Unlike the plains-dwelling baboons, which are well-organized to protect against leopards and lions, mandrills are less social. Males are constantly on the alert for predators. If baring his teeth does not scare off an intruder, the adult male will work himself into a frenzy, jumping up and down. Bright red spots will appear on his wrists and ankles and his chest will turn a vivid blue. It is believed that this color change is produced by a specialized circulatory function.
Physical Characteristics
Male mandrills are significantly larger than the females, weighing from 44 to 62 lbs., while females can weigh up to 25 pounds. This baboon has a stocky, powerful body and muscular arms. The males’ massive heads appear too large for their bodies, and they have a blue to purple naked rump which is duller in females and juveniles. The male’s muzzle is large, the nose is bright red with blue, ridged swelling running lengthwise on either side. They also have white cheek whiskers, a yellow beard and a dark brown crest on the crown of the head. The females and juveniles are similar but duller because the bright red pigment is dependent upon adult male hormones. The blue coloring requires a similar hormone, but once established, it becomes structural and permanent. The overall coat is olive-brown with an irregularly barred pattern with pale underparts.
Habitat/Diet
Mandrills are found in the high moist forests and low levels of trees and forest floor of Benin and Togo in Africa.
In the wild, mandrills feed on fruits, roots, leaves, plants, seeds, nuts, fungi, snails, worms, herbs, invertebrates, insects, tubers and greens. They may also eat the fruit of the oil palm and manioc obtained from nearby farmers. At the Zoo, the mandrills are fed a diet of fruits, vegetables and monkey chow.
Social Behavior
Much of the mandrills’ time is spent on the forest floor, but they do climb to the middle layer of trees to sleep. Their social organization is harems, small groups (up to 14 in number) with one adult male, several adult females and their young. During the dry season, several harems may join to form larger troops of up to 200 members.
Their bright facial colors are perceived as threat signals and a penetrating stare is used to intimidate a male rival and to establish domination. To denote submission, they lower their body and show their colored rear end.
Status In The Wild
This species is listed as Vulnerable in view of the intensive hunting pressure on this species (combined with habitat loss) across its range, which is likely to have resulted in a decline exceeding 30% over the past 30 years.
Other
The Zoo’s one male and two females can be seen in the mandrill exhibit near the Primate Discovery Center.
Mandrillus sphinx