Gelada

A striking feature of the gelada is the hairless patch on its chest. In the male it is hourglass shaped and glows red in color. For this reason, the gelada is also called the bleeding-heart monkey. During the reproductive cycle of the female, her mammary region becomes variably discolored, usually more reddish, and a variably pronounced series of warts develops on the edge of the hairless mammary region. These changes signal to the male that the female is ready to mate. The harem forms the social unit. Males remain harem leaders for an average of three to five years until they are displaced by another, usually stronger male. However, the new ruler needs the acceptance of the older females. Although the harem leader supervises the entire group, he cannot determine which females join or stay with him and which females leave his harem and move to another group. Unwanted males are driven away by the females.

Distribution