Gastrointestinal parasites of free-ranging colobus monkeys (Colobus angolensis palliatus) in Kwale District, Kenya coast

Abstract

Approximately 2000 black and white Angolan colobus monkeys (Colobus angolensis palliatus) remain in Kwale District, Southern Kenya. They are threatened by deforestation due to private development countrywide. Primates can act as indicators of the degree of change in a habitat, as habitat changes potentially affect how they deal with parasitic infection (Mittermeier & Cheney, 1987). An increasing human population in Diani, Kwale District, encroaches on the forest habitat of the Angolan colobus and brings the primate species into closer proximity with rubbish and waste from the local human population. This study established the type and distribution of gastrointestinal parasites in Angolan colobus in Diani Forest, Kwale according to age and sex and the effect of varying habitat integrity on parasite prevalence.