It is also home to a habituated troop of colobus monkeys, making it an ideal site for studying their ecology. Research on this species is important because, unlike their upcountry cousins', the Guereza (Colobus guereza), little is known about the Angolan colobus. Thanks to the conservation minded house owners, (Olivia Barker/Neumann and the Mittons), the colobus monkeys here have enjoyed a protected forest habitat for over 38 years.

Our colobus family consists of ten members; this troop resides entirely within the boundary of these two plots and they are very well habituated. Our studies have taught us much about the threats facing the colobus in Diani. Crossing the highway to other parts of their range exposes our troop to motorcars, and an adult female was injured here this year. We will build our next bridge at the entrance to the Colobus Cottage.

One of our adult females has lost an arm as a result of an electric shock injury; monkeys sometimes make the mistake of using power cables. We have asked the Kenya Power Company to insulate all new cables. Another adult female colobus in this troop has a crippled arm after she was caught in a snare set by poachers to catch small forest antelopes; we regularly comb forests to remove snares.