Grey-cheeked manga-bey in Nyungwe – The grey-cheeked manga-bey, also known as the white-cheeked manga-bey, is completely arboreal and rarely comes to the ground.
They primarily use the upper to middle layers of the canopy as they travel from tree to tree in search of food such as fruits, insects, and flowers, though they mostly rely on fruits.
They prefer eating from fig trees, which produce a lot of nutritious fruits, and during the fruiting season, the manga-beys often give birth to their newborns.
These monkeys are further categorized into the genus Cercocebus, which is a ground-dwelling group resembling mandrills, and the genus Lophocebus, which includes species that resemble baboons.
The Lophocebus group is further split into the grey-cheeked manga-bey, Johnston’s manga-bey, rusty-mantled manga-bey, and Uganda crested manga-bey, with variations in the hair color around their heads, ranging from dark brown to yellow.
Some people say it is very difficult to differentiate between the grey-cheeked manga-beys because they share similar body and skull sizes, tooth thickness, and diet, but an experienced tour guide will lead you through and help you identify each type.
These monkeys vary in size according to sex, with males being larger than females.
Both possess tails that are twice as long as their bodies and weigh around 20 pounds, with males weighing between 13-20 pounds and females between 10-20 pounds.
Their heads and faces seem small compared to the rest of their bodies, but each has its own unique punk hairdo, which is mostly black on their heads and legs, while their backs and shoulders are grey or brown, depending on the individual.
The newborns will brighten your day as they look angelic with their pink, wrinkly faces and large eyes.
As they grow older, their wrinkles smooth out, and their faces become browner, around six months of age.
They are known to have powerful jaws and teeth, which they use to break open tough nuts and seeds that smaller-toothed primates cannot eat.
Other characteristics of these species include:
- They are diurnal and spend their day traveling to find high-quality food sources. They are quite picky about their fruit and take time to inspect it for ripeness and quality before consuming it.
- When encountering danger, they make alarm calls to alert others, but the males will stand still and chase away larger birds, such as birds of prey.
Come to Nyungwe and experience the beauty of the grey-cheeked manga-bey in their natural habitat.
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