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Habitat of Golden Monkeys

Golden monkeys can be found in the Virunga Volcanoes of Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.  These rare primates are protected in the Mgahinga National Park of Uganda, Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda, Kahuzi Biega and Virunga National Park of DR Congo. These parks are next to each other and only separated by the international borders. Golden monkeys cannot be found elsewhere in the world and are endemic to this area.

They like high altitude areas with lots of vegetation, fruit and bamboo which makes the major part of their intricate diet. If you are to embark on a primate watching safari to experience these great apes upclose and personal in either the Mgahinga National Park or Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda, be prepared to hike to high altitude areas.

During the rainy season, the bamboo is abundant – which is favorable for the golden monkeys to create homes, near a source of the abundant food supply. In the dry season with less bamboo, some of them move on to the rest of the mountains in search of fruits and other edible plants.

Golden Monkey Diet

Golden monkeys are herbivores. They are anatomically and physiologically wired to feed on plant materials, they are known for eating about 20 to 30 types of plants and an occasional insect (invertebrates) found on leaves. However, they are most commonly known for feeding on bamboo leaves especially in the rainy season.

When wild fruits are in season, golden monkeys will eat lots of fruits but will divert back to the always available bamboo once the season is over.

Social Behavior

Golden monkeys are social animals that live in groups of 30 to 80 individuals. The male golden monkey is the head of the group and has the authority to mate with all the females in the group.

These groups vary in sizes according to the altitudes of their habitats. Most of the golden monkeys in higher altitude areas live in smaller groups compared to their counterparts in lower altitude.

Among golden monkeys, females are responsible for ensuring the safety of their territories and offspring until they are old enough (and the for males to be out there on their own).

Golden monkeys love comfort and sleep in groups of four in thick bamboo areas that provide enough shelter to sleep during the night.

Less known fact, in some instances, they create habitats for themselves by weaving bamboo together to create a home, much like humans. When they feed from a distant area, it is still close enough to allow them to move back to the habitat later in the day. You could say they are domestic in that special way. This is unlike gorillas which build a new sleeping nest every day and never use it again.