Vundwe Island has, in recent years, started to be subjected to extensive clearing. This impacts the habitat of the Zanzibar red colobus, an endangered species of red colobus monkey which the island houses. The species population also declines because of poisonings. Vundwe Island Vundwe Island is a small uninhabited island in Tanzania. The islet is part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, and is located near the southwestern coast of Unguja. It lies only 300 m south of Uzi Island and it has an area of 1,4 km. Its elevation is about 17 m above sea level. The waters surrounding the island are used
Zanzibar in July. The main island of Zanzibar, Unguja, has a fauna reflecting its connection to the African mainland during the last Ice Age. Endemic mammals with continental relatives include the Zanzibar red colobus ("Procolobus kirkii"), one of Africa's rarest primates, with perhaps only 1,500 existing. Isolated on this island for at least 1,000 years, this colobus is recognized as a distinct species, with different coat patterns, calls, and food habits from related colobus species on the mainland. The Zanzibar red colobus lives in a wide variety of drier areas of coastal thickets and coral rag scrub, as well as mangrove