Another Red Monkey
Another Red Monkey
The Red Colobus Monkey (genus Colobus, family Cercopithecidae) is one of the most endangered species of monkeys in the world. Their loud vocalizations and slow-moving bodies make them easy prey for hunters. Today, fewer than 10,000 of these animals remain. Other varieties of Colobus monkey include the Olive Colobus, and the Black and White Colobus, many of which were slaughtered to support the European fur trade. The Red Colobus is an arboreal monkey, with a small head and long back. It has no thumb, but a small bump on its paws may be the remnant of a thumb. They are found parts of Uganda and Tanzania in Western Africa. A sub-species called Pennant's Red Colobus survives in small places near the Zaire River in Central West Africa. Kirk's Red Colobus is only found near Zanzibar.
Colobus monkeys are leaf-eaters, who feed on over 60 different species of plants, but the bulk of their diet consists of leaves from just five sources. The monkeys supplement their diet with fruit, flowers, and stems.
Leaves contain cellulose cell walls. Not many animals are able to digest them. But Colobus monkeys are ruminants, with four chambered stomachs just like cows. Bacterial fermentation in the monkeys' stomachs breaks-down the cellulose.
Colobus monkeys forage over a much wider area than other monkeys. Their range is 24 times that of Red Tail and Blue Monkeys (also native to Tanzania). This is necessitated by the need to find more trees containing fresh leaves and flowers. The monkeys eat for just a couple of hours in the morning and the evening, resting for 7 hours in-between.
The Red Colobus lives in troops or bands made of 30 - 100 monkeys. Males may move from one band to another, but females will usually remain with the same group.
A study of chimps in the Gombe National Park in Tanzania noted 71 confirmed kills between July and September 1990, although the actual number of deaths may be closer to 92. The effect of this predation on the Red Colobus population is enormous. An average of 20% of the Red Colobus population is killed annually by chimpanzees.
Given the high mortality rate among Red Colobus monkeys, one would think they would have died-out a long time ago. But the Colobus has evolved in such a way as to minimize the effects. Colobus monkeys normally have a two year mating cycle, but they give birth year-round. When an infant is lost, the mother is able to breed and give birth again within 7 months. Monkees who manage to reach maturity are rarely preyed-upon by chimpanzees. This helps stabilize the Red Colobus population.
Information for this article was taken from "The Predatory Behavior and Ecology of Wild Chimpanzees" by Dr. Craig B. Stanford
Food for Chimps
Red Colubus monkeys are occasional preyed-upon by Crown eagles and leopards, but by their main natural predators are chimpanzees. This may surprise you, since people used to assume that chimps were vegetarians. But chimps are actually methodical hunters who occassionally eat meat. Chimp hunting parties target infant and juvenile monkeys, killing them indiscriminately.
Although meat makes up only 3% of a chimp's diet, a band of 45 chimpanzees consumes about 1500 pounds of monkey meat annually. Most of this hunting occurs during the dry season, when chimps each consume as much as 65 grams of meat per day. Hunting frenzies are also known to occur when females are preparing to mate.