An African monkey with a white beard that lives in forests near rivers.
It has a grey body, black limbs and tail, a white muzzle and long white beard, and an orange crown.
De Brazza’s monkey is often described by its white beard, but a 1978 field study asked how it moves without drawing attention. Radio tracking recorded small family groups with riverbank home ranges of about 4–10 hectares and daily movements of 250–1,010 metres. Range use may have varied with the fruiting of certain trees. The researchers interpreted group cohesion and cautious movement as ways to avoid attracting predators.
Riverside forest is therefore both a feeding area and a route where inconspicuous movement matters. Logging and farmland expansion can change feeding sites and paths. These measurements are not a species-wide average, however; one study cannot describe every population. Local surveys are needed to track riverside habitat and food resources.
IUCN Red List (IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group) · Least Concern (LC) · Global
The De Brazza’s monkey is listed as Least Concern (LC) globally in the IUCN Red List assessment. It was assessed on 20 August 2016 and published in 2019; the population trend is recorded as Unknown. The assessment describes the species as widespread and generally common, but notes local declines linked to forest loss for agriculture and timber, as well as hunting for bushmeat. In East Africa, it may also be killed as food or as an agricultural pest. The assessment records the species in several protected areas and in CITES Appendix II. Because a global category does not describe every local population, monitoring riverside forest and local numbers remains important.