Diana Monkey - Habitat, Behavior, and Reproduction

Habitat, Behavior, and Reproduction

The Diana monkey is found in the primeval forests, and does not thrive in secondary forests. It is active during the day. It feeds at all levels of the canopy, rarely comes down to the ground. Diana monkeys retreat to the upper levels of the trees at night, though they do not make nests. They feed mainly on fruit and insects, but will also take flowers, young leaves and invertebrates, and are in turn preyed on by the Crowned Hawk-eagle, the Leopard, and the Common Chimpanzee and humans.

The Diana monkey is a noisy presence in the forest. Its marked coloration allows a wide range of visual social signals, and it also has a wide range of alarm calls, with different sounds for different predators. The monkey has distinctive alarm calls for different kinds of predators, and recent research has shown that other forest residents such as the Yellow-casqued Hornbill are able to discriminate these and take appropriate action.

Groups consist of a single male with a number of reproducing females and their infants. In good conditions, adult females reproduce annually. Gestation lasts about 5 months, and the young nurse for a further 6 months. Normally only a single infant is born. Although the young are born in a fairly well developed condition, with open eyes and able to grasp their mother, at least in zoo conditions Diana monkey mothers appear anxious and possessive, rarely letting young infants leave them. As infants grow, however, they become very playful. Juveniles reach sexual maturity at an age of about 3 years. Daughters remain in their mothers' social groups, while males leave their natal groups shortly before attaining sexual maturity.