White-collared Mangabey

Facts

IUCN VULNERABLE (VU)

Facts about this animal

The White-collared Mangabey is a long-tailed and long-legged, relatively large monkey (head-body length 48-67 cm, tail 52-79 cm) of gracile form with conspicuous white eyelids and a mat of short, backwardly directed hairs on the crown. The colouration of their heads, faces and throats is very variable. Females are somewhat smaller than males.

White-collared mangabeys live in social groups of 10 – 25 individuals, formed by several males and females. While males leave their natal group the females stay within and form the core of the group. The related females form a strict hierarchy amongst themselves to avoid conflicts.

White-collared mangabeys spend their day foraging in the dense undergrowth of forest. While doing so group members keep in contact by acoustic signals and calls. Their diet consists of fruit, seeds, insects and other small invertebrates but there is no precise study from the wild to confirm this in detail.

Although their main threat is destruction of their forest habitat, they also hunted for food in some areas, and killed as pests where they raid crops.

Did you know?
That "cercocebus" is greek and means "tail monkey"? The reason for this is that a male mangabey will often walk with its tail arched over its back, with the white tip held just above its head. The tail movement may provide social cues or serve as a form of communication with other members of the group.

Factsheet
Class	MAMMALIA
Order	PRIMATES
Suborder	SIMIAE
Family	CERCOPITHECIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Cercocebus torquatus
Name (English)	White-collared Mangabey
Name (French)	Cercocèbe à collier ou Mangabey couronné
Name (German)	Halsbandmangabe
Name (Spanish)	Mangabey de collar blanco
CITES Status	Appendix II
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
BS Thurner Hof

Distribution

Distribution
Range	West and Central Africa from Senegal to Gabon. C. t. torquatus occurs east of the Dahomey Gap. C. t. atys west of the Sassandra River, and C. t. lunulatus east of the Sassandra River and west of the Volta River. Note that there are different views on the taxonomy of this species. C. t. atys and lunulatus are sometimes considered a distinct species (Cercocebus atys).
Habitat	Different types of forest
Wild population	Unknown. The wild population of White-naped mangabeys, Cercocebus t. lunulatus, has been reduced severely by over-hunting and destruction of habitat throughout the last three decades. The remaining groups are now living in separated fragments of forest areas. Exact numbers are not known but estimated at around a few thousand.
Zoo population	149 reported to ISIS (2007)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 31 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
BS THurner Hof

Why do zoos keep this animal