Nairobi — The gorgeous creatures with black faces and flowing white manes leap playfully from the branches of one tall tree to another along the Ukunda-Diani road in the South Coast.

But when they sense a vehicle approaching, the Colobus monkeys jump onto an aerial bridge placed strategically between two towering trees and dash off into the forest.

Has plummetedIn the 12 years since the Colobus Trust has been counting, the number of colobus monkeys has plummeted from 482 to 276, according to Luciana Parazzi.

She has been observing them since she arrived on the South Coast in the 1970s and is a founding member of the Trust, which was set up in 1997.

Ms Parazzi said the animals, which are indigenous to the area, now mainly inhabit Diani Forest. The forest is about 35 km south of Mombasa.

The endangered forest, which once stretched along the entire South Coast, is recognised internationally as a biological hotspot that warrants protection, largely from unplanned tourism development that has devastated natural vegetation.

"Diani Forest covered an area of about 140 hectares some years ago, but today, only 25 per cent of it is intact," Ms Parazzi said.

"The rapid disappearance of indigenous vegetation has put the rare monkeys' lives in danger. Unless the deforestation is stopped as a matter of urgency, these pretty creatures will become extinct."

Their black fur stands in contrast to the white mantle, whiskers and beard around the face. The long, white hair flaring out from the shoulders to the lower back and the bushy tail appear to act as parachutes during the huge leaps the colobus are fond of making.

The monkeys live on a diet of leaves, fruits and seeds and grow to a length of 30 inches and a weight of 7-14 kg. They can live for up to 20 year--if they survive.

A survey conducted by the Trust in 2002 found that 85 per cent of the tourists interviewed said they visited the South Coast in part because of its flora and fauna.

But unplanned development isn't the only threat to the monkeys whose Latin name, Colobus angolensis, means "cut short", a reference to the fact that, unlike others in the monkey family, they do not have thumbs.

Poaching, being hit by motor vehicles and electrocution from power lines also pose grave danger. John Abuor, the Trust's animal welfare officer, said that this year alone 26 monkeys have been killed, 15 of them by motor vehicles. Eleven were electrocuted as they jumped on power lines.

"Some poachers hunt the creatures for meat and fur which they use for making dance costumes, hats and caps," he said. He said the Trust has so far removed 600 snares placed in the forest by poachers.

"To save the creatures from being killed, we decided to put up some bridges at strategic points on the Ukunda-Diani road," Eirik Trondsen, the Trust's general manager, said. So far, 22 bridges have been installed to avert further deaths.

Eco-camp

He said the Trust, working with Camp Kenya, an eco-camp, and Kenya Power & Lighting Company, has managed to insulate a one-kilometre stretch of the main power line.

According to the Trust's website, www.colobustrust.org, it costs about $1 (Sh77) to insulate a metre of power line. Some 170 km need to be insulated to protect the monkeys.

Kenya Wildlife Service assistant directorSimon Gitau said the conservation body works closely with the Trust to protect the endangered colobus monkeys.

But he said KWS was finding it hard to prevent encroaching development in Diani Forest since most of the land is privately owned. The forest is not gazetted, he said, and KWS only has a mandate to protect gazetted forests.

Kwale County Council chairman Mshenga Ruga said the council would take action against developers who build houses on the seafront without approval. But he conceded that there might be some developers in Diani who were clearing the forest without approval from the local planning authority.

Kenya Power & Lighting Company regional manager Joseph Mkomba said the firm has been insulating power lines in Diani after learning that the monkeys were being electrocuted.

Colobus species are also found in the Congo River Basin and the Ruwenzori Mountain area of southwestern Uganda. They, too, are endangered.