Leonardo DiCaprio Instagram – Africa’s red colobus monkeys are considered indicator species of tropical forest health, meaning they display early warning signs of ecological changes due to their sensitive reactions to them. Conservationists and scientists from almost 20 institutions have concluded that immediate conservation efforts to protect red colobus monkeys could have a cascading positive effect on the tropical forests of Africa. With declining populations of the 17 species of red colobus monkeys, this new report forewarns the fate of other threatened species across these tropical forests – a bleak future if business-as-usual continues. In the face of a growing biodiversity crisis, my organization @rewild has supported the development of the Red Colobus Conservation Network – a group dedicated to conserving red colobus monkeys and the landscapes they inhabit. Learn more at the link in bio. Photo credits: 1. Temminck’s Red Colobus – James Slade, 2. Pennant’s Red Colobus, Richard Bergl, 3. Zanzibar Red Colobus, Robin Moore