Colobus Monkey

Linnean Classification: Eukarya, Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Primates, Cercopithecidae, Colobus, Colobus angolensis

Regulator: Colobus Monkeys are Regulators because as mammals, they are warm-blooded organisms with the ability to regulate and maintain a relatively stable and constant internal environment and temperature (homeostasis), even with the variability of external environments.

Neither Migration nor Hibernation: Because Colobus Monkeys live in tropical rainforest habitats, they have no need for winter adaptations - the forests are warm year round. Thus, they neither migrate nor hibernate in the winter, as their environment has not made such adaptations necessary.

Generalist: Colobus Monkeys are considered folivore generalists, meaning they can survive on a wide variety of plant and leaf food types. They can also thrive in a wide variety of environments and habitat types, including secondary, gallery, montane, lowland, and bamboo forests. They are also found in savannas and swamp lands. Their ability to survive in multiple environments instead of having adaptations specialized and limited to one type of environment makes them generalists.

Consumer: It is a consumer, as it cannot produce it’s own food but must consume other organisms to get the nutrients and energy its needs.

Herbivore: Unlike most monkeys, Colobus Monkeys are primarily herbivorous, eating leaves shoots, flowers, and fruit found in second-growth or degraded forests.

Niche: Colobus Monkeys live in all kinds of closed forests (secondary, gallery, montane, lowland, and bamboo), savannas, and swamp lands. They are found in inland country and coastal forests of Kenya and Nigeria as well as other parts of equatorial Africa. Colobus Monkeys make their homes high in the trees. Within their habitat, they consume high-protein leaves, shoots, flowers, seeds, bark, and unripe fruit. They serve as prey for animals like leopards, large eagles, and humans, and are important in seed dispersal due to their sloppy eat habits.