Leaf Monkey Facts

Human beings are supposed to be the evolutionary counterparts of monkeys. Perhaps that's the reason, mankind has always been interested in knowing about monkeys. They are one of the first animals whose portraits were painted on caves and rocks. Monkeys are broadly divided into two groups - Old World Monkeys and New World Monkeys. The difference between these two types of monkeys is that, the new world ones have tails which can catch hold of things, while the other group can't. Leaf monkeys fall under the group of old world monkeys and are mostly found in Asia and Africa. There are several types of leaf monkeys and some of the most common ones include dusky, golden, grizzled and silvered leaf monkey.

Dusky Leaf Monkeys
The dusky leaf monkeys are easily identifiable due to their characteristic creamy white color in the stomach region, besides short hind limbs and forelimbs. The young ones of this type of monkey are bright orange in color with pink colored skin, which darkens after a month. As the creature ages, the hair become black and over time, the fur becomes gray in color.

These monkeys consume flowers and fruits, besides young leaves, as they contain high amounts of protein. Usually the fruits consumed by the dusk leaf monkey are unripe and they consume such fruits as harmful bacteria in their digestive system are destroyed. Moreover, having young leaves and unripe fruits help them to excrete harmful toxins from the body. However, this does not mean that they don't consume ripe fruits and older leaves, monkeys relish them too.

Golden Leaf Monkey
Leaf monkeys have vertical black stripes which runs through its forehead and is filled with contrasting patches of white fur. The facial fur is light gray in color and has black stripes on the top of the mouth. The chin is filled.

The golden leaf monkeys also called golden headed langurs grow to a length of 50 to 60 cm and can weigh up to 20 kg. Moreover, the tail can grow to a length of 82 to 89 cm. They are similar to other langur species so much so that they have reduced thumbs, besides slim hands and feet. Moreover, these creatures have a sacculated stomach so as to help in breaking down cellulose, besides large salivary glands. The color of the fur on the head, shoulders and rump varies from yellowish-white to golden, while on the back it varies from black to dark chocolate brown. A gray strand extends from the back to the thighs. A shoulder cape is formed by the long hair on the back. Usually their color is dark orange which later changes to golden.

Some of the other facts are that they are arboreal, diurnal and social. Usually, they move in groups of 4 to 5 and they are mostly found in areas where there is abundance of limestones. Limestones dissolve in water easily, thereby making caves, and it's in these caves that these monkeys love to make their homes. A group of such monkeys usually live in such monkey habitat for a couple of nights and move to other places after that. Usually like humans they give birth to a single young one at a time and they mostly breed in the month of April.

For food, the golden leaf monkey has leaves, besides fresh shoots, fruits (which are not consumed by people), bark and flowers. The foods which these animals consume are rich in tannic acid and fibers, which are mostly poisonous to other animals. There are several other interesting facts about monkeys, which you should know.

Grizzled Leaf Monkey
This type of leaf monkey is one of the endangered species found in the islands of Indonesia and Java. They are mostly active during the daytime, and move in groups of 3 to 12. These monkeys are extremely territorial and defend what they 'think' as their territory. With a weight ranging from 13 to 18 pounds, they have small faces and its color ranges from white to dark gray.

Silvered Leaf Monkey
Weighing in the range of 5 to 7 kg, the silvered leaf monkeys are dark gray in color with the hair tips becoming slightly pale in color, thereby giving it a silvered look, thus the name. A part of the tail and the groin are yellow in color and they have a black face.

So, these were some interesting leaf monkey facts pertaining to its sub-species. There are several more varieties of leaf monkeys like ebony leaf monkey, purple-faced leaf monkey, stripe-crested langur, javan grizzled langur and langur gris. All these types of monkeys are marvelous little creatures and a delight to watch. But while watching make sure you don't tease them. No monkeying around or else they can be dangerous!