It looks like you made it to the weekend! I know all of you have been working very hard after a relaxing holiday, so I thought I should reward you with a Wild Fact about a cute and cuddly animal. Personally, I thought yesterday’s fact on the Anopheles Mosquito would have fallen into this category but I don’t think everyone sees it that way. So we are going to end the week with the fun and furry Blue Monkey, which is also known as the Diademed Monkey but that is tough to say so I think I will stick with the Blue Monkey. Is this monkey really blue? Find out in about 4.5 seconds…
How Blue is the Blue Monkey?
The short answer to this obvious question is “No”. The Blue Monkey is not noticeably blue, however, they have little hair on their face and this does occasionally give them a bluish appearance. For the most part the Blue Monkey is actually an olive or grey colour, except for the face which is typically dark with a yellowish patch on their forehead. Perhaps they should be called the “Yellowish, Olive/Grey Monkey”. Sure it doesn’t sound that great but at least it would be more accurate.
A Forest Home
So where can we find our “Blue” Monkey? This particular monkey is native to Central and East Africa in the canopy of the evergreen forests or the montane bamboo forests. I have never personally been to a “bamboo forest” but it sounds absolutely incredible. If any readers have experienced this intriguing forest, could you please let me know what it was like? Thanks! Anyway, back to our monkey friend….
Life is Not Fair
Since the Blue Monkey prefers to live in trees that are capable of providing both food (fruits and leaves) and cover, they are quickly losing their habitat. For some reason, humans prefer to clear out these useful trees to create pine plantations. After this occurs, the confused monkey will begin peeling the bark off of these new, exotic trees trying to find something to eat. Naturally, this doesn’t go over well with “us” and measures are taken to ensure the Blue Monkey “Pests” no longer damage the pine plantations. Is it just me or does this not seem fair to the monkey?
That does it for the week. Enjoy your weekend and I will see you on Monday.
