Trip to San Diego Zoo: An Understanding of Wolf's Guenons, Mandrills, and Siamangs
On a trip to San Diego Zoo on March 23, I learned about the variety of primate species. Three species that will be analyzed here are the Wolf’s Guenons, the Mandrills, and the Siamangs.
Wolf’s Guenons, Old World monkeys, are found at south of Africa’s Congo River. Their habitat is forests, woodlands, near rivers and streams. They have a unique way of jumping from tree to tree: they aim at the center of dense clump of foliage and leap. When they land, they scramble through the branches and find a large, steady limb, and then hurl themselves at the next clump of foliage from there. Like many other guenons, their smaller body size allows them to forage farther out on small branches and escape leopards and chimpanzees by fleeing to the outer edge. This colorful species of monkey has nothing to do with a wolf. It was named after the last name of the person who discovered it. Like other guenons, Wolf’s Guenons love to eat fruit. Other favorites include leaves, plant nectars, and insects. All guenons have cheek pouches they can store food in as they forage. Wolf’s Guenons may live with other related species in small social groups. They have been seen in Africa living with red-tailed monkeys, black Mangabeys, and black-and-white Colobus monkeys. This species status is vulnerable due to destruction of forest habitat for agriculture and logging, excessive hunting for food, and illegal bushmeat trade. Mandrills, endangered monkeys from Africa, are one of the largest and most colorful monkeys in the world. Male mandrills that sport the brightest and most distinctive reds, blues, lavenders, and golds on their faces and fur are thought to be most attractive to females. Their bright colors also play a role in keeping the troop together as they travel in the forest. Mandrill troops contain one dominant male, several females, and their offspring, usually about 20 animals. Super troops of several hundred may gather where food is plentiful. Mandrills come equipped with their own
Wolf’s Guenons, Old World monkeys, are found at south of Africa’s Congo River. Their habitat is forests, woodlands, near rivers and streams. They have a unique way of jumping from tree to tree: they aim at the center of dense clump of foliage and leap. When they land, they scramble through the branches and find a large, steady limb, and then hurl themselves at the next clump of foliage from there. Like many other guenons, their smaller body size allows them to forage farther out on small branches and escape leopards and chimpanzees by fleeing to the outer edge. This colorful species of monkey has nothing to do with a wolf. It was named after the last name of the person who discovered it. Like other guenons, Wolf’s Guenons love to eat fruit. Other favorites include leaves, plant nectars, and insects. All guenons have cheek pouches they can store food in as they forage. Wolf’s Guenons may live with other related species in small social groups. They have been seen in Africa living with red-tailed monkeys, black Mangabeys, and black-and-white Colobus monkeys. This species status is vulnerable due to destruction of forest habitat for agriculture and logging, excessive hunting for food, and illegal bushmeat trade. Mandrills, endangered monkeys from Africa, are one of the largest and most colorful monkeys in the world. Male mandrills that sport the brightest and most distinctive reds, blues, lavenders, and golds on their faces and fur are thought to be most attractive to females. Their bright colors also play a role in keeping the troop together as they travel in the forest. Mandrill troops contain one dominant male, several females, and their offspring, usually about 20 animals. Super troops of several hundred may gather where food is plentiful. Mandrills come equipped with their own