Feature – Project Muriqui

• • • The Northern Muriqui monkey is one of the most critically endangered primates on earth.
    • Fewer than 1,000 individuals are known to survive in only a dozen remaining fragments of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
    • Muriquis are among the most peaceful primates known, earning them the nickname the “hippy woolly monkey”.
    • The Atlantic Forest is one of the five “hottest” hotspots for biodiversity, and the muriqui serves as an influential flagship for conservation efforts on behalf of this threatened ecosystem.
    • One of the last remaining strongholds for northern muriquis is a privately-owned, federally-protected reserve, known as the RPPN Feliciano Miguel Abdala.
    • Although less than 1,000 hectares in size, this forest now supports more than 350 muriquis, representing more than one-third of the entire species.
    • The success of the muriquis in this population is essential to the survival of this species.
    • They live in uniquely egalitarian societies in which males remain in their natal groups and females move between groups before the onset of puberty.
    • Female muriquis have slow rates of reproduction, with the birth of their first infants at an average age of 9-10 years, and births at 3-year intervals throughout their unusually long life spans, which can exceed 35 years.

About The Muriqui Project of Caratinga

• • The Project is of the longest running field studies on any wild, unprovisioned primate.
  • The Project is administered by Karen B. Strier (University of Wisconsin-Madison), in collaboration with Sérgio L. Mendes (Universidade Federal de Espirito Santo).
  • In addition to its commitment to non-invasive scientific research and conservation, the Project has a long-standing tradition of training Brazilian students.
  • Since 1983, more than 50 students and post docs have participated on the Project, contributing to the long-term, individual-based monitoring of the population.
  • The Project maintains strong collaborations with Brazilian scientists and conservation NGOs, including Preserve Muriqui, the NGO that administers the Reserve.
  • Our goal is to insure that the muriquis and their forest are protected for the future.