1000 Francs CFA Wildlife Protection - Central African Red Colobus

The Central African red colobus (*Piliocolobus foai*) is among the primates most vulnerable to bushmeat hunting across the Congo Basin — a pressure that accelerated sharply in the 1990s as logging roads opened previously inaccessible forest interiors to commercial hunters. BEAC's wildlife series, issued under the broader CEMAC monetary framework, directed proceeds toward regional conservation awareness, though the program drew criticism from some quarters for marketing coins primarily to European collectors rather than funding in-country protections.