The Lhotse’s monkeys, also known as mountain monkeys, are found in Montana forests of the Albertine Rift, including western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are large, patterned monkeys with long limbs and tails, known for their terrestrial habits and preference for dense, regenerating forests.
Lhotse’s monkey (Allochrocebus lhoesti), also known as the mountain monkey, is a guenon found in the upper eastern Congo Basin. These species of monkeys is easily seen Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Semuliki and in Mgahinga gorilla national parks even other forests in the country.
This area was called “Monkey Mountains,” because early settlers deemed the river bluffs too steep for even monkeys to climb. The Lewis and Clark Expedition opened up this portion of the state for settlement, when it passed along the southern portion of the area in thousands years ago.
Monkeys are Clever, social animals. They are known for running and leaping through trees with ease. Like apes and humans, monkeys belong to the group of mammals called primates. Monkeys look somewhat like apes such as chimpanzees, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys and gorillas.
Habitat Lhotse’s monkeys live in Africa. They are native to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. They are real ‘forest monkeys’ who spend a lot of time on the ground.
In the wild, rhesus monkeys thrive on leaves, seeds, fruits, roots, insects and herbs. In captivity, monkeys primarily eat monkey chow, and an array of fresh, seasonal fruit, vegetables and nuts and worms, snails are also on heir menu.
A non-human-caused threat is chimpanzees, which have been observed preying on L’Hoest’s monkeys in DRC. L’Hoest’s monkeys are the most important primate prey of leopards in the some Forest. They are also preyed upon by crown hawk eagles.
The monkeys also have calls that are specific to certain predators. One call means “Look out, leopard below!” Another means “Heads up, eagle above!” When one of these cries goes up, it’s time for action. Usually the male directly approaches the predator.
Others can be medium to large size predators, such as Spotted and Striped Hyenas, Leopards and Chimpanzees; the Red Colobus Monkey has been heavily hunted by Chimps. The largest known predators to feed on monkeys are pythons and lions.
Risks from monkey bites include serious wound infections, herpes B virus and rabies. If a person is bitten or scratched by a monkey, the wound should be thoroughly cleaned with soap and water. There is no specific word for female monkey. The female monkey is called ‘FEMALE MONKEY’; and the male monkey is called ‘MALE MONKEY’. However, there are various words that are used for monkeys’ groups. Words such as ‘troop’ and ‘tribe’ other name are also given to group of monkeys.
It seems like the monkeys don’t use vision to recognize their own babies, but instead initially bond with the newborns based on touch. Analogous to imprinting in baby birds, female monkeys appear to bond with the first soft thing they encounter after giving birth, and they consider it to be their baby.
When feeding and sleeping, L’Hoest’s monkeys will move higher into the trees and individuals will have favorite sleeping spots. Females will usually give birth to a single infant every other year, after a five month gestation period.
Females weigh approximately 3.5 kg, while males weigh approximately 6 kg. In the wild, their lifespan is unknown, but in captivity one individual lived to be 24 years old.
