Ethiopia’s Gelada Monkeys
Ethiopia’s Gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada) is a species of old-world monkey and is the world’s most terrestrial primate besides humans. They spend around 99% of their lives on the ground since they are poor tree climbers. Both sexes have large, well-groomed, long, hairy manes and a distinctive hourglass-shaped red bald patch on their chests, giving them the name ‘bleeding heart’ monkeys. The red heart on their chests is more pronounced in males. Both males and females have thick brown fur on their backs and heads and lighter skin on their chest and abdomen. Their faces are darker, with pale eyelids. Males have a longer golden cape of hair on their backs.

Diet
Geladas’ diet consists mainly of grass, grass seeds and leaves. In addition, they will eat flowers, rhizomes, roots, herbs, fruit, and insects. With opposable thumbs and fine-tuned index fingers, their hands are very dexterous to plucking grass and fruit.

Size
Height: Females are 50 – 65 cm tall, males are 68 – 74 cm tall. Tails 30 – 40 cm longer
Weight: females 11 kg, males 18 kg
Lifespan: 14 – 20 years in the wild, up to 30 years in captivity
Habitat
Gelada monkeys are endemic to Ethiopia and are found in the Ethiopian highlands of the Simien Mountains. They live on the plateaus, gorges and escarpments at elevations of 1800 – 4,500 metres.



Behaviour
They are primarily grazers and spend long periods sitting on their well-padded reinforced bottoms, eating grasses, grooming themselves and socialising. At night, they sleep on the steep, rocky cliff ledges, huddled together in small groups for safety from predators.

While geladas are very social and gregarious, they also have complex matriarchal societies—a family unit is known as a harem. A harem consists of one dominant male, up to six related females, and their young. Females dominate their harem and may decide to replace their male leader with a younger rival at any time. Many harems combine to form troops or bands ranging from 30 to 600 individuals. They are vocal and very noisy. The dominant male has a crucial role in that he must sire the best offspring and protect his band or troop from predators and other rogue males. The dominant female gets to decide whom the dominant male can mate with. She may also choose to keep him for herself or allow him to mate with other females.
Communication
Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s Gelada Monkeys are social animals and very communicative. They communicate with gestures and vocalisation, of which they have around 30. For example, in times of anger, they flip their upper lip over their nostrils, displaying their teeth and gums as a warning sign and pulling back their scalps to reveal their pale eyelids – all of which can be very scary if near them.



Reproduction
Female geladas give birth to a single infant every two years following a 5 – 6 months gestation. Mothers are maternal and are their primary caretakers until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Other females in a group will sometimes steal another mother’s infant and run off with it. Females and males become sexually mature between five to seven years of age.
Mothers will carry their infants on their bellies for the first five weeks of life, after which the infant will ride on their mother’s back. By five months of age, infants can move independently of their mothers.
The females will stay with their families for their entire lives, while males will leave the troop once they mature at around 4 to 5 years old. After that, they will wait for an opportunity to take over their family unit.


Predators
Humans, dogs, jackals, leopards, servals, foxes, hyenas and lammergeyers. When in fear, the gelada will abruptly flee to cliff faces; however, some dominant males may remain and confront the threat.
threats
Humans: habitat loss due to agricultural expansion. Farmers shoot Geladas when they venture on their land for food and to eat their crops.
Until recently, Geladas were killed for their beautiful hairy manes, made into fur hats, although this practice is banned. In addition, indigenous people use the gelada’s hairy cloaks in traditional coming-of-age ceremonies.

Population
In the 1970s, the estimated population of Gelada monkeys was around 500,000 living in Ethiopia. Human land clearing for agriculture and homes has significantly reduced their habitat and food sources, affecting their population. The last count in 2008 estimated their population at 200,000 individuals (IUCN).
Conservation
Human-induced habitat loss is the primary threat. Other predators are leopards, hyenas, feral dogs, lammergeyers (bearded vultures), jackals, and foxes.
Shrinking habitats means fewer food sources. Deforestation and land clearing for agriculture is severely impacting their survival. Due to their declining habitats and food sources, Gelada monkeys resort to farmers’ crops in search of food. Farmers see them as pests and will shoot them on sight.
Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, as is its human population. As a result, farms and homes are expanding into gelada habitats. Farmers’ livestock also compete with geladas for food.
Conservation Status
Despite the ‘least concern’ classification, their numbers are decreasing (IUCN).
Hunting has been forbidden to protect the Gelada monkeys, and most Geladas now live in protected areas. Local people in nearby towns are rewarded with financial incentives to assist in protecting local native wildlife.
Please note that it is important to stay a minimum of 10 metres from all wildlife. I stayed the mandatory 10 metres. However, Ethiopia’s Gelada monkeys are used to humans, and this particular one was very inquisitive and came right up to me. It was happily eating grass while I was watching and taking this video with my iPhone.
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