An African monkey has disappeared forever The animal kingdom has lost a member. Scientists announced last week that a West African monkey called Miss Waldron's red colobus appears to be extinct. Though many have searched for it, no one has spotted one of these big, loud monkeys for 20 years. Like all monkeys, this one belongs to the group of animals known as primates, which also includes humans and apes.
Most primates have complex brains, fingernails instead of claws and a sense of curiosity.
Miss Waldron's red colobus is the first primate to become extinct in hundreds of years. Miss Waldron's red colobus, as it would look if it still roamed the jungle. The species was discovered in 1933 and named after F. Waldron, a field assistant to the man who made the discovery. It was listed as endangered in 1988. In 1993 scientists launched a six-year search in the African rain forests of Ghana and Ivory Coast.