Common Name: Diana Monkey Scientific Name: Cercopithecus diana diana
ENDANGERED Diana Monkey Distribution: Ghana to Sierra Leone Habitat: Forest Height: Approx. 50cm Weight: 5kg Diet: Omnivorous Fruit, leaves, insects.
Diana Monkeys are very attractive monkeys. They always look well groomed. Their coats are black with a red tinge along the saddle of the back and a white bib. They also have a white stripe down their sides and a red bottom. The monkey spend most of their day foraging for food. Most of their diet is made up of fruit but they will supplement their diet with insects if they can catch them. The monkeys are ‘old world’ monkeys, meaning they come from either Africa of Asia. Diana Monkeys come from eastern areas of Africa including the countries from Ghana round to the Sierra Leone where they inhabit the forests. These monkeys are mostly arboreal, spending most of their time up in the trees. Generally these monkeys for groups that consist of a single male and many females. The ‘dominant’ male will guard the females and protect the territory from predators and rival groups. They have been seen in medium groups in the wild of up to 50 individuals. Groups this size would only form when food was plentiful and there was little competition between the monkeys. These monkeys are very vocal and can be heard from a far. The females give loud ‘chatter screams’ and will ‘whistle’ at each other to give an alarm call.