Why West Virginia? Known as "The Mountain State," nearly 80% of West Virginia is covered by forests. Its rugged, sparsely populated terrain, particularly within the vast Monongahela National Forest, provides one of the most ideal and impenetrable habitats for a large, undiscovered primate in the eastern United States.

How it works: Our Species Distribution Model was loaded with decades of credible sighting reports from all over West Virginia. The machine learning algorithm analyzed the unique environmental signature of each sighting location, focusing on key variables for the state:

• Topography: The extreme elevation changes, deep ravines, and remote "hollers" of the Allegheny Mountains.
• Habitat: The density of spruce and hardwood forests, especially within federally designated Wilderness Areas.
• Resources: Proximity to the headwaters of major rivers like the Cheat, Greenbrier, and Elk.
• Human Factor: Analysis of areas with the lowest road density and greatest distance from towns and resource extraction sites.

The model identifies the specific combination of terrain, cover, and isolation that consistently appears in high-activity areas. The results below are a direct product of that analysis. ⛰️