Congo white nose

Congo white nose

We are delighted that Nicola Engel-Schröder, Lisa and Stefan Schröder have taken on the sponsorship of the Congo white nose. Thank you very much!

With its blue-black face, light-coloured whiskers and white nose, to which it owes one of its German names, the Congo white-nose(Cercopithecus ascanius) is one of the more conspicuous species of the guenon family (Cercopithecidae). From Central Africa to Kenya, rainforests from the lowlands to the highlands are their preferred habitat, although the species can also be found in other types of forest within its range, such as gallery or swamp forests.

In harem groups, one male and several females with their offspring roam the lower and middle forest floors, especially early in the morning and late in the evening. Mainly fruits, but also insects, flowers and leaves are part of the daily diet. As with other guenons, the social behaviour of these extremely agile monkeys is pronounced and the communication possibilities are varied: group members rub their noses together to greet each other, listen to each other and play. Raising the eyebrows, stretching the face and lowering the head are among the typical visual forms of communication; the sounds they use to communicate with each other are sometimes reminiscent of birdsong.

Congo whitetail monkeys are relatively often found in a so-called "polyspecific association": they join together with groups of other guenon species, colobus monkeys or mangabeys. The individual groups stay at different tree heights and complement each other in terms of their preferred food. The advantage of this "monkey alliance" is that the different species use their different abilities to warn each other more effectively against common enemies, which include crowned eagles, leopards and chimpanzees.