The greater spot-nosed monkey is a West and Central African guenon with a conspicuous white spot on its nose and dark fur. It eats fruit and seeds and spends much of its time in trees.
A white spot covers the nose, and the fur ranges from olive to black. Cheek pouches let it temporarily carry food while foraging.
In a forest in the Republic of the Congo, researchers showed wild Greater Spot-Nosed Monkeys a leopard model and watched the females’ alarm calls and the male’s response. After females called, males sometimes approached and began defending the group by mobbing the model. The experiment separated male calls from the male’s actual defensive behavior.
Females stopped calling when the male took over group defense, but not merely after hearing his alarm call. When recruitment did not succeed or the male did not mob the model, females continued calling for longer. The experiment documents how female calls can recruit a male to help protect the group.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Females stopped alarm calling when the male began group defense, but not merely after hearing his alarm call.