The golden monkey (''Cercopithecus kandti'') is a species of

Old World monkey Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...

found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo ...

, including four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

;

Volcanoes A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga and Kahuzi-Biéga, in the eastern

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. It is restricted to highland forest, especially near

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

. This species was previously thought to be a subspecies of the

blue monkey The blue monkey or diademed monkey (''Cercopithecus mitis'') is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia. It ...

(''Cercopithecus mitis''), and the two are similar overall, but the golden monkey has a golden-orange patch on the upper flanks and back. Not much is known about the golden monkey's behaviour. It lives in

social group In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...

s of up to 30 individuals. Its diet consists mainly of bamboo, leaves and fruit, though it is also thought to eat insects. Due to the gradual destruction of their habitat and recent

wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

in their limited habitat, the golden monkey is listed as endangered on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

Distribution and habitat

Due to its diet the golden monkey prefers a habitat with abundant fruit and bamboo. The golden monkey moves in between areas depending on the season. During the season where ripe fruit is available they remain in those areas. With the beginning of the rainy season, bamboo is shooting and the golden monkeys move to such habitats. Results of studies indicate that if there is an area consisting of mixed fruit and bamboo, the golden monkeys tend to frequent that area more than areas consisting of only bamboo. Authors of one study reported that golden monkeys are most frequently seen in bamboo forests, suggesting that the species prefers this habitat. The Virunga volcanic mountains have contrasting areas that have different food densities, in which the golden monkeys are capable of adjusting their diets to. In the Virunga massif, the golden monkeys have folivorous diets, containing bamboo shoots. However, in the Gishwati forest, the golden monkeys have a frugivorous diet, consuming mostly fruits and shrubs.

Behavior and ecology

The golden monkey can travel in various group sizes, and have been seen in small groups of three up to large groups of 62 monkeys. The groups that are found at higher elevations tend to be smaller. The golden monkey will often return to one of several different sleeping areas after a day of feeding. The monkeys often sleep in small subgroups of four, at the top of bamboo plants. They will often use a dense bamboo plant, or a combination of several bamboo plants that weave together to make a sufficient foundation for sleep. The golden monkey will often feed near the sleeping area and return to this same sleeping location day after day. Golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti) head 2.jpg, portrait Golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti) head.jpg, portrait Golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti) eating.jpg, eating bamboo Golden monkeys (Cercopithecus kandti) mating.jpg, mating

Diet

The golden monkey has a diet that consists primarily of young bamboo leaves, fruits, bamboo branchlets, bamboo shoots, invertebrates, flowers, and shrubs. However, the golden monkey is an opportunistic feeder and its diet can easily be influenced by the availability of fruit. During seasons where ripe fruit is available, the golden monkey tends to feed more on fruit. The golden monkey may also feed on various flowers and shrubs when they are available. The most frequent invertebrate eaten is the pupae of lepidopterous larvae picked from leaves. Bamboo tends to be the most frequently eaten because it is often more available year-round.

Conservation

The golden monkey is listed as endangered on the

. Certain activities may threaten the conservation of the golden monkey. Illegal activities that harm the ecosystem such as tree extraction and bamboo removal are serious threats. Some research indicates that tree removal poses a more serious risk.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q775343 golden monkey Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of Rwanda Mammals of Uganda golden monkey Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Taxa named by Paul Matschie