Right now, a Mount Kenya potto sits somewhere in the darkness of our highland forests, possibly the last of its kind, unseen by scientists since 1946.
Fifty years ago, the forests of Mount Kenya and Kakamega were alive with the calls of our primate cousins. Today, those same forests are often eerily quiet.
As the world marked the International Primate Day on September 1, Kenya faced a sobering reality: we are losing the very creatures that share 98 per cent of our DNA.
Long before humans built cities or farmed land, primates swung through Africa's ancient forests 55 million years ago. Today, over 540 species exist worldwide, but this number changes almost daily; not from new discoveries, but from extinctions.
We humans -- Homo sapiens -- evolved right here in Africa between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago. We are literally cousins to gorillas, chimpanzees, and every monkey you've ever seen in Nairobi National Park or along the Coast. Yet our success story has become their tragedy.
"Sixty-five per cent of primate species globally are now threatened with extinction, and over 80 per cent are declining, primarily due to human activities," warns Dr Stan Kivai, Kenya's leading primatologist at the Kenya Institute of Primate Research.
While the Democratic Republic of Congo boasts 51 primate species, Kenya, though four times smaller, is home to an impressive 25 species. But here's the wake-up call: half of Kenya's primates are disappearing, and some may vanish within our children's lifetime.
The patas monkeys: Ground-dwellers in crisis
In Laikipia, Baringo, and Samburu, the Eastern patas monkey lives unlike any other primate -- on the ground, not in trees. These remarkable creatures depend entirely on the iconic Whistling Thorn (Acacia drepanolobium) woodlands that characterise northern Kenya's landscape.
Their southern cousins aren't so lucky. The Southern patas monkey is now extinct in Kenya. The last confirmed sighting was near Amboseli in 2019. A species that once roamed southern Kenya is now gone forever.
De Brazza's monkey: The riverine recluse
With fewer than 700 individuals left in Kenya, De Brazza's monkeys have nearly vanished from Mount Elgon and are rarely seen in Kakamega Forest. These shy primates depend on riverine forests and swamps; habitats increasingly converted to agriculture or degraded by prolonged droughts.
In a surprising discovery in 2004, researchers found a unique population in the Mathews Range, which stands between Laikipia and Kenya's northern frontier. But as pastoralists move deeper into these mountain forests during extended dry seasons, a pattern worsening with climate change, even this refuge is under pressure.
Mount Uarges Guereza: Kenya's endemic colobus
Found only in the high-altitude forests of the Mathews Range, this black-and-white colobus monkey exists nowhere else on Earth. A 2012 census counted just 400 individuals. Today's numbers remain unknown, but deforestation and historical hunting for their distinctive pelts continue to threaten their survival.
Mount Kenya Potto: A living ghost
This slow-moving, nocturnal primate hasn't been seen since 1946. Once inhabiting Mount Kenya's forests, pottos move too slowly to escape the forest fires that have become increasingly common and intense.
Bush babies: The night shift workers
Kenya hosts nine subspecies of these large-eyed nocturnal primates, but the recently discovered Taita Mountain dwarf galago teeters on extinction's edge. Only six square kilometres, a mere two per cent, of the Taita Hills' indigenous forest remains, squeezed by agriculture and development.
Tana River's last stand
The Tana River Mangabey and Tana River Red Colobus, found nowhere else but Kenya's Tana Delta, rank among the world's 25 most endangered primates. As the delta's forests fragment into smaller patches, these species face an increasingly uncertain future.
While climate change affects 50 per cent of primate species through habitat modification, let's be honest about the root cause. Kenya's climate has always varied -- our grandparents knew good rains and bad rains, wet years and dry years. The difference now is the speed and intensity of change, driven by global industrialisation and our local environmental choices.
Extended droughts push pastoralists deeper into primate habitats. More intense floods destroy riverine forests. Unpredictable weather patterns disrupt the fruiting cycles that primates depend on for food.
But here's what we can control: deforestation for logging and agriculture, infrastructure development in critical habitats, the illegal pet trade, and the encroachment into the last remaining forest fragments.
Uganda's mountain gorilla miracle
Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda's first wildlife veterinarian, has helped mountain gorilla populations grow through her Conservation Through Public Health programme. The species has actually been downgraded from "Critically Endangered" to "Endangered" -- the only gorilla species to improve its status.
Laikipia's baboon diplomacy
Dr Shirley Strum's 50-year baboon study through the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project has created innovative solutions. Local women now guide tourists on "Walking with Baboons" experiences, earning income while protecting these intelligent primates. Trained trackers alert herders when baboons approach, reducing human-wildlife conflict.
Restoring the whistling thorn
Segera Conservancy in Laikipia is actively restoring the Whistling Thorn woodlands crucial for Eastern patas monkey survival; proving that habitat restoration can work when communities are involved.
The bottom line
Protecting primates means protecting the ecosystems we all depend on -- clean water, fresh air, and stable climate patterns. When the last Tana River Mangabey disappears, we lose not just a species, but a piece of Kenya's natural heritage that took millions of years to evolve.
As Dr Kivai puts it: "Protecting primates is protecting our shared future."
1 Support community conservancies that balance wildlife protection with local livelihoods
2. Choose responsible tourism that directly benefits conservation efforts
3. Advocate for stronger protection of remaining forest fragments
4. Reduce demand for illegal wildlife products and report trafficking
5. Support organisations conducting primate research and community outreach