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black-and-white colobus Uganda is one of Uganda’s thirteen primate species, living in the country’s tropical forests and offering outstanding wildlife watching opportunities. Black-and-white colobus monkey Uganda is one of the most beautiful and distinctive primates in the country, the flowing white mantle and tail contrasting dramatically with the jet-black body as groups leap between forest canopy trees. The black-and-white colobus, mainly the guereza in Uganda, is one of the country’s most beautiful monkeys: jet-black with a white face frame, a long white mantle along the sides and a bushy white-tipped tail that streams behind it as it leaps between trees. It is a leaf-eater, lives in small family groups, and is easy to see in Kibale, Bigodi, Bwindi, Budongo and even Entebbe’s Botanical Gardens. Here is how it lives and where to find it.
Black-and-White Colobus Monkey Uganda: The Leafy Canopy Primate
Appearance and name
Adults have glossy black fur with a white beard and brow, a cape of long white hair along the back and flanks, and a long tail with a white tuft. Newborns are completely white and darken over their first months, which makes them stand out in a group. The name colobus comes from the Greek for “mutilated”, because these monkeys have only a tiny stump of a thumb, an adaptation for swinging and leaping through branches. A related species, the Angolan colobus, lives in parts of the Albertine Rift, including the Rwenzori area.
Diet and behaviour
Colobus eat mainly leaves, along with some fruit, seeds and flowers. A complex, chambered stomach with bacteria allows them to digest tough leaves, so they spend long periods resting while food ferments, and they move less than many other monkeys. Groups usually include one adult male, several females and young. Males give deep, rolling roars, especially at dawn, which carry through the forest. They spend most of their time high in the canopy but sometimes come down to the forest edge. See our guide to primate communication.
Where to see them in Uganda
Kibale and the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary are excellent, often with red colobus and other monkeys nearby. In Bwindi, look at the forest edge around Buhoma, and in Murchison Falls in Budongo Forest. Entebbe’s Botanical Gardens and Mabira Forest are easy options near Kampala. Their skins were once widely traded, but today they are protected. See our guides to Kibale, Uganda’s primates and the red colobus. The gorilla permit costs US$800, or US$600 in April, May and November.
Frequently asked questions
Kibale, Bigodi, Bwindi, Budongo, Mabira and Entebbe’s Botanical Gardens.
Mainly leaves, plus some fruit and seeds.
Newborns are born white and gain adult colours over a few months.
A reduced thumb helps them swing and leap through branches.
