Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi is most com­monly found in the De­mo­c­ra­tic Re­pub­lic of Congo and areas in Uganda. There are three sub­species of Wolf’s mon­key: Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi wolfi oc­curs be­tween the Congo and Sankuru Rivers, Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi py­ro­gaster is found be­tween the Kwango and Ka­sai-Lu­lua Rivers, and Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi el­e­gans is found be­tween the Lo­mami and Lu­al­aba Rivers. (Groves, 2001)

• Biogeographic Regions
• ethiopian
  • native

Habi­tat

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi oc­cu­pies pri­mary and sec­ondary low­land rain­for­est habi­tats. Wolf's mon­keys are com­monly found in swamp forests and sec­ondary forests along river­banks. They spend a ma­jor­ity of their time be­tween 15 and 25 me­ters high in the canopy where they for­age and sleep. (Groves, 2001; Napier and Napier, 1967; Rowe, 1996)

• Habitat Regions
• tropical
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• rainforest

• Other Habitat Features
• riparian

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Wolf's mon­keys have dark grey fur dor­sally with a red­dish patch in the cen­ter of the back. The ven­tral fur is usu­ally white or pale yel­low. The fore­limbs are dark grey to black while the hindlimbs are a light red­dish-brown color. The dis­tal half of the tail is black while the prox­i­mal half is a gray­ish col­oration. The face is char­ac­ter­ized by a black patch ex­tend­ing from ear to ear, from below the eyes to the top of the head. Within this black area is a patch of white fur that grows from the brow. The cheeks and chin are the same whitish-yel­low as the ven­tral fur and the ear tufts are often white or slightly red­dish. The scro­tum is blue, which may be im­por­tant in mate se­lec­tion. Blue scro­tal color is com­mon in many Cer­co­p­ithe­cus species and re­lated gen­era. Wolf's mon­keys have is­chial cal­losi­ties (cal­lus-like areas of skin on the but­tocks). This pro­vides a de­gree of com­fort while sit­ting on branches and night rest­ing. These cal­losi­ties are typ­i­cal of the fam­ily Cer­co­p­ithe­ci­dae. ("Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety", 2007; Flea­gle, 1999; Napier and Napier, 1967; Rowe, 1996)

Being an ar­bo­real quadruped, Wolf's mon­keys have fore­limbs and hindlimbs that are fairly equal in length giv­ing it an in­ter­mem­bral index num­ber close to 100. The head and body length of males varies from 445 to 511 mm with an av­er­age of 485 mm. The length of the tail in males ranges from 695 to 822 mm with an av­er­age of 779 mm. There has not been enough data col­lected from fe­males to ada­que­tely de­ter­mine these mea­sure­ments. Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi is a sex­u­ally di­mor­phic species. The weight of males ranges from 3.8 to 4.2 kg, fe­males are con­sid­er­ably smaller, rang­ing from 2.4 to 3.1 kg. Males also have larger ca­nine teeth than fe­males.

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

• Range mass

  2.4 to 4.2 kg

  5.29 to 9.25 lb

• Range length

  445 to 511 mm

  17.52 to 20.12 in

• Average length

  485 mm

  19.09 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

The mat­ing sys­tem is a sin­gle-male, multi-fe­male polyg­y­nous sys­tem. There is usu­ally one dom­i­nant male and some­times sev­eral less dom­i­nant males that mate with a larger num­ber of fe­males. In groups with many fe­males and a sin­gle male, males from nearby bach­e­lor groups will often come into the group to mate with fe­males and then re­treat to their bach­e­lor group. Cop­u­la­tion is usu­ally ini­ti­ated by fe­males. They will often pre­sent their gen­i­tals to a male as a way of en­tic­ing him. Though it seems to serve no re­pro­duc­tive func­tion, fe­males will often en­gage in “pout­ing” dur­ing cop­u­la­tion. This means that the fe­male will look back over her shoul­der and pout out her bot­tom lip at the male. (Flea­gle, 1999)

• Mating System
• polygynous

Wolf's mon­keys give birth to one off­spring at a time, though twins occur rarely. Most births occur from June to De­cem­ber when there is the great­est abun­dance of food. Ges­ta­tion length is from 160 to 170 days and the young are nursed for 3 months after birth. Fe­males pro­duce their first young at 4 to 5 years old. ("Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety", 2007; Estes, 1991; Flea­gle, 1999; "Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety", 2007; Estes, 1991; Flea­gle, 1999; "Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety", 2007; Estes, 1991; Flea­gle, 1999; "Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety", 2007; Estes, 1991; Flea­gle, 1999; Nowak, 1999)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• year-round breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• viviparous

• Breeding interval

  Interbirth interval in Wolf's monkeys is not documented. Other Cercopithecus species generally give birth every year, although interbirth intervals can be as high as 5 years in some populations.

• Breeding season

  There is no fixed breeding season, although most births occur from June to December.

• Range number of offspring

  1 to 2

• Average number of offspring

  1

• Range gestation period

  160 to 170 days

• Average weaning age

  180 days

• Average time to independence

  180 days

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  4.5 years

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  4.5 years

Not much in­for­ma­tion is known about the parental in­vest­ment of Wolf's mon­keys, though it has been ob­served that in­fants will ride on the backs of their moth­ers for the first few months after birth. Fe­male young stay in their natal group, male young dis­perse from their natal group when they be­come in­de­pen­dent. (Napier and Napier, 1967; Nowak, 1999)

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• post-independence association with parents

Lifes­pan/Longevity

The av­er­age lifes­pan is re­ported to be 20 to 26 years. ("Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety", 2007)

• Typical lifespan
  Status: wild

  20 to 26 years

Be­hav­ior

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi is a di­ur­nal species with an ar­bo­real quadrupedal style of lo­co­mo­tion. They tend to re­side and for­age at an av­er­age height of 15 me­ters above the ground. Wolf's mon­keys are most ac­tive in the morn­ing and evening.

Wolf’s mon­keys live in sin­gle-male, multi-fe­male groups. Post ado­les­cent males leave their natal group and form bach­e­lor groups. These bach­e­lors will oc­ca­sion­ally try to over­take the dom­i­nant male of an­other group and gain re­pro­duc­tive rights to the fe­males. Fe­males stay in their natal group.

Group size varies from 1 to 12 in­di­vid­u­als. Larger groups will often split into smaller for­ag­ing groups while search­ing for patchy foods such as fruits and in­sects. These mon­keys are also found in mixed-species groups. They are most often seen as­so­ci­at­ing with black mangabeys (Lopho­ce­bus ater­rimus), about 80% of the time. Less often they are seen with red-tailed guenons (Cer­co­p­ithe­cus as­ca­nius) and An­golan black-and-white colobus mon­keys (Colobus an­golen­sis). (Flea­gle, 1999; Nowak, 1999; Rowe, 1996)

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal
• scansorial
• diurnal
• motile
• sedentary
• territorial
• social
• dominance hierarchies

Home Range

There is cur­rently not enough data about the size of day ranges and home ranges of C. wolfi. Both fe­males and males have been ob­served ac­tively de­fend­ing ter­ri­to­ries, but it is un­clear what the bound­aries and size of these ter­ri­to­ries are. Home ranges in other Cer­co­p­ithe­cus species vary widely, from 3 to 130 hectares. (Flea­gle, 1999)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Vo­cal­iza­tions of Wolf’s mon­keys in­cludes 2 con­tact calls, 2 travel calls, and 3 alarm calls. The most com­mon con­tact call is used while for­ag­ing. These mon­keys let out an oc­ca­sional grunt­ing sound to main­tain vocal con­tact and know the po­si­tions of other mem­bers of the group. These calls are made more often when for­ag­ing in large groups or in areas of low vis­i­bil­ity, such as the upper areas of the canopy. Vocal com­mu­ni­ca­tion is also more com­mon while hunt­ing for in­sects than for­ag­ing for fruits and leaves. To com­mu­ni­cate ter­ri­to­ri­al­ity, males let out a boom call, which is a low, short tone that can be car­ried long dis­tances due to res­onat­ing air sacs. A com­mon alarm call is the sneeze call. It is a short call re­sem­bling a the sound of a sneeze.

This species also uses vi­sual com­mu­ni­ca­tion to con­vey threats and ag­gres­sion. Males fix their eyes on the tar­get, move back their ears to stretch out the fa­cial skin, and re­tract their scalp. This is called star­ing. Along with star­ing, they will some­times open their mouths, but keep the teeth hid­den. To pre­sent an even greater threat, they will stare with their mouth open, but begin bob­bing their head. A fear gri­mace is used as an ap­pease­ment sig­nal to re­duce ag­gres­sion in ag­gres­sive en­coun­ters. This is ac­com­plished by re­tract­ing the lips to show the teeth, but keep­ing the teeth closed to­gether. Males also per­form a vi­sual cue that re­sem­bles yawn­ing. The mouth is opened and the ca­nines are re­vealed to con­vey ten­sion or ag­gres­sion.

Like other pri­mates, Wolf's mon­keys also ex­ten­sively use groom­ing for tac­tile so­cial com­mu­ni­ca­tion. The use of chem­i­cal cues, such as pheromones, is likely, but un­doc­u­mented. (Estes, 1991; Mulavwa, 1991; Rowe, 1996)

• Communication Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

Food Habits

Wolf's mon­keys are fru­giv­o­rous, but they sup­ple­ment their diet heav­ily with leaves, seeds, and flow­ers. At Sa­longa Na­tional Park in the De­mo­c­ra­tic Re­pub­lic of Congo, Wolf's mon­keys have been recorded con­sum­ing 32% fruit (4% fleshy and 27% arils), 27% seeds, 29% leaves, and 11% flow­ers. Though not a pri­mary means of sus­te­nance, Wolf’s mon­keys will oc­ca­sion­ally feed on nec­tars and in­sects if they are read­ily avail­able. The prin­ci­pal feed­ing time for this species is dur­ing the early morn­ing and early af­ter­noon. (Chap­man, et al., 2002; Napier and Napier, 1967)

• Primary Diet
• herbivore
  • frugivore

• Animal Foods
• insects

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit
• nectar
• flowers

Pre­da­tion

Since this species is ar­bo­real, its main preda­tors are avian, pri­mar­ily crowned hawk ea­gles (Stephanoae­tus coro­na­tus). When these birds are spot­ted by Wolf's mon­keys, they will sound an alarm call and re­treat to the ground. Though less com­mon, leop­ards also pose a threat to this species. More re­cently, hu­mans have be­come a major preda­tor of this species for the bush meat mar­ket. In ad­di­tion, their pri­mary habi­tat is being de­stroyed at an ex­tremely rapid pace for lum­ber. ("Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety", 2007; Rowe, 1996)

• Known Predators

  • crowned hawk eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus)
  • leopards (Panthera pardus)

Ecosys­tem Roles

Wolf's mon­keys are prob­a­bly im­por­tant in seed dis­per­sal of food trees and they may con­tribute to pol­li­na­tion when they drink nec­tar.

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Wolf's mon­keys are one of the species hunted in the bush­meat mar­ket. Their meat pro­vides food to local in­hab­i­tants and a prod­uct to trade for other goods. They are also likely to play a role in the re­gen­er­a­tion of healthy forests through seed dis­per­sal.

• Positive Impacts
• food

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Wolf's mon­keys oc­ca­sion­ally raid local agri­cul­tural crops and have a po­ten­tial for car­ry­ing dis­eases that can be con­ta­gious to hu­mans.

• Negative Impacts
• injures humans
  • carries human disease
• crop pest

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi has not been eval­u­ated by the IUCN. As a pri­mate, C. wolfi is on ap­pen­dix II in CITES.

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  Appendix II

Con­trib­u­tors

Tanya Dewey (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Bran­den Plat­ter (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Ore­gon, Stephen Frost (ed­i­tor, in­struc­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Ore­gon.

Ref­er­ences

2007. "Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion So­ci­ety" (On-line). Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 15, 2007 at http://​www.​congogorillaforest.​com/​congo-meet-wolfsmonkey.

Chap­man, C., L. Chap­man, M. Cords, J. Gathua, A. Gau­tier-Hion, J. Lam­bert, K. Rode, C. Tutin, L. White. 2002. The Guenons: Di­ver­sity and Adap­ta­tion in African Mon­keys. New York: Kluwer Aca­d­e­mic/Plenum Pub­lish­ers. Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 09, 2007 at http://​www.​anthropology.​wisc.​edu/​lambert/​pdf/​Chapmanetal2002.​pdf.

Estes, R. 1991. The Be­hav­ior Guide to African Mam­mals. Berke­ley, CA: Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­for­nia Press.

Flea­gle, J. 1999. Pri­mate Adap­ta­tion and Evo­lu­tion. San Diego, CA: Aca­d­e­mic Press.

Groves, C. 2001. Pri­mate Tax­on­omy. Wash­ing­ton, DC: Smith­son­ian In­sti­tu­tion Press.

Ihobe, H. 1997. Non-an­tag­o­nis­tic Re­la­tions Be­tween Wild Bono­bos and Two Species of Guenons. Pri­mates, Vol­ume 38, Issue 4: 351-357. Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 11, 2007 at http://​0-www.​metapress.​com.​janus.​uoregon.​edu/​content/​r7mu77606r682116/​fulltext.​pdf.

Mulavwa, M. 1991. Notes On the Call of Mona Mon­keys (Cer­co­p­ithe­cus wolfi) in the Ma­bali For­est: Fre­quency of Emis­sion and Daily Ac­tiv­i­ties. Pp. 1 in A Ehara, T Kimura, O Tak­e­naka, M Iwamoto, eds. Pri­ma­tol­ogy Today Pro­ceed­ings of the XIII Con­gress of the In­ter­na­tional Pri­ma­to­log­i­cal So­ci­ety. Am­s­ter­dam: El­se­vier Sci­ence Pub­lish­ers.

Napier, J., P. Napier. 1967. A Hand­book of Liv­ing Pri­mates. Lon­don: Aca­d­e­mic Press.

Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Pri­mates of the World. Bal­ti­more, Mary­land: The Johns Hop­kins Uni­ver­sity Press.

Rowe, N. 1996. The Pic­to­r­ial Guide to the Liv­ing Pri­mates. East Hamp­ton, New York: Pogo­nias Press.