Monkey Tracking in Rwanda

The Blue monkeys in Rwanda are found in evergreen and Montane bamboo forests. They thrive greatly in the forest canopy and rarely visit the ground.

This monkey is not blue. Its exact colors are light grey and olive fur which gives off its kind of blue hue as they are in the treetops.

While on your primate watch safari in Rwanda, The blue monkeys are easily spotted in Nyungwe forest Canopies while on the trails. These also rarely come down to the forest floor but find the food and shelter in the treetops. They can also be found around Uwinka Visitors Center in Nyungwe Forest National Park.

Monkey trekking in Nyungwe National Park

Monkey trekking in Nyungwe National Park

These monkey types also live in female groups of about 10 to 40 with only one male. All the female monkeys raise each other’s young ones. The Blue monkey stretches from 50 to 65 cm in length excluding the tail which is as long as the entire animal. The females weigh about 4kg while males can stretch up to 8 kg.

The Blue monkey greatly depends on humid and shady trees that feature water plenty. It majorly consumes leaves and fruit and at times takes on slow-moving invertebrates. The mating system of the Blue Monkeys is polygynous and they feature sexual dimorphism where the males are larger in size. The female Blue Monkeys would give birth after two years mainly at the start of the warm rainy season.

They feature a gestation period of about 5 months and the infants are born with fur along with their eyes open. The group sizes are 10 – 40 featuring a single mature male.

Blue monkeys can co–exist with the red Colobus monkeys and red-tailed monkeys and at any time while in Nyungwe forest trails, you cannot fail to see any of the above monkeys.