So you think you can dance
Apr 18, 2012
A group of white colobus monkeys stands in my way, enjoying a cool evening breeze from Lake Edward. Occasionally, they run to and from one another and form a group again. I am at Ishasha Wilderness Camp in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
By Deusdedit Ruhangariyo
A group of white colobus monkeys stands in my way, enjoying a cool evening breeze from Lake Edward. Occasionally, they run to and from one another and form a group again. I am at Ishasha Wilderness Camp in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Ishasha Wilderness camp is situated inside the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park on the Ntungwe River and is an idyllic retreat for people who truly enjoy the wilderness.
These monkeys are a bit shy and therefore it’s not easy to observe what they do when you come close to them.
However, at Ishasha, they have got used to the visitors so much so that you can be a few meters away from them and they still gaze at you.
Despite this docile attitude, the white colobus monkey has many predators and in many parts of Uganda, they are hunted for their beautiful skin which is used for decorations for traditional warriors, dancers and other royal regalia.
When I looked at the dominant male in this group our eyes locked and it seemed to me that it was thinking: ’Go and tell your friends and relatives that they can dance better without my skin’ and I, wondering how beautiful it was’.
The black-and-white colobus monkeys are almost everywhere in Uganda where there is a forest. The word colobus comes from a Greek word kolobos which means maimed; it is called colobus therefore because its thumb is a stump.
They are very beautiful animals with black bodies and white capes of hair on their backs and sides and long black tails with a white end. It is this striking beauty that has made them hunted animals throughout human history.
The nice looking creatures survive on eating leaves, fruits, flowers and twigs. Their haven is mainly riverine forest and woody grasslands and because of their unique digestive system, they are able to occupy areas that are quite inaccessible to other animals.
Mzee Byandusya James of Kanungu, says ‘Engyeyo’ for that is their local name, are colonialist-like creatures which love to stay together in groups of between 8 – 10 individuals with a single male and a number of females with their offsprings. The young ones of the colobuses are completely white.
Byandusya adds that there are cases where the young one in each group is loved and cared for by all the members of the group, a virtue, he says is disappearing in the current generation of Ugandans. He says that the most spectacular thing about them is their high jumping skills and the attractive view of their tails streaming behind.
Colobuses are constantly threatened by many different enemies through hunting for bush meat trade, cutting down of forests and general destruction of their habitats.
Tara R. Harris, PHD, who stayed in Ishasha for some time while studying the behavior of these creatures says: ‘They have been used in numerous East African cultures for warriors and weapons: the beautiful pelts were formerly worn at the feudal courts in Mengo and Busoga’
In Ankole Kingdom in South Western Uganda Engyeyo, were also seen as beautiful animals and were killed for their beautiful skins.
In Uganda, the black and white colobus monkeys are the most common and widely spread forest monkeys although they are difficult to find because of their shy nature, there are some areas where they are used to people and often jump down to the ground.
Another place where you can come close to these beautiful creatures is Lake Nkuruba Community and Nature reserve in Kabarole. It is located on the only Crater Lake remaining unspoilt by the widespread deforestation in Uganda. You can get there by a taxi from Mpanga Market at a small fee. By car it is 17km on Kibale Road from Fort Portal town. There is a fork left to Kibale forest (25km) and right for Nkuruba which is only 8km. Nkuruba is a good campsite with bandas and the Crater Lake is bilharzia free.