The Red-Tailed Monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius) is a primate in the Cercopithecidae family of monkeys. It is also known as the Black-Cheeked White-Nosed Monkey, the Red-Tailed Guenon, or the Schmidt’s Guenon.
The Red-Tailed Monkey has short, dark-grey to black fur, with a long reddish-brown tail. It has white cheeks and a white nose.
It grows to 30-61 centimetres (12-24 inches) in length, without the tail. The tail measures about 89 centimetres (35 inches) long.
It is native to Africa, in countries such as Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.It prefers mountainous forests, rain forests, and wooded savannahs.
It gathers food in its large, elastic cheeks.
It is arboreal, living in trees, but it forages for food on the ground. It is mainly herbivorous, eating fruit, mushrooms, herbs, roots, and leaves, as well as bird eggs, lizard eggs, lizards, and small birds. Its expandable cheeks can hold a lot of food.
The Red-Tailed Monkey is diurnal, active during the day. At night, it sleeps in a tree.
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.
[Location of photographs: Entebbe, Uganda]
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM