Fun Swamp Monkey Facts For Kids

Swamp monkeys are also called Allen’s swamp monkey (Allenopithecus nigroviridis) and are  discovered in the swamp forests of the Congo basin and Dzanga-Sangha Forest Reserve in the CAR (Central African Republic).

This species of primates is named after the first President of the American Ornithologists’ Union Joel Ashap Allen.

Swamp monkeys are arboreal, which means that they live in trees; these primates are also diurnal. This species is extremely social and prefers living in groups of at least 40 monkeys.

Swamp monkeys are closely related to the Guenons, but they are not true Guenons, because Guenons evolved from a group of monkeys about ten million years ago.

Supposedly six million years ago another evolution occurred from which modern Cercopithecus monkeys evolved, and a large number of primatologists assume that the swamp monkeys are the intermediate link between the Gueonons and other groups of monkeys which is very evident from the physical traits of the monkeys but the extraordinary component is their fingers and tail.

Allen’s swamp monkeys forage on the ground, trees, and water and their diet consists of fruits, leaves, worms, insects, and fishes which are widely available in their habitat.

Finding the content interesting already? Keep reading this for more interesting Allen’s swamp monkey facts. We have more such articles on the black spider monkey and green monkey so check them out for more intriguing facts.

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Swamp Monkey Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a swamp monkey?

The swamp monkey is a species of monkey discovered living in groups in the Central African Republic. These monkeys are closely related to Gueonons, with as a link between the Gueonons and other monkeys.

What class of animal does a swamp monkey belong to?

These primates are arboreal and belong to the class of mammals. The Allen’s swamp monkey is of genus Allenopithecus and it is the only species under this genus, the genus is not further categorized into other groups or subgroups of species.

How many swamp monkeys are there in the world?

The Allen’s swamp monkey is largely found in Africa, but their population is deteriorating, the population of these monkeys depends on the areas in which they inhabit because their population is dense in areas where hunters do not seek them, but the exact number of Allen’s swamp monkey is not documented.

Where does a swamp monkey live?

The Allen’s swamp monkey (allenopithecus nigroviridis) can be observed in the swamp forests of the Congo basin particularly on both sides of the river because they prefer living near water.

Allen’s swamp monkeys are distributed in the regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo precisely in Cameroon and CAR (Central African Republic), regardless, Allen’s swamp monkeys are also documented in islands on the outskirts of Nouabalé National Park.

Other than Africa, now Allen’s swamp monkeys are found in zoos in a man-made environment.

What is a swamp monkey's habitat?

The most integral part of their habitat is water because Allen’s swamp monkeys prefer riverine habitats. This species of monkey is found near the lowland forests of the northwest Congo river which has Likouala-aux-Herbes and other tributaries.

These territories have adjoining swamp forests where Allen’s swamp monkeys largely reside.

Allen monkeys are expert swimmers and often swimming enables them to flee from the grasp of their possible predators. The rich vegetation of the swamp forest provides them with shelter and food, although this animal is arboreal, it is found spending an ample amount of time on the ground.

Who does swamp monkeys live with?

The Allen’s swamp monkey is extremely social and is frequently observed foraging during daytime making subgroups as they are diurnal and during the night these groups merge in a large group of almost forty monkeys and sleep, this method enables them to protect themselves from potential predators.

However, the accurate representation of these monkeys living together has been vaguely reported because in the wild the group size may vary.

Allen’s swamp monkeys were documented living in groups of 23-57 at the Salonga National Park while in Lomako the monkeys forage in groups of four.

How long does a swamp monkey live?

The average life span of Allen’s swamp monkeys in the wild is not listed, nevertheless, in captivity, these monkeys are reported living till the age of 23.

How do they reproduce?

Due to insufficient information and research about these animals, the entire process of reproduction and their mating habits are not listed.

But, just like other animals of the Mammalia family, Allen’s swamp monkeys reproduce sexually and the duration of gestation is around 5-6 months;  females give birth to one offspring, and in some rare scenarios, she will give birth to twins.

What is their conservation status?

The species of Allen’s swamp monkey is widely available in the territories of Congo, the conservation status of these monkeys is of Least Concern according to the IUCN. However, these primates undergo plenty of threats from predators and hunters, apart from habitat loss, some of their predators may include reptiles and other carnivores.

These monkeys are frequently hunted for meat or captured for the bushmeat trade, hence the population is deliberately diminishing.

Swamp Monkey Fun Facts

What does a swamp monkey look like?

Allen’s swamp monkeys are medium-sized, well built, and stout, they are sexually dimorphic as the adult males are bigger than females. With an approximate body length of 17.7-23.6 in (50-60 cm), swamp monkeys have a long tail with a length of 17.7 in (50 cm) approx.

As adult males are larger than  females they weigh around 13.2 lb (6 kg) while females have an average weight of 7.7 lb (3.5 kg).

The Allen’s swamp monkey constitutes the properties of both Guenons and other groups, but their physical look is inclined towards Guenons with their entire body covered in dark khaki fur with a hue of white on the underside and long dark gray cheek fur with dark outlines.

Allen’s swamp monkeys have light gray throats and orangish-red skin below their tails. The features which resemble them with macaques are their large hand and short limbs and leaf-shaped ears.

How cute are they?

The infants are adorable and cute, the grown-ups are mature and not everyone is going to find them cute.

How do they communicate?

Swamp monkeys are social creatures and have improved social skills than most of the animals. There are a specific set of gestures and sounds which Allen’s swamp monkey makes use of to communicate with each other for mating, searching for food, or to indicate danger.

The intensities of their calls depending on the situation for example if attacked by predators they make a loud cry.

How big is a swamp monkey?

The Allen’s swamp monkey's body size is small to medium, but the length of their tail is extremely long. Males are bigger than females.

The standard size of Allen’s swamp monkey is 126-28 in (67-72 cm), the length of their tail is almost 17.7 in (50 cm), and the average weight is 7.7-13 lb (3.5-6 kg), the size of swamp monkeys is comparable to the rhesus monkeys.

How fast can a swamp monkey run?

Swamp monkeys are powerful primates and forage actively on the ground, as well as in trees and water but the exact speed has not been determined yet.

How much does a swamp monkey weigh?

The Allen’s swamp monkey is sexually dimorphic, males weigh than females, and males weigh around 13 lb (6kg) while females weigh almost 7.7 lb ( 3.5 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

The name of Allen’s swamp for males and females is not specified.

What would you call a baby swamp monkey?

The baby Allen’s swamp monkey is called an infant, it has silky white hair covering its face and a yellowish-brown coat covering its body. Infants are weaned for three months when mother’s milk is the fundamental source of their food, after that it can consume leaves, fruits, worms, and beetles.

They  mature when they are of three to five years of age.

What do they eat?

The Allen’s swamp monkey is an omnivorous species, their food consists of fruits, nectar, leaves, nuts from the trees, as they are spotted on trees, ground, and water, their food has a lot of variation. When on the ground, insects, larvae, and snails, are their primary food source, and in water, fishes, and shrimps are consumed too.

How active are they?

These monkeys are diurnal, which signifies that the Allen’s swamp monkey is highly active during the day.

Would they make a good pet?

The Allen’s swamp monkey is a wild creature that requires a different habitat consisting of water, trees, and ground hence it is generous to leave these animals in their actual habitat.

Did you know...

Allen’s swamp monkeys may have various unique features but the most extraordinary characteristic is the presence of webbing in their hand and feet. This webbing between their fingers and toes enables them to swim in the water and adapt to their semi-aquatic life. This distinct arrangement of their fingers and toes differentiates them from any other species.

How many babies can a monkey have at one time?

Females can give birth to only one baby at one time after a gestation period of 5-6 months, in rare cases, female Allen’s swamp monkey can give birth to twins.

Do monkeys live in swamps?

Monkeys are arboreal and spent an ample amount of time of their life in trees, but Allen’s swamp monkeys lead a semi-aquatic life as they reside near water and are excellent swimmers. The ideal habitat from the swamp monkeys can be described as a swamp forest and lowland forest with water surrounding it.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these red squirrel facts and Pallas' cat facts pages.  

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable swamp monkey coloring pages.