Origin
The territory extends from the eastern regions of South Africa to Zimbabwe, Kenya and Zaire.
Some populations live in the forests of Southern and eastern Africa.
The diadem monkey is in danger of extinction because its silvatic habitat is gradually restricted due to deforestation.
Feeding the monkey with the tiara
When they go in search of food, the animals traverse their entire life territory. Their main food is fruit, but they also consume seeds, flowers, buds, leaves and bark of trees, as well as insects, lizards, birds and small mammals.
This varied menu also applies to other cercopiteci. The diadem monkey catches food using one or both arms and carries it to its mouth. While feeding it maintains its balance with the help of its tail.
African farmers and foresters consider diadem monkeys harmful, as they occasionally invade their fields and peel the trunks of young trees from plantations.
Appearance monkey with Tiara
The coat is soft and thick, on the legs and shoulders the color can vary from dark brown to black-blue. On the back and sides it has a grayish-brown hue.
The head is round, has a short nose. Above the eyes shows "eyebrows"; on the ears shows tufts of white hair.
The hind limbs are longer than the forelimbs. The monkey with the diadem moves skillfully on the branches.
Long tail, serves to maintain balance, usually the monkey keeps it arched.
The body length is 40-70cm and the tail length is 70-100cm. The weight of the male is 8-10kg and the female 4-5kg.
Behavior monkey with Tiara
The fearful and withdrawn diadem monkey spends most of its time among the branches of trees in the forests of mountainous areas, on the edges of rivers with rich vegetation or in bamboo forests.
Diadem monkeys live in groups and have maximum activity in the morning and evening. The animals spend warm afternoons in the shade of trees. At noon they tend to each other's fur.
A group is usually composed of 10-30 females and one dominant male. Because females stay with their mother all their lives, females within the group are related.
The position of the male within the group is not stable, sometimes it can live for several weeks inside the group, and sometimes it can lead the group for even a few years.
Although groups of animals live in well-defined spaces, which they protect from neighboring groups, during the day smaller groups mix with each other. At night the animals return to their favorite places for rest and sleep lying on the branches.
Reproduction monkey with Tiara
The mating period varies depending on the habitat: in humid tropical forests it falls in the dry season, on higher surfaces it usually occurs in autumn, and in the other regions throughout the year.
The choice of pair is a complicated event, because the males and females ready for mating already know each other. If there are several females in the group ready for mating, another male is temporarily accepted. Females spawn every two years.
Usually only one offspring is brought into the world, at night, at the resting place of the females. After the appearance the cub immediately clings to its mother's fur. With the help of the long tail and maintain balance, they lean skillfully or climb among the branches of trees.
After this the cub climbs on the mother's back, and occasionally makes short drams in search of food and to learn how to live with the other members of the group.
Once sexual maturity is reached, the young male leaves the group and lives alone or joins a group composed of several females.
