See Our Live Penguin Cam!
Check out Edinburgh Zoo's penguins with our LIVE Penguin Cam.
Plan Your Visit
Find out how to make the most of your trip and book tickets here.
Adopt an Animal!
Are you an ardent animal lover? looking for a gift idea?
Why not adopt an animal from either Edinburgh Zoo or Highland Wildlife Park for a whole year!
| 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
We currently have two groups of L'hoest's monkeys at Edinburgh Zoo. Ndidi, born in May 2004 came to us from San Diego Zoo in September 2010. Her male companion Zephir arrived in October 2011 from La Palmyre. He was born in November 2005.
Our second group is made up of male Kizizi, who was born here in May 2003. He has been paired with Tumbili our adult female who was born in April 2001 and arrived here in September 2010 from San Diego. In September 2011 Tumbili gave birth a female infant and she has been named Masindi.
In September 2012 Kizizi and Tumbili welcomed another infant into their family group.
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, has helped 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 on the RZSS website.
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
View our other animal profiles: