Golden Bellied Mangabey

The Cercocebus galeritus chrysogaster, also known as, the golden-bellied mangabey is one of the primates I viewed at the San Antonio Zoo on March 19, 2010 at 1:15 pm. This primate is in the suborder Haplorrhini, the infraorder simiiformes, superfamily of cercopithecoidea, family of cercopithecidae, subfamily of cercopithecinae, and genus cercocebus. The environment the zoo provides for these primates shows an extreme loss of natural habitat. When researching, I came across a factual book in the library that stated these primates live in “seasonally flooded or swampy forests”. At the zoo, these animals were enclosed in a medium-sized cage restricting them from running long distances if they so choose. Branches were all over the cage with numerous leaves, some connected to the bigger branches, and others were on the floor. I spotted a cone, and other objects on the inside, for instance a big wheel barrel. I believe that the zoo was trying to imitate a tropical environment, with the branches that were provided. Although, the appearance of a wet or moist environment was seldom and along the lines of dry. The size of the group was around four to five primates in total. There was one juvenile male, and two adult males. The sub-adults were both female. Usually, in the wild, these primates form groups of about eight to twelve. I asked the zookeeper if she knew the lifespan of these primates in the wild, but she could not answer my question because it is unknown, for they have not been able to observe this certain species in the wild. However, she did say that the lifespan for this primate when held in captivity is up to about thirty years.

The physical characteristics of the golden-bellied mangabey were very interesting. Back and outer portions of limbs are agouti-banded with an overall olive-brown coloration. Abdomen color varies from yellow to bright orange with the neck and underside of limbs cream colored. Skin of face, hands and feet are dark brown. The primate had...