A monkey of equatorial African rainforests, with adult males known for brightly coloured faces.
Adult males have red noses and lips, with blue or purple ridges beside the nose; females have less vivid colours.
Mandrills groom their companions. Their choice of grooming partners is associated with the parasites those partners carry. They also change the time spent near fecal odors according to differences between samples.
A study published in 2017 examined a free-ranging group in Lékédi Park, southern Gabon. Analyses of twenty-five animals observed from October 2012 to April 2015 linked their behavior with fecal parasite examinations. Animals carrying more types of intestinal protozoa received less grooming from companions. Grooming events involving the area around the anus, where fecal material can accumulate, were also less frequent for partners carrying more protozoan types.
In a separate experiment, sixteen mandrills housed in forested enclosures received thirty odor-choice tests. Fecal samples collected from the same companion on different dates, with higher and lower protozoan richness, were rubbed onto bamboo stems on either side. Overall, the mandrills spent less time near samples with more protozoan types. Even when samples came from the same companion, they differed in how long they stayed near the scented stems.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Hunting for meat and forest loss and fragmentation threaten mandrills. At Lopé National Park, Gabon, the Wildlife Conservation Society works with the national parks authority and local communities. Its program trains and recruits local guides, tracks mandrill groups, uses camera traps in forest and savanna, and provides environmental education. WCS also supports anti-poaching and surveillance work by park staff, the forest ministry and neighboring forestry companies.