Lincoln Park Zoo

Black-and-white colobus

Common name: Black-and-white colobus
Latin Name: Colobus guereza

Class: Mammals
Order: Primates

Description
The black-and-white colobus can reach 28 inches in length, not including tails as long as 35 inches. Males can weigh 30 pounds, females can reach 20 pounds. The thumb on this primate is nearly absent. They have a glossy black coat, with a face and rump accented by white hair. Young are born all white, changing color as they age. The point of their noses nearly touches their mouths.

Range
Black-and-white colobus are found across much of equatorial Africa.

Status
Logging and habitat conversion for farming are the major threats to all habitats that support this species. Lincoln Park Zoo participates in the Colobus Species Survival Plan®, a shared conservation effort by zoos throughout the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Habitat
They occupy the uppermost canopy of tropical forests, woodlands and wooded grassland (where they may feed and travel on the ground if there isn't a continuous pathway of trees). They can be found in lowlands and at high elevations. Black-and-white colobus are most abundant in secondary forests or along rivers.

Niche
With a complex digestive system, these primates are designed to process leaves, but they also eat fruit and occasional flowers, twigs, buds, seeds, shoots and insects. Fruit makes up about a third of their diet. Black-and-white colobus are diurnal (active during the day) and arboreal (tree dwellers).

Life History
Black-and-white colobus live in troops of as many as nine individuals. Their home range is about 40 acres, including a preferred area from which other groups are chased but not permanently excluded. Visual and vocal displays occur when groups meet, and loud nocturnal and dawn choruses by adult males serve to space out groups. Single young are born after a six-month gestation. Offspring are produced about every 20 months. Maturity occurs at about five years.