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Roloway Guenon
Scientific Name
Cercopithecus diana roloway
Systematics
The West African Roloway guenon is a sub-species of the more commonly known Diana guenon. A large proportion of African monkeys are from the guenon family, with most of them living in the forest areas of Central Africa. They are amongst the most beautiful monkeys due to their brightly coloured fur.
Description
The Roloway guenon has an elegant appearance due to its fine body structure. The long tail is used to balance when travelling in trees. Their fur is black on the head, the back and on the outer arms and legs. The underside and the inner limbs are white while the lower back becomes a reddish colour. A white goat-like beard, a feature that distinguishes it from the Diana guenon, contrasts the black face.
Distribution
Forest areas from the Sassandra River in the eastern part of Cote d’Ivoire to the Volta River of eastern Ghana.
Habitat
This guenon lives in the upper canopy of pristine forest but can also be found occasionally in secondary forest areas.
Life History
Females give birth around December- February after 5 months of pregnancy. The youngsters stay in close contact with their mothers for 6 months and drink milk throughout this time. At the age of 4 -5 years they become sexually mature. In captivity they live up to 20 years.
Diet
Roloway guenons eat mainly fruit, blossom and young leaves. Moreover, they also pick insects from leaves or catch them in mid air.
Behaviour
Roloway guenons live in groups of 15 – 25 individuals. Usually one male forms a group with 6 – 8 females and their offspring. The females stay in their natal group whereas the males leave their group when they reach sexual maturity. They then move singly or follow another group. A group’s territory covers an area of 28 – 90 ha. Their residency is marked especially by the loud calls of the males, which can be heard throughout the forests. Roloway guenons often move together with other primate species, especially with the Olive colobus (Procolobus verus). The latter seems to prefer travelling with a group of Roloway guenons as they are very alert and detect potential predators long before the Colobus monkeys do.
Conservational Status
Wild populations of Roloway guenons have decreased dramatically within the last 40 years, which marks them as extremely threatened by extinction. They are recorded by the World Conservation Organization (IUCN) in the category of animals most likely to become extinct. This is due to the fact that in their whole range there are not more than 1000 individuals remaining.