One of the 6 colobuses on WAnimals
Mammals · Primates · Cercopithecidae
Western Red Colobus
Piliocolobus badius
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
The western red colobus is a leaf-eating primate of the forests of West Africa, with a black back and intensely red flanks and limbs. It lives in noisy groups of several dozen animals and digests mature leaves in a compartmentalised stomach. It is the preferred prey of the chimpanzees of Taï National Park, in Côte d'Ivoire, where cooperative chimpanzee hunting was first documented. Hunting and logging have reduced it drastically.
Weight
5 kg – 11 kg
Size
45 cm – 67 cm
Lifespan
20 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- GeneralIt is the chimpanzee's favourite prey, hunted by coordinated groups.
- It is the main prey of chimpanzees in several West African forests, and hunting it gave rise to the first detailed descriptions of cooperative hunting in chimpanzees, with individuals taking on distinct roles of driver, blocker and ambusher.
- The subspecies of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire known as Miss Waldron's red colobus was declared extinct in 2000, the first primate extinction documented in the 20th century.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Lowland rainforest, gallery forest and mangroves of West Africa
- Sexual maturity
- 4 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 5.5 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piliocolobus_badius
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Western Red Colobus — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Campbell’s Monkey
Cercopithecus campbelli
Least ConcernGuereza
Colobus guereza
Mona Monkey
Cercopithecus mona
Putty-nosed Monkey
Cercopithecus nictitans
VulnerableDiana Monkey
Cercopithecus diana
Drill
Mandrillus leucophaeus
How to help
The western red colobus is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 4 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about western red colobus.
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