Mandrill

These omnivores eat a wide variety of foods including fruit, fungi, seeds, roots, insects, snails, worms, frogs, lizards, snakes, and small vertebrates.

At the Zoo, mandrills are offered greens, produce, insects, seeds, and browse.

Their range includes Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo, with the largest population found in western Gabon.

Mandrills live on the ground and seek shelter in the trees of the tropical rainforests, mountain forests, new forests and thick bush.

Young mandrills are more vulnerable than adults to predators like leopards, large eagles, and snakes.

Mandrill populations are threatened by habitat loss, primarily due to agriculture, which has caused a recent dramatic decline in population. Some local human populations hunt them for bushmeat as food. Human-wildlife conflict can result in targeted killings, as large groups of mandrills can be considered pests because they can destroy large amounts of crops in a short amount of time.

Mandrills have large heads, compact bodies, and short tails. Male mandrills are usually about twice the size of females when they are fully grown. The males are very colorful, featuring a bright red stripe down the center of their nose, surrounded by light blue skin that has grooves. They also have large golden beards and dark olive-colored fur, with bright colors in their genital area. When male mandrills get excited, their colors become even more vibrant. Among a group of adult males, the one with the brightest colors usually becomes the dominant male.

Female mandrills have darker and less flashy colors on their noses, smaller beards of the same color as the males, and also dark olive fur. The females show large genital swellings when they are ready to mate. Infants are born with black coats and pink skin, a coloration that lasts for approximately two months.

Mandrills have impressive canines that can be about two and a half to three inches long, making them the largest canines compared to the animal's body size. They also have large cheek pouches that are located beside their lower teeth and extend down the sides of their necks. When these pouches are fully filled, they can hold enough food for almost a full meal. When mandrills need to compete for food or are in a dangerous area, they can quickly stuff food into these cheek pouches and find a safer spot to eat. They use the back of their hands to push the food from their pouches into their mouths.

Additionally, mandrills have opposable thumbs on both their hands and feet, which help them pick up fruits and seeds and turn over rocks and debris to find more food. They walk flat-footed on their back legs, but when they are using their front legs, they walk on their fingers.

Mandrills live in groups or harems, where one dominant male defends a group of females with whom he has exclusive mating rights. Breeding usually happens between July and October, depending on the availability of food. After about six months of pregnancy, a female mandrill gives birth to a single baby that weighs around a pound. Twins are rare and have only been seen in professional care.

When they are born, mandrill babies have fur, and their eyes are open. They cling to their mother’s belly or back as she moves through the forest. The mother takes care of the baby, but other members of the group help as well. Male mandrills usually do not play a big role in caring for the young. Babies are weaned from their mother’s milk between six and twelve months. After the babies become independent, their mothers can breed again, usually every thirteen to fourteen months.

Female mandrills stay with their mothers for their entire lives, while males leave the group when they reach maturity at four to five years old. Females become capable of breeding between the ages of four and eight.

This species communicates in many ways, including visual and acoustic signals, scents, and tactile information. For example, the bright colors on their face, chest, and back can show who is in charge or ready to mate. When a mandrill grins and moves its head in a figure-eight pattern, it is usually being friendly and inviting others to groom it. If a mandrill is angry, it might stomp the ground and stare intensely at others. Yawning can mean the mandrill is nervous or feeling threatened. When mandrills show their rear ends, it means they are being submissive. Grooming each other helps strengthen their bonds. In forested areas where they can't see each other well, mandrills often grunt to stay in touch.

Mandrills are social animals living in family groups or troops ranging from five to fifty individuals. Family groups sometimes come together in hordes when food is readily available and form a "super group" of up to hundreds of individuals. Many adult males live alone, only joining large groups during the breeding season when they fight for breeding rights. Mandrill troops stay together for years.

They are nomadic and obligate foragers, meaning they are continuously on the move and searching for food.