The L’Hoest’s Monkey (Cercopithecus lhoesti) is a primate. It is also known as the Mountain Monkey.
The L’Hoest’s Monkey has a short-haired, dark-brown coat, with a chestnut coloured back and a dark belly. It has a white beard. Its cheeks are light-grey, and it chest is white. Its tail is long and hook-shaped at the end.
It measures 32-69 centimetres (12-27 inches) tall. Its tail measures 48-99 centimetres (19-39 inches) long.
The L’Hoest’s Monkey is native to the eastern Congo basin, in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and western Uganda. It prefers mountainous forests, rain forests, and wooded savannahs.
It is mainly herbivorous, eating fruit, mushrooms, herbs, roots, and leaves, as well as bird eggs, lizard eggs, lizards and small birds.
The L’Hoest’s Monkey is diurnal, active during the day. At night, it sleeps in trees in a sitting position, holding a branch or each other.
It lives in small, female-dominated groups, with only one male in the group.
The female gives birth to one live young after a five-month pregnancy. The baby clings to its mother’s belly. The mother looks after her baby for about two years.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM