Mantled guereza
The “Magistrate Monkey”
They are sometimes nicknamed “magistrate monkeys” because of their lovely long black and white fur. But the comparison stops there.
These monkeys live in little groups in forests of medium altitude, jumping from branch to branch at the top of trees. To facilitate their moving from pillar to post by grabbing branches, they have practically no thumbs.
In that mild environment, with nights that can be pretty cold, their fur offers excellent protection and also good camouflage because the trees are festooned with hanging lichens, like long hair which merges with their own.
They are monkeys with a calm nature, easy to live with, which get very well accustomed to our climates. It appears that they urinate on their long tails (sometimes as long as their bodies) in order to mark their odour.
Seven mantled guerezas in the Jardin des Mondes
In Pairi Daiza, you can view seven mantled guerezas. They live on one of the volcanoes, in the African world of the Jardin des Mondes. And share their territory with some of our... western lowland gorillas.
A less threathened species
- Name: Mantled guereza
- Latin name: Colobus guereza
- Origin: Central and East Africa
- IUCN status: Least concerned
- Cites: Appendix II
