Mandrill

True Wild Life | Mandrill | The mandrill is a medium to large sized primate, natively found in a small pocket of tropical jungle in western-central Africa. The mandrill is most commonly known for it's red and blue coloured nose and it's multicoloured rear end. The mandrill is not related to the great apes but is thought to be closely related to the baboon, another medium-sized African primate that is found in eastern and southern Africa. The mandrill was even once thought to be a sub-species of baboon but this is now not believed to be the case.

The Mandrill is found in the tropical rainforests and occasionally grasslands of southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo in western-central Africa. The mandrill's habitat is bordered by the Sanaga River to the north and the Ogooué and Ivindo rivers to the east. Recent research suggests that mandrill populations north and south of the Ogooué river are so genetically different that they are in fact separate subspecies. Mandrills have distinctively coloured noses and rumps which make them stand out in the forest. The colours of the females nose are much duller than the males, and the females are also nearly half the size of the male. The male mandrill has incredibly long teeth, which he bares as a caution to approachers. The male mandrill has these adaptations so that he can show himself off to other mandrill and also intimidate predators.

Mandrills are sociable animals and inhabit areas of forest in large groups known as a troop. The mandrill troop primarily includes female mandrills and their young who are led by a single dominant male mandrill. The alpha male mandrill both mates with his females and protects them. Most adult male mandrills that are not leading a troop tend to be solitary animals. Mandrills are omnivorous animals and therefore eat almost anything. The mandrill primarily feeds on fruits, berries, seeds, nuts, roots, leaves, insects and even small mammals and reptiles. Most of the mandrills diet is found at ground level or just above.

Due to their large size, mandrills have few predators in their natural environment. The leopard is the main predator of the mandrill, along with large snakes and birds of prey, who prey more upon the mandrill young. The human is also one of the mandrill's main predators as they have hunted the mandrill over the years for meat. Today the mandrill is considered to be an animal species that is vulnerable to extinction, as mandrill population numbers have been declining due to over-hunting an habitat loss.

Gibbon

True Wild Life | Gibbon | The gibbon is a small sized ape, found inhabiting the dense jungles and tropical rainforests across south-east Asia. Gibbons belong to the lesser ape family which are closely related to the great apes (chimpanzees, orang-utans, bonobos, gorillas and humans). Gibbons are small and lightweight monkeys that grow to around 90cm tall and weigh just 7kg. The lightweight body of the gibbons means that the gibbon is able to move around in and leap between the trees.

Gibbons are arboreal animals which means that they spend the majority of their lives in the trees. Living in the trees has it's advantages for the gibbon as the gibbon has plenty of food and is also a safe distance above ground from predators. There are more than 10 different species of gibbon living in the trees from northern India and the islands of Indonesia. All the gibbon species are fairly similar in shape and size, but the different species of gibbon differ most in their colours which range from grey, to brown, to black. Some species of gibbon are identified by the white markings on their faces.

Gibbons have very long arms which are often longer than the gibbon's legs. Gibbons use their arms to help them to move around in the trees and to balance whilst they are walking along branches. Gibbons are known to be the fastest, non-flying tree dwelling mammals in the world as they can move at speeds of up to 35mph and are able to swing themselves 15 meters from tree to tree. Gibbons are also incredible at leaping and can leap long distances of up to 8 meters. Like all other species of ape, gibbons do not have a tail. Gibbons are omnivorous animals meaning that they eat a mixture of both plant and animal matter. The main food of the gibbon is ripe fruit which grow around them in the trees, and makes up around three quarters of the gibbon's diet. Gibbons also prey on insects, eggs, spiders and small birds and reptiles.

Due to their tree-dwelling nature, gibbons have few natural predators in their environment apart from those that can also get up the tall trees. Leopards, large snakes and birds of prey are the main predators of the gibbon. Gibbons live in groups, known as troops which consists of the alpha male and female, and their offspring. Gibbons mates usually stay together for life and the female gibbon gives birth to a single baby gibbon after a gestation period of around 7 months. The male gibbon and the female gibbon look after the baby gibbon until it is about a year old, but the baby gibbon usually stays close to it's mother until it is older (between 6 and 7) and is able to start a family of it's own.

Nearly all of the different species of gibbon are today considered to be either threatened or extinction mainly due to deforestation and habitat loss.