Swahili Name: Mbega mweupe or Kuluzu

The black and white colobus monkeys found in Kenya are magnificent forest animals that are easy to recognize once they have been sighted.

The beautiful black fur of a colubus strongly contrasts to the long white mantle, whiskers and beard around the face and the bushy white "horsetail." The monkeys are difficult to observe as they normally spend their time high up in trees. Some 115 to 130 feet above the ground, they blend in well with their surroundings.

The colobus is the most arboreal of all African monkeys and rarely descend to the ground. Traveling among the trees, the monkeys use branches as trampolines, jumping up and down on them to get liftoff for leaps of up to 50 feet. They rise up and then drop downward, falling with outstretched arms and legs until they reach another branch. Their mantle hair and tails are believed to act as a parachute during these long leaps.

Black and white colobus live in troops (probably made up of smaller family groups) that commonly number up to 25 individuals, though in Rwanda troops as large as 200 are known. Their home ranges are clearly defined, and their size is influenced by the number of monkeys in the troop, the abundance of food and the level of fighting with neighboring troops. The monkeys make croaking and rattling vocal sounds to help mark their territories.

A strong male acts as the lead animal; it threatens enemies and if necessary covers the retreat of the troop. A true ranking order does not seem to exist.

Colubus monkeys feed almost exclusively on tender young leaves but occasionally eat certain insects. They have large stomachs to hold the 4 to 6 pounds of leaves they daily. They usually feed in the morning and evening, and spend the afternoon sleeping and grooming. They groom each other, as well as themselves, paying particular attention to the long fluffy tail.

There is no distinct breeding season although most mating probably occurs during rainy season. Because a female suckles her infant for over a year, an average of 20 months passes before she gives birth again. Other troop members often handle very young infants.

The newborn colobus monkey is covered with white fur, and at about 1 month gradually begins to change color, finally gaining the black and white adult coloration at about 3 months. The infant monkey is carried on the mother's abdomen, where it clings to her fur. As it maturesit spends a lot of time playing with its mother and certain other adults and at about 7 months begins playing with other juveniles. The games they play exercise their bodies, and as they get older, these develop into wrestling matches and mock displays.

The greatest threat to their continued existence comes from loss of habitat when forests are cut down.

Did You Know ...?

• The name colobus derives from a word meaning "mutilated one" because unlike other monkeys they do not have thumbs.
• The monkeys communicate with a songlike call, a warning call and a mating call. Local tradition says they are good weather forecasters because they become silent when bad weather is coming