Jozani – Chwaka Bay National Forest  is a natural, protected  reserve  covering 6,207 acres.  It is a mix of  ground water forest, coral rag forest, salt marsh, mangrove forest and sea grass beds – will explain and illustrate further below.  It is also rich in biodiversity, with over 168 bird species, 50 butterfly species, bush babies, chameleons, monkeys and more.

Critically the forest is the last stronghold of the endemic, almost extinct Zanzibar leopard and the highly endangered Zanzibar Red Colobus monkey. These species are found no where else on earth in situ. Our goal was to attempt to find some of the elusive  monkeys.

First, let’s take a look at what we trekked through:

• Groundwater forest – ecosystem where trees and vegetation rely on water stored beneath the surface in soil, sand and rock fractures, rather than just rain
• Coral rag forests – actually a very rare ecosystem found in East Africa – particularly  Zanzibar that grows on top of fossilized coral limestone.
• Salt Marsh – A  coastal ecosystem with grassy, waterlogged soil that is flodded and drained by tidal action.  

We did have to literally get into the weeds in our search for the Red Colobus monkeys as their primary habitat in the reserve is  scrub and thickets, although at some points it would have been helpful to have a machete to cut a path through.

Colobus monkeys are not large – adults are generally between 1.5 to 2.5 feet in length. Yet they are easy to spot even at a distance as there have bright rusty red backs, white chests/undersides “usually” a long tail and a black face:

With some stealth and my zoom  lens (which was soon going to be kaput) I was able to get closer views:

And then the money shots – a mom grooming her baby:

A couple of surprising facts about these monkeys:

• Thumb-less Hands: They lack functional thumbs, having only a small, remnant bump. This adaptation allows them to form hooks with their fingers for navigating through trees.

• Eating Habits:
  1. “Poison” Eaters: Due to their diet of leaves from non-native trees (like mango and Indian almond) – they consume charcoal to aid in digestion and neutralize toxins.
  2. Water not a thing – They rarely drink water, getting most of their moisture from food

Also of note, while usually the leader of a group of  Colobus monkeys (groups are 30-50 in size) is the fiercest fighter and best physical specimen, this troop’s lead male was quite small and was missing his tail, and was unsurprisingly named “No Tail” by the rangers.  Strikingly, although these monkeys can vocalize with barks and other sounds, they also have an uncanny ability to know  when the leader silently decides to move – within seconds, the group members follow in its wake.

After the troop we were watching left the are we started to make our way back to our van – I was in the lead for no particular reason. I had noticed an indigenous Zebu mom and calf –  here  is the mom:

What I hadn’t noticed until I took a turn in the trail was the big daddy:

Image from the internet – didn’t think it prudent  to stand in front of him and  take a photo.

Very slowly and quietly I backed up and retraced my steps around the curve -and waited for the guide to deal with this “impediment.”  Turns out the bull was quite mild and let itself be nudged to a farther point from the trail – whew.

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