EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Monkey Bushmeat

left: De Brazza's Monkey (Cercopithecus neglectus)
right: Allen's Swamp Monkey (Allenopithecus nigroviridis)
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Explanation:  We encountered this fellow along the Ubange River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, during an expedition to explore community-level resource needs in the Congo River Basin of central tropical Africa.  He had shot, and was selling, these two uncommon monkeys -- a De Brazza's monkey and an Allen's swamp monkey -- as "bushmeat." 

Bushmeat is (no pun intended) a double-edged sword.  On one edge, many villages in the Congo and other regions of central Africa are remarkably isolated and must rely on rivers as their corridors of travel and commerce, on the thin tropical soil to grow fruits and vegetables, and on gathering plant foods growing wild in the forest.  Food can become scarce and local game the only way to feed a family.  

But the other edge of the sword is how bushmeat -- the use and commercial selling of wild game -- has become a major industry, often illegally so.  Buyers in the city will pay great amounts for the opportunity to consume wild game.  

Some people believe they will attain the strength and vigor of the game they consume, and such deeply held beliefs and traditions are difficult to change, even when wildlife populations become depleted or locally extirpated.  

Worse for people, bushmeat has been linked to sources of the deadly ebola virus.

A major Bushmeat Crisis Task Force has been established by scientists and conservation organizations to provide research, education, and guidance on curtailing the illegal commercial practice.  

So here stood this young fellow -- poacher, father, seller -- hoping to secure money or a trade to feed his children.  

As we motored onward having taken only photos and leaving with a curt thank-you, I pondered how intertwined are the health and future of his family and community with the viability of the wildlife on which they depend.