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| Common Name: | Lhoest's monkey | Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Latin Name: | Cercopithecus lhoesti | Diet: | Omnivore |
| Type: | Mammal | Habitat: | Woodlands, Tropical Rainforests |
| Native To: | Africa | Social Unit: | Group |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Vulnerable |
L’Hoest’s monkeys at Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo presently has a family group of L'Hoest's monkeys. The adult female, Semliki, was born here in March 2002, as was her brother, Kizizi. Kizizi was born in May 2003. We also have an adult male named Tarbo who was born in October 1992. He arrived here from Colchester Zoo in September 2004. Tarbo and Semliki produced a baby in January 2009. This baby was named Etoumbi and has been sexed as female. Kizizi will soon be paired off with an unrelated female of his own. In April 2010, another baby was born to the group. The newest baby's name is Fozea.
Edinburgh Zoo is involved in several programs to help this species to survive and thrive. The European breeding programme for the L’Hoest’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 L'Hoest'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.
Where it can be found at Edinburgh Zoo
Monkey House
L’Hoest’s monkeys in the wild
The L’Hoest’s monkey (Cercopithecus lhoesti) can be found in small areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. They can be found in a range of different kinds of forested areas, including gallery forest, mature lowland rain forests, wooded savannah at mountain slopes, and forest borders.
L’Hoest’s monkeys have a short, brown coat with a reddish-brown colour across the back and dark brown or black underparts. They have a white chin ruff, or “beard,” and white patches under their eyes. They live in groups that are dominated by females. There is usually only one male in a group, but sometimes more than one male will be included. If this is the case, there is competition for dominance between the males. Only one male is allowed to mate with all of the females.
L’Hoest’s monkeys eat leaves, seeds, flowers, fruits, and insects. They also occasionally eat bird eggs, lizards, and even small birds. They travel mainly on the forest floor, but flee up into the trees if threatened.
The population of L’Hoest’s monkeys in the wild has shown large decreases, and experts expect further declines in coming years. One of the main threats to L’Hoest’s monkeys is deforestation of their habitat. This is mainly due to expansion of farming. L’Hoest’s monkeys are also hunted for bushmeat, and are frequently snared or shot by hunters. Because the L’Hoest’s monkeys’ range is an area of warfare and intense human conflict, these threats are made even worse. Because of these threats and the decreases in L’Hoest’s monkey populations, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed this species as Vulnerable. This means that the L’Hoest’s monkey is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Breeding programme category: EEP
IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable
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