Scientists predict that West Africa will lose 70 percent of its remaining forest and the loss in East Africa could be as high as 95 percent by the year 2040. This loss really didn't sneak up on anyone. If their perceptions prove to be true, they hope that the loss of this highly evolved primate species will stop worldwide trends that may allow other animals to become extinct that could have been saved through more vigorous and timely action. The loss of the red colobus will hopefully send up a red flag and make a difference in reversing the trend of biodiversity loss. Just as a human looking into a mirror and seeing a dirty face will try to clean up, an elephant studying its reflection will try to rub smudges off its own forehead with its trunk.
Many behavioral researchers consider that ability to be a hallmark of complex intelligence.
If the animal recognizes itself, it tries to clean itself while watching the face in the mirror. Chimpanzees and gorillas are astonishingly good at this. Many smart monkeys are not. Rhesus macaques, a species of Asian monkey that can play computer games, tend to look behind the mirror for the rest of the strange spotty animal. Human infants, in fact, seem somewhat confused by mirror images until about 18 months, leading development psychologists to suggest very young babies tend to see themselves and their mothers as part of the same unit.