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Diana Monkey

Cercopithecus diana
The Diana Monkey is a Vulnerable species that is only found in Sierra Leone and Ghana, in West Africa. They live high up in the trees where they feeds on fruits, leaves, and invertebrates.

Diana Monkeys live in social groups that number between 5 and 50 individuals, and these groups tend to contain only one breeding male (who will most likely not stay with that group for his entire life; the males move around).

Within these groups they have a polygynous mating system, meaning that the one male will breed with multiple females. The females typically only have one infant at a time, though the sex determines what the young Monkey will do when it grows up. Females stay with their mothers for their entire lives, but males will leave the group and attempt to start their own families.

Sadly, hunting and deforestation has caused a drop in the Diana Monkey population. They live in a few protected areas, and are found in captivity, but more must be done to keep them from further declining in the wild.
IUCN Status : Vulnerable
Location : West Africa
Size : Body length up to 21in (53cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Primates
Family : Cercopithecidae -- Genus : Cercopithecus -- Species : C. diana
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