A grass-eating monkey of the Ethiopian highlands.
Both sexes have a bare chest patch. Males are larger than females and develop a long mantle around the shoulders.
Geladas are called grass eaters, but long-term studies reveal a changing menu. At Guassa, Ethiopia, seven years of observations recorded at least 56 plant species, 20 invertebrates, one reptile and one bird’s eggs. Graminoids made up 56.8% of the annual diet and forbs 37.8%, with strong month-to-month variation.
In a separate 18-month study, one band of southern geladas in human-modified Wollo ate cereal crops (5.6% of food items). In the dry season, grass rhizomes and corms made up 22.3% of the diet; they were not eaten in the wet season. When green blades dwindled, underground plant parts helped fill the gap. These records show local variation, not every band’s diet or the scale of crop damage. ‘Grass eater’ is true, but incomplete: local conditions shape the menu.
IUCN Red List (IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group) · Least Concern (LC) · Global (species-level assessment)
The IUCN global assessment for Gelada (Theropithecus gelada) lists Least Concern (LC) and a decreasing population trend. Its assessment date is 29 June 2018; the full report text available for review was published in 2019. The 2025 Red List citation carries the same assessment date. In a separate global assessment, the Arsi Gelada (T. g. arsi), a subspecies within T. gelada, is listed as Endangered (EN), assessed 1 August 2023, with population trend Unknown and an estimated 800 mature individuals. It is not recorded in a protected area; the assessment identifies habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, human conflict and hunting among concerns. These assessments apply to different taxonomic scopes. Conservation work should track local populations and highland grassland habitat, especially for the Arsi subspecies.