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| Common Name: | Hamlyn's monkey | Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Latin Name: | Cercopithehecus hamlyni | Diet: | Frugivore |
| Type: | Mammal | Habitat: | Tropical Rainforests |
| Native To: | Africa | Social Unit: | Group |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Vulnerable |
Hamlyn’s monkeys at Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo has three adult Hamlyn’s monkeys. Kenge, the male, was born in August 1991 and came to us from Amsterdam Zoo in December 2003. Shaba, one of the females, was born here in May 1994. In May 2007 Shaba gave birth to a daughter called Manjano, which means "yellow" in Swahili.
Edinburgh Zoo is involved in several programs to help this species to survive and thrive. The European breeding programme for the Hamlyn’s monkey is managed here at Edinburgh Zoo.
In addition, Edinburgh Zoo's parent company, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, is helping to fund the Nyungwe Primate Ecology Project, which was put in place to study Hamlyn’s monkeys in Rwanda. The purpose of the research is to:
- promote conservation
- study the monkeys' feeding habits and range
- determine how to prevent crop-raiding
- find out what part this primate plays in the forest’s ecosystem
You can read more about the Nyungwe Primate Ecology Project in our Conservation and Research section.
Hamlyn’s monkeys in the wild
The Hamlyn’s monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), also known as the Owl-faced monkey, can be found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in small areas of Rwanda, inhabiting rainforests and bamboo forests. It eats bamboo shoots and the leaves and shoots of other trees, herbs like wild celery, fruits and berries, and seeds. This species typically lives in small social groups with one dominant male.
The Hamlyn’s monkey has a grizzled grey coat that darkens to black on the under-parts and limbs. It has a long tail that ends with a dark tuft. In adults, the grey coat develops an olive tinge on the back of the head and shoulders. Male Hamlyn’s monkeys are larger than females, with males typically weighing 7 – 10 kg (about 15 – 22 lb) and females weighing 4.5 – 6 kg (about 10 – 13 lb). Both sexes have the distinctive white or yellow-cream coloured stripe across the brow ridge and from the bridge of the nose to the upper lip. This stripe creates the owl-like appearance that gives the monkey its name. Baby Hamlyn’s monkeys are born with yellow-blonde fur, which darkens as they mature.
Hamlyn’s monkeys have elongated fingers on their distinctive hands and feet. These elongated fingers are thought to help the monkeys effectively grip wet bamboo.
Hamlyn’s monkeys face many threats in the wild. Habitat loss due to farming and intensive hunting of this species for meat have caused the owl-faced monkey’s population to decline. Because of these threats and the losses in Hamlyn’s monkey population, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the Hamlyn’s monkey as a Vulnerable species. This means that the Hamlyn’s monkey is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Breeding programme category: EEP
IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable
View our other animal profiles: