The Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey (Colobus guereza) comes from eastern Africa, in countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Colobus means docked, which refers to their stump, or short, thumb.
The Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey is large, black and white, with a very long hairy tail.
They grow to about 61 centimetres (24 inches). The tail is as long as its body and head, totalling another 61 centimetres. The tail has a white tuft at its end.
Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
The Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey is herbivorous, eating leaves, fruit, flowers, and grass.
They are territorial and live in forests in groups of about nine individuals, with one male and lots of females.
Females are pregnant for six months before giving birth. Baby monkeys are looked after, or mothered, by many members of the group. When there are many mothers looking after one baby, it is called allomothering.
The Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey uses quadrupedal locomotion, like all monkeys and apes. Quadrupedal locomotion means that they move on all four limbs. They also take short leaps from branch to branch in the trees. They are primarily arboreal, which means that they live in trees.
They are diurnal, so they are active mainly during the day. They spend half of their day resting, and a lot of time feeding.
They are eaten by leopards and large eagles. They can live up to 20-30 years in the wild.
Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
Eastern Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM