Dry season drinking from terrestrial man-made watering holes in arboreal wild Temminck's red colobus, The Gambia

Abstract

Abstract. Like most arboreal primates, red colobus monkeys obtain most water from plants in their diet, licking their body or drinking occasionally from standing water in tree holes. Terrestrial drinking is not normally reported for arboreal primates. Here we report observations of terrestrial drinking from man-made watering holes by Temminck's red colobus (Piliocolobus badius temminckii) in Abuko Nature Reserve and Bijilo Forest Park, The Gambia. Colobus drinking behaviour in Abuko has been reported previously by Starin (1991Starin ( , 2002, mostly involving juveniles or lactating females; water was most commonly obtained by licking water from the body and leaves or obtained from tree holes. Some juveniles were seen drinking from swampy ground and puddles in the dry season, but otherwise the only terrestrial water body available to colobus during the study by Starin contained crocodiles, a known predator of red colobus at the site. Our observations show that shallow man-made watering holes that have since been created and do not harbour predators were used by different age classes. We discuss some of the implications of this behaviour for this endangered subspecies and report on the trend of increasing temperatures in The Gambia.

Flower consumption, ambient temperature and rainfall modulate drinking behavior in a folivorous-frugivorous arboreal mammal

“…While ground-living species drink water from rarely-depletable sources (e.g. rivers, streams, and lagoons), highly arboreal mammals depend on depletable arboreal reservoirs, such as bromeliads and treeholes (primates [ 15 – 18 ]), or on short lasting rain water on tree branches and leaves (koalas [ 14 ], sloths [ 19 ]). The exploitation of terrestrial water reservoirs by the latter tends to be rare because their vulnerability to predators likely increases when they descend to the forest floor, as has been observed for tropical primates [ 15 , 20 – 23 ].…”

Red Colobus Natural History

“…Red colobus get most of their fluids from their diet and water from arboreal waterreservoirs (leaves, tree holes) but have been observed drinking water more extensively in dry regions or periods (e.g. The Gambia, Hillyer et al 2015;mangrove forests in Zanzibar, Nowak 2008).…”

“…Temminck's colobus is under serious threat from forest destruction, hunting, human encroachment, increasing temperatures and drought in western Africa (Galat et al 2009;Hillyer et al 2015;Mayhew et al 2020). In Fathala, human encroachment, increased hunting by dogs, and increased drought have led to a reduction in suitable habitat.…”

Red colobus (Piliocolobus) conservation action plan 2021-2026

“…There, as well as in the Abuko Nature Reserve and surrounding areas, habitat loss and degradation have increased contact between red colobus monkeys and humans, leading to greater hunting, persecution, and disease transfer from humans and domesticated animals. 43,44 The Pirang forest groups have sought refuge in the Pirang Bonto Community Forest. 45 Most remaining forest in The Gambia suffers from logging and collection of non-timber forest products.…”