Description

Black-and-white colobuses (or colobi) are Old World monkeys of the genus Colobus, native to Africa. Colobuses are herbivorous, eating leaves, fruit, flowers, and twigs. Their habitats include primary and secondary forests, riverine forests, and wooded grasslands; they are found more in higher-density logged forests than in other primary forests.

Their ruminant-like digestive systems have enabled these leaf-eaters to occupy niches that are inaccessible to other primates.

Fun Facts

Colobuses live in territorial groups of about nine individuals, based upon a single male with a number of females and their offspring. Newborn colobuses are completely white. Cases of allomothering are documented, which means members of the troop other than the infant's biological mother care for it.

Colobuses are important for seed dispersal through their sloppy eating habits, as well as through their digestive systems. They are prey for many forest predators, and are threatened by hunting for the bushmeat trade, logging, and habitat destruction.