L'Hoest's Monkey

L'Hoest's Monkey

Mountain monkey, L'Hoest's monkey

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Infraorder
Subfamily
SPECIES
Cercopithecus lhoesti
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
above 30 years
Weight
3.5-6
7.7-13.2
kglbs
kg lbs 
Length
32-69
12.6-27.2
cminch
cm inch 

L'Hoest's monkey (Allochrocebus lhoesti ) or mountain monkey, is a guenon found in the upper eastern Congo basin. They mostly live in mountainous forest areas in small, female-dominated groups. They have a dark coat and can be distinguished by a characteristic white beard.

Appearance

L'Hoest's monkeys have a short, dark brown coat, with a chestnut color across the back and a dark belly. Their cheeks are light gray with a pale moustache and they have a characteristic and prominent white bib. Their tail is long and hook-shaped at the end.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Subcontinents
Biogeographical realms

L'Hoest's monkeys are found in the upper eastern Congo basin. They occur in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and western Uganda. These monkeys live in the moist and high primary forests. They will occupy a range of different kinds of forested areas, including gallery forest, mature lowland rain forests, wooded savanna at mountain slopes, and forest borders. However, they also will live on cultivated lands.

L'Hoest's Monkey habitat map

Climate zones

L'Hoest's Monkey habitat map

Habits and Lifestyle

L'Hoest's monkeys live in fairly small groups dominated by females and have only a single male. The females are usually related, while the male stays only a couple of weeks or at most a couple of years. These monkeys are active during the day, mostly during early morning and late afternoon. They are mostly terrestrial but will forage and sleep in trees in a sitting position, usually either holding branches or each other. When they are alarmed or see they are being observed they will flee and take shelter in trees, and after become very still. Adult males make very loud and distinct calls. L'Hoest's monkeys also use different behaviors as a threat display. For example, staring includes fixing the eyes on a subject, raising the eyebrows, stretching the facial skin, and moving the ears back. They also often open their mouth without showing their teeth. Another threat display is head-bobbing, which icludes staring with an open mouth.

Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

L'Hoest's monkeys are primarily herbivores and mostly eat fruit, mushrooms, herbs, roots, and leaves. However, they will also occasionally eat eggs, lizards, and small birds.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
PREGNANCY DURATION
5 months
BABY CARRYING
1 infant
INDEPENDENT AGE
2 years
FEMALE NAME
female
MALE NAME
male
BABY NAME
infant

L'Hoest's monkeys are polygynous, which means that a single male mates with many females. These monkeys breed seasonally, with the timing depending on the area. After about a five-month gestation period, a single young will be born. Birth usually occurs at the end of the dry season, which allows lactation when rainfall is highest. When the infant is born the other females in the group will show much interest in the newborn and will try to hold it. After a few months nursing becomes less frequent, but will continue for about two years when the female gives birth to another infant. When young males reach reproductive maturity they will leave the group.

Population

Population threats

L'Hoest's monkeys suffer from the deforestation of their habitat, primarily due to agricultural expansion. These animals are also hunted for meat in some parts of their range; they are particularly vulnerable to both snaring and shotgun hunting.

Population number

The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the L'Hoest's monkey total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.

Ecological niche

L’Hoest’s monkeys eat fruits and thus play an important role in seed dispersal.

References

1. L'Hoest's Monkey on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Hoest%27s_monkey
2. L'Hoest's Monkey on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/4220/92343497

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