Drill (animal)
| Drill[1] | |
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| Drill at the Lincoln Park Zoo | |
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| Species: | M. leucophaeus
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| Binomial name | |
| Mandrillus leucophaeus (F. Cuvier, 1807)
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| Drill range | |
The Drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is a primate of the Cercopithecidae (Old-world Monkeys) family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the Mandrill.
The Drill is similar in appearance to the Mandrill, but lacks the colorful face. They are semi-terrestrial monkeys, exhibiting extreme sexual dimorphism with males weighing up to 45 kg (100 lbs) - three times the size of females. They are semi-nomadic seasonally and little is known of their behavior or ecology in the wild.
Drills are found only in Cross River State, Nigeria; South Western Cameroon; and on Bioko Island, part of Equatorial Guinea. Their entire world range is less than 40,000 km2, smaller than Switzerland.
Drills are among Africa’s most endangered mammals, and are listed by the IUCN as the highest conservation priority of all African primates.[2] Drill numbers have been declining in all known habitat areas for decades as a result of illegal commercial hunting, habitat destruction, and human development: as few as 3,000 drills may remain in the wild, the highest population estimate is 8,000. Drills have also been declining in zoos internationally.
There are two subspecies of Drill:
- Mainland Drill, Mandrillus leucophaeus leucophaeus
- Bioko Drill, Mandrillus leucophaeus poensis
Their closest relative is the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), found from southern Cameroon through mainland Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni), Gabon and into Congo. The two species are allopatric across the Sanaga River.
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Description
The adult male Drill is one of the more colorful monkeys in the world. A mature male has a red chin on a black face with raised grooves on the nose. The rump is colored pink, mauve and blue. These bright colors help his family follow him through the forest. Female Drills are less colorful.
Distribution and habitat
The Drill is found in the rain forests of three countries: Cameroon's Southwest Province, South East Nigeria and Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea. A mother Drill only has one young every six years, and a hunter can easily kill 30 Drills in a day. They are also losing their forest home. There are only 100 Drills in captivity in the whole world and these are mostly non reproducing.
Behavior
A single male leads a group of around 20 females and is father to all the young. This group of 20 may join others forming super groups of over 200 individuals. They will often rub their chests onto trees to mark their territory.
A Drill can live for about 28 years.
Diet
The Drill is omnivorous, with a diet ranging from fruit, herbs, roots to small animals.
References
- ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 165. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b Template:IUCN2008
External links
- "Mandrillus leucophaeus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. 1 February.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - ARKive - images and movies of the drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus)
- Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program page on the drill
- Pandrillus - Drill and primate conservation group operating in Nigeria and Cameroon
- Drill Ranch - The Drill Rehabilitation & Breeding Center, “Drill Ranch”, in Nigeria
- The Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) - A wildlife rescue and rehabilitation project situated in the South West Region of Cameroon.