Common Name: Black and White Colobus Scientific Name: Colobus guereza occidentalis
LOWER RISK Black and White Colobus Monkey Distribution: Central Africa
Habitat: Forest Height: Approx. 60cm Weight: 8kg - 13kg Diet: Herbivorous Fruit, leaves.
The Black and White Colobus Monkey is very distinctive. It is covered in black fur with a u-shaped mantle of long white fur running down each side of it’s body. This long white fur is also found on the tip of their tails. They are ‘old world’ monkeys, which means they come from either Africa or Asia. These monkeys come from central Africa including the countries of Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. They inhabit many different types of forest including thick forest and wooded grassland. They will move between different types of forest depending on the seasons. Black and White Colobus Monkeys are strict vegetarians and sometimes will only eat one type of tree (the hackberry tree). Colobus monkeys live in groups usually with one dominant male and many females. These monkeys can be very aggressive and will chase off rival groups if they get too close. Black and White Colobus monkeys like to spend a lot of their days sunbathing high in the trees and then spend the later half of the day eating in the lower levels of the forest. They will communicate with each other through vocalisations that sound like a low roaring.