The Angola colobus (Colobus angolensis), Angolan black-and-white colobus, or Angolan colobus
The Angola colobus (Colobus angolensis), Angolan black-and-white colobus, or Angolan colobus is a primate species of Old World monkey belonging to the genus Colobus.
Taxonomy
There are six recognized subspecies and one undescribed subspecies from the Mahale Mountains in Tanzania:
- Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis
- Sclater's Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis angolensis;
- Powell-Cotton's Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis cottoni;
- Ruwenzori colobus Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii (Thomas);
- Cordier's Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis cordieri;
- Prigogine's Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis prigoginei, from Mt. Kabobo;
- Peters Angola colobus or Tanzanian black-and-white colobus, Colobus angolensis palliatus.
Habitat area
Colobus angolensis is a species of catarrhine primate of the family Cercopithecidae. Colobus angolensis is distributed in equatorial Africa: northern Congo, eastern Gabon, Cameroon, eastern Nigeria, Central African Republic, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, northwestern Rwanda, Uganda, southern Sudan, Ethiopia, western Kenya and Tanzania. Six subspecies of Colobus angolensis are distributed from southern Sahara to Tanzania. Colobus angolensis is found in secondary forests along riverbanks and in dry and humid forests up to altitudes of 3,300 m above sea level.
Appearance
Colobus angolensis is heavy-set and mostly black in colour with white shoulder hairs and white sideburns. Shoulder hairs vary in length from one subspecies to another. Another name for Colobus angolensis is the white-footed black colobus. These monkeys have very long tails: males reach a length of 83 cm, females 70 cm, with body lengths of 68 cm and 49 cm respectively. Males are usually larger than females and can weigh up to 11 kg (females about 6 kg).
Social behaviour and reproduction
Colobus angolensis lives in polygamous groups of up to 25 animals. The group usually consists of an adult male and 2-6 females with young. Sometimes Colobus angolensis gather in large groups of up to 300 individuals, and of course these groups contain many males, but their composition is not constant.
Colobus angolensis has no specific breeding season, and pups are born throughout the year. Pregnancy lasts about 160 days. The pups are born completely white and begin to darken at around three months of age. The mother cares for the cub for about 15 months. Males reach sexual maturity at four years and females at two years. Young males usually leave the group before reaching breeding age, but may occasionally challenge the dominant male.
Colobus angolensis has a life expectancy of 20 years in the wild and 30 years in captivity.
Nutrition
Colobus angolensis are arboreal monkeys, rarely coming down to the ground. They are usually found along riverbanks, where Colobus angolensis feed on fresh herbaceous vegetation. They also eat shoots, bark, flowers, buds, fruits, some aquatic plants and insects. They eat a lot: up to two or three kilos of leaves a day.
