ANIMAL:Schmidt’s Red-Tailed Monkey/Guenon Cercopithecus ascanius
Type of Animal:
Old World Monkey
Habitat:
Forests, swampland, tropical woodland, swamp woodland, primary/secondary woodland, riverine gallery woodland
Location(s):
Democratic Republic of Congo, S Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, far W Tanzania, W, C, & parts of S Uganda, part of SW Kenya, N Angola, extreme NW & NE Zambia. Disjunct populations in South Sudan, NE C area of Central African Republic, & NC Angola.
Appearance:
Red/bicolor tail, white cheeks/nose, noticeable cheek pouches, white/yellow nose, brown/black/gray fur
Food/Diet:
Fruit, leaves, flowers, gum, sap, buds, seeds, insects, greens, vegetables, root vegetables, shoots, reptiles, eggs, frogs, nestling birds, small mammals
Status in Wild:
Stable
Conservation:
Breeding in zoos & wildlife centers
Lifestyle:
Family troops consist of male & harem of 6-49 females & offspring. Females often stay in same troop for life, harem male stays until replaced. Males leave when 3-6 years old, forming bachelor troops w/ other younger males & haremless mature males until supplanting established harem male. Sometimes, multiple troops come together.
Additional Info:Called:
Male
Female
Young: Infant
Group: Troop
Weight:
Male: 7-10 lbs
Female: 6-8 lbs
Young: 3 lbs
Gestation:
5-6 monthsLife Span:
20-25 years
Height:
Male: 1.583 ft
Female: 1.3 ft
Body Length:
Male: 2 ft
Female: 1 ft
Tail Length:
Male: 2.91 ft
Female: 1.75 ft
Main predators are felids, chimps, snakes, crocodiles, & raptors.
Also called Black-Cheeked White-Nosed Monkey.
Communicate w/ gestures, tail flicks, chirps (for identifying troop members), croaks, & alarm calls (warn of danger) & growls/screams/hacking calls (usually during disputes). 1 alarm call is sneeze call.
Like most monkeys, they’re active during the day (diurnal).
Often associate w/ other monkey species.
In troop, male at top of dominance hierarchy, followed by dominant female, followed by her children (especially daughters), females unrelated to dominant female at bottom or cousins at bottom of hierarchy. Bachelor troop hierarchy looser.
Sexually mature at 3-4 years old.
Long tail helps monkey achieve balance.
When on the ground, they travel on all 4s.
Invading males often kill offspring of previous harem male, in order to bring females back into heat & pass on his own genes.
Fun Fact(s):
Play important role in seed dispersal due to fruit/seed eating.
Can defend themselves w/ canine teeth if need be.
Like most monkeys, they don’t like water.
Large cheek pouches can store almost as much food as stomach.
Sometimes hybridize w/ closely related Blue Monkeys.
