush meat making their conservation a bit challenging. They thrive within small range and with time they will be listed among the endangered species on earth. They range within Tshuapa, Lualaba and Lomami conservation area and Lomami National Park has been designated to offer refuge to these unique primates and other species that thrive within the area. Lesula monkeys are also threatened by human activities like mining and logging which claims the forests where they thrive from.
In conclusion, the Lesula monkeys are a few most threatened monkey species that require collaborative efforts to ensure that they are saved from extinction. They also feature among the very few most spectacular species that have yet not been explored by many travelers and a visit to their habitat rewards visitors with dramatic experiences of lifetime.
