Species profile
About the red-tailed monkey
The red-tailed monkey is one of the most charming primates of Tanzania's western forests: dark olive with white cheek whiskers, a vivid white heart-shaped patch on the nose and a long tail that turns deep chestnut towards the tip.
It is a busy, agile feeder that stores fruit in large cheek pouches to carry away from competition, and it frequently travels in mixed troops with blue monkeys and red colobus. Mahale and Gombe are the places to see it in Tanzania.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Diurnal and arboreal, working the mid and lower canopy. Fills its cheek pouches rapidly at a fruiting tree, then withdraws to eat in cover.
Social life
Troops of roughly ten to thirty-five with one adult male; regularly forms lasting mixed troops with blue monkeys and red colobus.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
A white heart-shaped nose spot unique among African monkeys, and cheek pouches that hold as much as its stomach.