Population
Widespread
What they look like
These long tailed monkeys have a largely black coat with a fringe of long white hairs and a large white tuft at the end of the tail. They have just four digits on each hand with an almost completely absent thumb.
Animal facts
These monkeys spend most of their time sitting in the tops of trees but also feed and travel on the ground. Females invite males to mate by lip smacking. Babies are pure white for the first few weeks of life.
The name 'colobus' means 'he cut short' and refers to the species' stumpy thumb.
Colobus monkeys are herbivores and live high up in the canopy. They live in small groups with one male and a number of females and their offspring.
The babies are born completely white and later turn into their tell-tale black and white. You can find these beautiful primates in Gorilla Kingdom.
What they eat
Leaves, fruit and flowers
Habitat
Forest, woodlands, or wooded grasslands
Where they live
Equatorial Africa
Threats
Deforestation and hunting by eagles, leopards, chimpanzees and by humans for their skins.
Order
Primates
Family
Cercopithecidae
