Species profile
About the blue monkey
The blue monkey is not blue but a dark grizzled grey-olive, with a black face, a pale grey-white diadem across the brow and a dark cape over the shoulders. It is a forest interior species, far less bold and far less often in the open than the vervet.
It is common in the groundwater forest of Lake Manyara, the montane forest of Arusha National Park and the western forests at Mahale, where troops often travel with red-tailed monkeys. Blue monkeys are quiet feeders and are frequently detected by falling fruit rather than by sight.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Diurnal and mainly arboreal, feeding in the mid canopy. Troops move quietly and often associate with other monkey species for shared vigilance.
Social life
Troops of about ten to forty with a single resident adult male and related females; extra males appear during the breeding season.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
A pale grey brow band across a black face, and mixed-species troops that share alarm calls with red-tailed monkeys.
