Riverbanks Conservation Outpost
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| Scientific Name: Cercopithecus neglectus |
| Description: |
| Spending more time on all four legs than most monkeys, the DeBrazza's monkey is one of the many types of guenons, or African forest monkeys. Both the males and females are brownish-green over most of their bodies and have long, silky white beards and an orange crown. Despite their similar looks, the male DeBrazza's monkey usually weighs about 16 pounds, almost seven more pounds than the average female. They spend most of their day collecting fruit, their favorite food, which they may store in their cheek pouches for later. They're omnivorous, so they also forage on the ground for leaves, roots and seeds, as well as beetles, termites and worms. DeBrazza's are social primates and typically live in family troops of four to 10 individuals consisting of an adult pair and their offspring of various ages. Researchers are studying wild troops to see if the young females as well as the males disperse to create new troops. The juvenile males spend much of their time strutting around with their tales arched and slamming branches, apparently imitating their father. While this is a humorous show for zoogoers, it's actually the youngsters learning to be dominant, protective fathers for the day when they go out and form troops of their own. |
| Range: |
| DeBrazza's monkeys are found in forests and swamps across central Africa, along the Equator from Ethiopia to Cameroon and Zaire. They are more common in eastern Africa and less regularly observed on the continent's western side. |
| Status in the Wild: |
| Debrazza's monkeys are considered neither endangered nor threatened in the wild. One estimate suggest there may be as many as 100,000 in the wild, but that's not conclusive. Like all primates, deforestation and increasing human populations could soon begin to threaten the monkeys in the wild. At Riverbanks, the DeBrazza's monkeys are exhibited in a mixed species exhibit along with the gorillas. |
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