Angolan Black-and-White Colobus Monkey

ANIMAL:
Angolan Black-and-White Colobus Colobus angolensis

Type of Animal:
Old World Monkey

Habitat:
Forests, scrub forest, savanna, swampland, wooded grassland

Location(s):
Congo Basin, N.E. Angola, N.W. tip of Zambia plus populations in S.E. tip of Kenya & parts of Tanzania.

Appearance:
Black fur & black face w/ white locks of hair. Mantle of white hair on shoulder, white-tip tail. Male larger than female. Babies have all white fur. Adults have long, silky hair.

Food/Diet:
Leaves, insects, fruit, seeds, shoots, bark, flowers, buds

Status in Wild:
Threatened

Conservation:
Breeding in zoos & breeding centers

Lifestyle:
Troops consist of alpha male w/ 6-24 females & their offspring. Other males form smaller bachelor troops. Sometimes multiple troops come together & some breeding troops may have 1-3 subordinate males.


Additional Info:

Called:
Male
Female
Young-Infant
Group-Troop

Weight:
Male-20-30 lbs
Female-14-22 lbs
Young-5.4 lbs

Gestation:
6 months

Height:
Male-1.7-2.4 ft
Female-1.5-2.1 ft

Body Length:
Male-1.7-2.4 ft
Female-1.5-2.1 ft

Life Span:
20-25 years

Tail Length:
Male-2.7 ft
Female-2.3 ft

Main predators are leopards, snakes, crocodiles, chimps, & eagles.

Confrontations between neighboring troops involve more display & bravado-actual fighting is very rare. Often, dominant male’s territorial call can be heard for miles away.

Threatened due to deforestation, hunting for fur, bushmeat trade, pet trade, vehicle collisions, habitat loss, & persecution as crop pests.

They’re highly arboreal-In fact, very clumsy on ground which leads to car collisions.

Females sexually mature at 2 years old, males at 4 years.

They’re very important for seed dispersal.

One of the most arboreal African monkeys.

Fun Fact(s):
Their poop is known to be very smelly.

They use branches like trampolines to jump to higher branches.

Like cattle, they have four-chambered stomach and they’re able to eat toxic plants that other monkeys can’t.

These monkeys known to have very gentle temperament.

Local tradition says these monkeys silent in bad weather, so they’re seen as harbingers of good weather when noisy.

The name “colobus” means mutilated thumb.
 

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