Schmidt's guenon

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Guenons (pronounced “GWEN-nons”) are medium-sized monkeys that are widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
They are characterized by colorful fur, face ‘masks’, large cheek pouches (used for storing food), rump pads, and long tails which help with balance while maneuvering through trees.
The Schmidt’s guenon has a white nose, puffy white cheek pouches, and a long chestnut-red tail. The skin around their eyes can be grayish-blue in color.
Body color and certain gestures are used as part of the guenon’s complex visual communication system.
Guenons are a very colorful type of monkey, with the Schmidt’s being the most distinctly colored of all.
Schmidt’s guenons are 12 to 24 inches long with the tail being 21 to 35 inches in length. Males weigh an average of 7 to 10 pounds, whereas females are 7 to 8 pounds.

Range – East Central Africa (Central African Republic, Kenya, Angola, Zambia, Uganda)
Habitat – Rainforests, deciduous forests, swamplands, and woodlands, usually near rivers and streams

Wild – Fruits and their seeds, leaves, shoots, occasionally young birds, bird eggs, small reptiles, insects
Zoo – Vegetables, fruits, lettuce, leaves, insects, monkey chow (dry food with vitamins and nutrients)

Female guenons become sexually mature around 4 years of age; males become sexually mature around 6 years.
They generally breed throughout the year.
The gestation period is approximately 135-200 days. The female usually gives birth to just one offspring at a time; they rarely have twins.
Newborns cling to their mothers by gripping the fur on her stomach, while also being supported by her hands. They will begin to eat solid food only 1 or 2 months after birth.
Offspring do not receive any type of paternal care, only maternal.

Major threats: Habitat destruction, illegal bush meat trade
Schmidt’s guenons are listed as a species of Least Concern because they are found in a wide variety of habitats and forest fragments and can withstand some hunting pressure.
Even though Schmidt’s guenons are common in the wild, they are still considered threatened due to the deforestation and hunting going on in many African countries.
With the increase in roads for logging in Africa, guenons are among the main targets hunted by humans for the illegal bush meat trade. Some species are listed as critically endangered.

Schmidt’s have many common names such as red-tailed monkeys, black-cheeked white-nosed monkeys, white spot-nosed monkeys, and Schmidt's spot-nosed guenons.
Different guenon species often understand and also can react appropriately to each others alarm calls. Guenons make over 22 distinct vocalizations including alarm calls, chirps, low croaking noises and loud sneezing sounds.
Many guenon species have been seen spending time with other guenons and even other types of monkeys. This may help them to eat a more balanced diet, and also keep a better look out for predators.
Chimpanzees, leopards, and eagles are a few natural predators that guenons must face.
Guenons are social and live in family groups of up to 50 individuals. However, the troop may form smaller groups when available food sources become limited.
A guenon’s cheek pouches can hold almost as much food as its stomach!
Most guenons spend a lot of time traveling and foraging high up in the forest canopy, although a few different species spend most of their time on the ground.
Families may consist of one dominate male, several females, and their offspring. Other males drift in and out of certain territories, or sometimes form separate bachelor groups.
Monkeys in this genus, Cercopithecus, are native to the continent of Africa. Guenons are the largest group of African primates.

Zoo Atlanta. (2010). Schmidt’s Guenon. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from the Zoo Atlanta Website: http://www.zooatlanta.org/home/animals/mammals/schmidts_guenons
San Diego Zoo. (2009). Mammals: Guenon. Retrieved February 2, 2009, from the San Diego Zoo Web site: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-guenon.html
Oates, J.F., Hart, J., Groves, C.P. & Butynski, T.M. (2008). Cercopithecus ascanius. Retrieved January 16, 2010 from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Web site: http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/4212/0
Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. (2009). Animal Information: Schmidt’s Guenon. Retrieved February 2, 2009, from the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere Web site: http://www.nashvillezoo.org/animals_detail.asp?animalID=19
Guenons - General Characteristics, Breeding, Habitat, Activity, Guenon Relatives, In Captivity. (2009). Guenon - Breeding. Retrieved February 5, 2009, from the Guenons Web site: http://science.jrank.org/pages/3161/Guenons-Breeding.html
Zoo Atlanta Keeper Staff

Animal Team Review: January 2025 (Pam Miller)

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