Blue Monkey

The name comes from a faint blue-grey sheen on the fur visible in certain light conditions. In most situations they appear dark grey or olive-charcoal. The face is dark with a pale forehead crescent. It is one of the most misleading common names in African wildlife.

Lake Manyara National Park's groundwater forest is the most reliable location on the northern circuit. Arusha National Park's montane forest around the Momella Lakes also holds a healthy population. Both parks offer forest walks or drives where troops are regularly encountered in the mid-canopy above the trail.

Fruit forms the core of their diet, especially figs and forest berries. They supplement with leaves, flowers, bark, insects and occasionally bird eggs. Diet shifts seasonally depending on what the forest produces. They are important seed dispersers for the montane forests they inhabit.

No. Blue monkeys are shy forest primates that generally move away from people. They are far less habituated to humans than baboons or vervet monkeys and rarely approach vehicles or camps. In parks where they are accustomed to foot traffic, they tolerate observers at moderate distance but do not seek interaction.

Males weigh around 5 to 8 kilograms, females 3.5 to 5 kilograms. Head and body length is roughly 50 to 65 centimetres with a long tail of similar length. They are medium-sized monkeys, larger than vervets but smaller than baboons.

Yes. Blue monkeys frequently form mixed-species associations with red-tailed monkeys and black-and-white colobus in the same forest canopy. These associations likely provide better predator detection. Each species feeds at slightly different levels and on different food items, reducing direct competition.