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.
