Finally, in Equatorial Guinea, we provide technical support for anti-poaching patrols using SMART to protect the Critically Endangered Pennant’s red colobus. In Uganda, anti-poaching efforts with the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project have strengthened protections for all wildlife in Kibale National Park, including the Endangered Ashy red colobus. In Nigeria, our long running work in Cross River National Park supports ranger patrols giving protection to the Critically Endangered Preuss’s red colobus.

In 1994, western red colobus monkeys infected many chimpanzees with Ebola virus when the chimpanzees hunted. The Zoo also supports efforts to protect red colobus and its habitats on the ground in Africa. It is often hunted by the common chimpanzee. Without urgent conservation measures across its range, Africa will lose many of its red colobus monkeys in the coming decades. These groups have also launched a global effort - the Red Colobus Conservation Network ( which the Zoo helps lead, in an effort to catalyze red colobus conservation and drive increased funding and actions for red colobus protection. Drew Cronin and partners in the African Primatological Society and IUCN Primate Specialist Group are together spearheading the first comprehensive Red Colobus Conservation Action Plan, uniting local and international conservation groups, governments, academic institutions, and zoos to prevent a continent-wide extinction of all 17 red colobus species. The endangered Kirk’s Red Colobus monkey, a species found only on the island of Zanzibar, is one of the rarest primates in the world.In 2004 it was given a l. They also are hunted for their meat and fur.In response to this critical need, the Zoo’s Dr. Conservationīlack and white colobus monkeys are threatened by loss of forest habitat across equatorial Africa. Females give birth to a single offspring about every 20 months. Raising YoungĪ female colobus monkey usually announces that she is ready to mate by tongue smacking. “What eats me”īlack and white colobus monkeys have to worry most about leopards, although the crowned hawk eagle and occasionally chimpanzees may also prey on them. Their calls can be heard throughout the forest. They use other calls to convey other messages.

Adult troop members, especially males, produce loud, throaty calls to alert other troops to territorial boundaries. Interbirth interval for the species is 24 months. Following a gestation period of 6 to 6.5 months, a single infant is born. Given how territorial colobus monkeys are, their presence in a forest can not be missed. Breeding for western red colobus monkeys occurs throughout the year, though a peak in births occurs during the rainy season when new leaves provide an abundant food source. As they jump from tree to tree, their tails provide balance. Their beautiful black fur strongly contrasts with the long white mantle, whiskers, bushy tail, and beard around the face. As they descend, their long fur and long tails have a parachute effect. What is the colobus monkey The name colobus is derived from the Greek word for mutilated, because unlike other monkeys, colobus monkeys do not have thumbs. They also use branches as springboards to leap up and then drop down as much as fifty feet onto branches below. They swing easily and gracefully from branch to branch using their long, curled fingers. They take turns sleeping at night so that one member of the troop is always awake and watching for predators.

Each group has its own territory in the tree canopy that is well defined and defended.Ĭolobus monkeys spend most of their time sitting in the treetops eating and socializing. Some will eventually take over a harem of their own. Males leave their birth groups before they are fully mature, either by choice or by force, and live alone or in small bachelor groups. They live in family groups composed of a dominant male, several females, and their young. After a hunt, the beta male of the community Zefa (top individual) shares a black & white colobus monkey with the alpha male, Nick (below). Like all primates, they are highly social animals. “How I live there”Ĭolobus monkeys share the trees with each other and other species of monkey. See more ideas about primates, animals wild, animals beautiful. You can see Colobus monkeys on exhibit at The Maryland Zoo in the Chimpanzee Forest. Explore Thandi Vs board 'Colobus Monkeys', followed by 2,362 people on Pinterest. Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusionīlack and White Colobus Monkeys live in all types of forest of equatorial Africa.

Chimpanzee baby red colobus monkey