Since I had a lot of fun writing about a monkey yesterday, I figured I would keep the trend going into the middle of the week.  Unlike the Crab-Eating Macaque who lived in Southeast Asia, the Mandrill likes to hang out in Africa.  So grab your cool safari hat and some binoculars since we are taking a surprise trip to Africa.  I hope you are as excited as I am about this trip!

The Mandrill is a medium to large sized primate weighing about 11 – 30 kg (25-60 lbs) and tends to be one of the larger species of monkey’s.  Manny the Mandrill (if I had a pet mandrill, I would call him Manny) is closely related to the baboon and at one time was thought to be a sub-species, however, it was later proven that they are indeed two separate species.

We can’t have a fact about the mandrill without mentioning their most obvious trait.  Of course I am talking about the colourful nose and bright red rump. As usual, the males are brighter than the females (read into that however you would like 🙂 ).  This beautiful colouring is used to attract the best mate possible for Manny and his friends.  The mandrill has also adapted long canine teeth that can be used for self-defense but they are usually shown as a sign of friendship among other mandrills.  Although it may look deadly with the large canines, they are actually just smiling at you.  Be polite and smile back!

This particular monkey is designed for spending the majority of their time on the ground where they forage for fruits, insects, reptiles and amphibians. What kind of monkey would they be if they didn’t hang out in the trees a little bit though? I am pretty sure this is the sole reason the mandrill heads to the trees to sleep.  I suppose they could do this to keep their monkey status card but it is most likely a safety precaution to get away from predators.

I hope you enjoyed today’s colourful post.  If you have a question then please don’t hesitate to ask in the comment box below.

Have a great day!