Proyecto Mono Tocón

Local Initiatives for Conservation

September 2014 he projects of Proyecto Mono Tocón constantly develop. Contents T After our work on the distribution (still ongoing in some parts of the distribution range), we now focus more on direct

conservation measures and education. However, for a good How does a titi monkey spends the day? protection it is necessary to know more about the behaviour and habitat-needs of the . Therefore we are happy that we Learning can be fun! have several teams of students observing San Martin titi Protecting the dry forest of monkeys in the Morro de Calzada Protected Area and other Pailayco parts of the distribution range. The work with the conservation areas is Ongoing projects continuing. We have finished the application for a new conservation area, “Los Help requested Bosques de Pailayco”. Only 700 hectares, but covered with the rare dry forest habitat and connected to an existing conservation concession of 2,400 hectares. We now have to wait for the official approval from the authorities. The applications of two other areas are also well advanced, but some local disputes on land possessions had to be resolved. In the already established conservation areas our team has worked on sustainable development, nature education and the compilation of management plans. It is not always easy to work on the conservation of ’s nature, but we do our best and try to make our contribution towards a future for the San Martin titi monkey. Thank you for your support! Jan Vermeer, Project Director

How does a titi monkey spends the day?

ur first study on the behaviour of the San Martin titi monkey O (Callicebus oenanthe) started in June 2013 with the habituation of a group at the Morro de Calzada Protected Area. Rosario Huashuayo, our student, followed for several months the group and slowly the animals were getting accustomed to her. During regular periods of observations, some basic information on their behaviour was collected. In May of this year, Rosario started a continuous study of eight months. The goal of this study is to obtain a better knowledge of the diet and behaviour of the San Martin titi monkey, which is important for future conservation activities. The day of the observer starts at 5:30 in the morning with looking for the study group. The location of the study is a small fragment of four hectares of secondary forest, connected to the larger protected area. This fragment has much undergrowth and few very tall trees. It is surrounded by farmland and the local people use some of the trails that run through the fragment to go to their fields. Considering the poor state of most of the habitat of the San Martin titi monkey, we can say that this is unfortunately a typical situation for the species. Once encountered the group of titi monkeys in their sleeping trees, with their tails entwined, it won’t take long before they wake up and leave the tree. Titi monkeys start very early to be active. The study group during an afternoon nap, tails The study group consists of four individuals: entwined. Eduardo the adult male, Clarita the adult female and their infants Elva and Timi. They were given names to make recognizing them easier; Timi, for instance, comes from “timid”, as he keeps looking at Rosario when coming near her. The first hours of the day are spent with looking for food and taking shorts rest, until they hear the vocalizations of nearby groups of titi monkeys. They respond with their characteristic duetting, to advertise their presence and protect their territory. There are three or four groups living around the study area and the study group affronts two of them on the borders of their territory. Unfortunately it is still difficult to observe confrontations between groups, as the neighbouring groups are not yet well habituated to the observer and often run away when seeing her. The titi monkeys get along well with the saddle-backed tamarins (Saguinus leucogenys). Titi monkeys are placid animals and once it was observed that a tamarin stole the food of the titi monkey; when the larger titi monkey tried to get it back, the tamarin became aggressive and jumped on the titi monkey to defend his food. When other people pass through the forest to work on their fields, the titi monkeys are not really afraid but often just hide. Rosario also has to hide, to avoid long conversations with the people, resulting in losing the study group. Titi monkeys are curious animals and when people were cutting some trees in the fragment they seemed to approach to see what was happening, instead of running away. Or were they just on their way to find some more food in that part of the forest? Well, after spending the day eating, defending their territory, resting and grooming each other, the titi monkeys go to their sleeping tree at approximately 17:40. The study group used especially one large tree at the centre of their territory, but sometimes choose for another sleeping site. Titi monkeys like to eat flowers.

Page 2 PROYECTO MONO TOCÓN The first results of the study show that the titi monkey is an important species for the forest. They feed on fruits, seeds and some flowers, facilitating the dispersion of seeds and pollination of flowers. Last year there was no reproduction in the group. Most offspring are born in the last few months of the year, but will they breed this year? Is it possible that they didn’t breed because there is a lack of food in the fragment? Or is there too much stress due to the high densities of titi monkeys that took shelter in at Morro de Calzada, now that most of the forest around the protected area has been destroyed? Those are all questions for which we need to find answers if we want to give the species a future. It is still relatively easy to find San Martin titi monkeys, but what will happen if the fragments are too small to provide the titis all they need? Should we fear a massive decrease of the current population in a few years? How much time do we have to safe the species? The commitment of people like Rosario, who spends every day of the week more than 12 hours in the forest, is necessary to understand the needs of this critically endangered primate. Two new students, Jacky Chávez and Rider Tamani, have started to habituate other titi monkeys groups at the Morro de Calzada Protected Area, but in different habitats. With studies in multiple areas we can make a comparison between the needs of titi monkeys in different habitats and their ability to adapt to various environmental changes and disturbances. All Fruits are for titi monkeys an important this will be important for taking effective conservation part of the diet. measures to secure the future of the species.

Learning can be fun!

his year the education department of Proyecto Mono Tocón T has developed several new materials for the activities in the schools and the local communities. Two new booklets were made; the first is the “La fábula del mono tocón” (The fairy-tale of the titi monkey). The second is the “Librito del tocón” (titi monkey booklet), with a lot of information on the San Martin titi monkey (What does it look like? What does it eat? Where does it live? How to protect it?....) There are many activities in the booklet, like puzzles and a quiz. These booklets are relatively easy to produce and are very popular. Peruvian children rarely read books and almost never posses one. These are often their first books, and when they take them home the whole family can (and will) read them. The impact of such a booklet (often costing less than € 0,25 Our booklets are popular with the children and are also used by other a piece) is high. nature conservation organisations. Our team also developed several new games for the children. These games are invented by our team or based on commercial games and adapted to the local reality and focussing on titi monkeys and their conservation. One of our volunteers made a very nice set of cards, used for

Page 3 PROYECTO MONO TOCÓN schools and in the nature clubs. There are 32 cards, each with another (sub-) species of primate living in Peru. On the cards there is information about the size of the animals, their weight, their conservation status and the Peruvian departments they live in. For the players that have more interest in primates, there is additional information about their diet and social behaviour. This is a good example of a simple and attractive tool to teach about biodiversity. The games are always part of a complete educational programme for school- or other groups. We often start with a theoretical part about the subject the team wants to treat. Once the attention of the group is collapsing, we continue with the dynamical part of the programme. This year we started with a complete new activity that has proven to be very successful, a puppet theatre. Some puppets and a theatre were produced and a story was drafted. The theatre is now travelling along schools, nature clubs and festivals, never having a lack of an enthusiastic crowd shouting and yelling to help our little Mono Tocón saving the wildlife of Peru. In the play, the San Martin titi monkey is Alex has the attention of the children. playing with his best friends, the and the parrot. Then they witness that men come into the forest to cut the trees and catch all kinds of animals, for selling them to circuses, as pets or for their skin. The parrot and the bear are also being caught, but the titi manages to free them from their cage. Together they liberate all other animals! At the end of the play the children are asked to help with the protection of the animals and their forest. Judith Figueroa of the Asociación para la Investigación y Conservación de la Biodiversidad (AICB) helped us to refine the play and to

The children watching the theatre. train the team to do the performance. These are just a few examples of the educational activities of Proyecto Mono Tocón, mainly focussing on the villages around protected areas that receive our help for the management. Education is an important part of a nature conservation project, as conservation will only work if the local communities understand why it is important and that their support is necessary. The titi monkey with his best friends.

Page 4 PROYECTO MONO TOCÓN Protecting the dry forest of Pailayco

an Martin titi monkeys live in a variety of habitats, including the dry forest. S Although the living conditions in this forest can be harsh during certain periods of the year, the titi monkeys seem to cope well. Our recent study in the nearby Ojos de Agua dry forest concession showed that titi monkeys can live here in high densities, especially on the edges of primary and secondary forest. The dry forest habitat has always been rare at the eastern side of the , and now it is seriously threatened by deforestation. Due to its climatic conditions, it is home to many special animal and plant species. The creation of the Ojos de Agua Conservation Concession, with 2400 hectares, was an important step towards the protection of the dry forest. Now Proyecto Mono Tocón has been requested to help the community of Villanueva with the creation of the “Los Bosques de Pailayco” Conservation Concession, with 700 hectares of forest and connected to Ojos de Agua. The application for the protected area has been presented to the regional authorities and we hope to receive soon the official approval. That should not be a problem, as the authorities understand the importance of this new concession. Meanwhile our team has already started with collecting data for the compilation of the management plan and the organisation of capacity building workshops for the local community. We are happy that the community took this conservation initiative and that we are able Workshops for the compilation of the application . help them with the protection of their forest.

Ongoing projects Help requested Initiatives for the conservation of the San Martin titi monkey (Callicebus oenanthe) in Eastern San Martin. Creation of new  If you want to participate in the activities of areas, compilation of management plans, capacity building, the Proyecto Mono Tocón you can contact: education, sustainable economic development, …. Antonio Bóveda Penalba Study on the distribution of the San Martin titi monkey [email protected] (Callicebus oenanthe) south of the Huayabamba River.

Study on the altitudinal limits for titi monkey distribution.

Study on the behaviour and diet of titi monkeys in the Morro de Calzada Protected Area.

Nature education for tourists visiting the Morro de Calzada

(development of a guide with images and information of , plants and living in the reserve). Evaluation of the habitat and forest fragment connectivity of the San Martin titi monkey.  If you are interested in participating as a sponsor of Proyecto Mono Tocón, please Monitoring of primate populations in the Bosque de Protección contact: Alto Mayo. Jan Vermeer Nature education in local communities around conservation [email protected] areas.

Page 5 PROYECTO MONO TOCÓN The work of Proyecto Mono Tocón is only possible thanks to the generous financial support of:

We thank our partners for their collaboration:

And many more!

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Please visit our website: www.monotocon.org

For more information, please contact: Jan Vermeer : [email protected] You can find us at... Proyecto Mono Tocón Jr. Reyes Guerra, 430 - Moyobamba, Perú T: (+51) 42 564462