Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program

Monkey Populations Declining Rapidly

Fall 2010: View our September 2010 report on the conservation status of Bioko's endangered monkeys.

National Geographic features Bioko

Summer 2008: National Geographic magazine runs a full feature story on Bioko's wildlife and BBPP's work on the island. Photographers and a reporter from the magazine accompanied the January 2008 Gran Caldera expedition.

Research Station Opens

BBPP has opened a new scientific research station in the Moka highlights. See pictures and learn more here.

Primate Hunting Banned

BBPP applauds decisive action by the Government of Equatorial Guinea to ban the hunting and consumption of primates. See the government decree here. To understand why this ban was needed, see our recent report, Monkeys in Trouble: The Rapidly Deteriorating Conservation Status of the Monkeys on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, and its updates.

Top African Primatologist Joins BBPP

Spring 2006: Dr. Tom Butynski, one of Africa's best known primatologists joined BBPP as senior conservation biologist.

Dr. Butynski has implemented research and conservation projects in Africa for over 35 years, mostly in Botswana, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea.  Most of his research has been on the behavior, ecology and conservation status of tropical forest primates and birds.  His primary conservation focus is on tropical forests that hold especially high numbers of endemic and threatened species.  Dr. Butynski serves on more than a dozen scientific and conservation committees, is the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group's Vice-chair for Africa, Senior Editor of the journal African Primates, and Coeditor of the book series The Mammals of Africa.  He has well over 100 scientific publications.

Public Radio Covers BBPP's Conservation Efforts

January 5, 2006: Public Radio International's The World interviewed Gail Hearn, Wayne Morra and others about the conservation status of Bioko Island's monkeys for a program (Endangered Monkeys, 10:40 min) that aired on January 5, 2006.

BBPP Wins $384,000 Grant to Develop Ecotourism

December 2005: The ExxonMobil Foundation awarded BBPP a $384,000 Grant to develop tourism on Bioko Island. The funds will allow BBPP to build a research station and animal sanctuary in the Southern Highlands village of Moka.

Philadelphia Inquirer Covers BBPP in 8-Part Series From Bioko Island

January 2005: Philadelphia Inquirer 8-part series: A reporter (Andrew Maykuth) and photographer (Barbara Johnston) from the Philadelphia Inquirer accompanied the expedition in January 2005, filing articles and photographs from the field. Their first article, Prime goal: Preserving a primate, appeared on the front page of the Inquirer on Sunday, December 26, 2004. To view the Inquirer's full coverage of the expedition (eight articles), go to go.philly.com/africa (free registration required.) In addition to writing stories, the reporter, Andrew Maykuth, kept a weblog of the expedition, available at bioko.blogspot.com.

The Inquirer articles:

• Part 1: Prime goal: Preserving a primate
  An Arcadia professor starts a yearly trip to an African rain forest to protect a monkey that hunting could wipe out.
• Part 2: More than primates: Taking on sea turtles
• Part 3: Making conservation pay
  Cash changes mind-set of villagers living amid rare species.
• Part 4: A high-tech tool to track wildlife
  In a jungle of Equatorial Guinea, the jury-rigged device may help scientists save threatened species.
• Part 5: Primate team finds grim sign
  Fewer drills, more shells point to increased hunting.
• Part 6: Professor's labor of love aims to save living lab
• Part 7: Good news as elusive as the monkey
• Part 8: Money as hard to find as endangered primate