Patas Monkey
Erythrocebus patas
| Scientific name | Erythrocebus patas |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | Near Threatened |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Primates |
| Family | Cercopithecidae |
| Size | Head-body about 60-88 cm, tail 50-75 cm; weight about 7-13 kg |
How to identify
Slender, long-limbed monkey with a reddish-brown back, white underparts, a dark brow and white moustache; the fastest primate on the ground.
Habitat
Open savanna, grassland, and semi-arid acacia country, avoiding dense forest
Diet
Omnivorous: grasses, seeds, gum, fruit, insects, and occasionally eggs or small vertebrates
When it is active
Diurnal and terrestrial, living in groups and sprinting away from danger across open ground
Where it lives
A broad belt across sub-Saharan Africa, including the drier savannas of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in the east
How to spot it
Scan open savanna and grassland in Laikipia, Samburu, and northern Uganda for groups; a lookout often sits upright on a mound
Photography tips
Use a long lens and keep low; the sentinel posture on a mound and sprinting action both make dynamic images in open light
Threats
Habitat loss, hunting, and human conflict have caused declines, and the species is now Near Threatened
Similar species
Vervet Monkey is smaller and greyer with a black face; the Patas is larger, reddish, and much more terrestrial and fast-running.
