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Patas are adept runners and can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour.
photo: Tom Gillespie
Characteristics: Male patas monkeys weigh 27-55lbs and are typically twice as large as females. Patas form social groups with one male that acts as a protector for the females and their offspring.
Although they can climb and sleep in trees at night, patas monkeys typically stay hidden in the grasses during the day. They are adept runners and can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour.
Diet: Patas monkeys are omnivores that eat a wide variety of vegetation as well as insects, bird eggs and small animals.
Reproduction: Females give birth to one infant that stays with its mother for 3 months. Females have a strict dominance structure that is rarely challenged. Mothers cooperate and share child-raising activities.
Environmental Connections:
Patas monkeys prefer the steppe and grassy savannas in central and eastern Africa. They can also be found in rocky areas of the Sahara desert. Along with vervet monkeys and some baboon species, patas are the only monkeys that still inhabit African savannas.
The patas monkey’s savannas or grasslands habitats are characterized by a variety of grasses,few woody shrubs and a dry climate with periods of drought. Humans have converted open savanna and wooded grassland habitat to cropland and pastureland for livestock. Wood is used for housing and fuel.
Patas monkeys are often hunted for their meat. The bushmeat trade is a growing threat to primates and other animals living in Africa. A rising urban population and logging industry threaten to increase the market for bushmeat.
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N.C. Zoo is a member institution of AZA and an agency of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William G. Ross Jr. Secretary; Michael F. Easley, Governor. A part of the North Carolina Government portal.
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