Species: Erythrocebus patas
Geographic Range: Central Africa
Size: 20-28 inches long, 25 lbs.
Lifespan: 15-20 years in the wild
Conservation Status: Least concern
Find them in the Primates Building Map
Fun Facts
- Patas monkeys live in troops comprising of a single male, females and their offspring, or a bachelor troop of only males. The average troop size is 15 but can be up to 30 members.
- Due to the changing conditions of Africa’s wet and dry seasons, patas monkey diets are highly variable. They are omnivores and will eat just about anything they can catch. This is mostly insects, but can include baby birds, eggs, and lizards.
- Patas monkeys belong to a subfamily of old world monkeys which includes baboons, macaques and vervet monkeys.
- Patas monkeys are built like greyhounds. They have long limbs, and slender bodies which enables them to run at top speeds of 35 mph making them the fastest primates in the world! They use this speed to escape predators, which is why they favor more open habitats in the grasslands or semi-deserts in the day time, but will retreat to the trees at night.
