Scientifically referred to as the Lophocebus albigena, A grey cheeked mangabey is an ancient monkey with a few unique features and baboon related traits.

They are commonly found in the Central African forests; from Cameroon through to Uganda. In Uganda, they are mainly found in Kibale Forest National Park. Places like Semuliki Valley National Park and Kalinzu Forest are also claimed to have a small population of these apes.

A Grey-cheeked Mangabey is a very dark monkey that looks much more like a small and hairy baboon. The think brown fur on its body is almost unnoticeable. Anyone can think its black.

It has a small golden color around its neck. Its males are a bit bigger than the females.

These apes are quite hard to identify but if you have seen several of its photos before then you will not have a hard time recognizing them.

Where to find the Grey-Cheeked Mangabey in Uganda

A big population of the grey-checked Mangabey is found is Kibale Forest National Park. Semuliki Valley National Park and Kalinzu forest have recorded a small population too.

These apes primarily live in various central African forest habitats. It is claimed they like inhabiting primary forests and swampy places. Only a few live in secondary forests.

In the past, some authors claimed these primates like living on top of the forest and hardly come down but of recent a small population was seen collected food from the forest floor.

What do these Mangabeys eat?

The grey-cheeked Mangabey survives on fruits, figs, flowers, shoots and insects. Their primary food is fruits. The rest come as a supplement.

Behavior

These apes live in groups of five to thirty individuals. They do not have dominant males. Almost all of them live a balanced life.

When a young male becomes an adult, it flees their group of birth and joins other groups. Only females remain in the group of their birth.

In case a group becomes too big, they split peacefully to form smaller groups. Its very rare to find the males fighting for authority. They also avoid each other to stay away from trouble.