24-7-2025 FOTA WILDLIFE PARK COBH, IRELAND - ROLOWAY MONKEY (Cercopithecus roloway)

The Roloway monkey (Cercopithecus roloway) is an endangered species of Old World monkey endemic to tropical West Africa. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Diana monkey (C. diana). The species is classified as Critically Endangered due to habitat loss and their continued hunting because of the bushmeat trade. The Roloway monkey is mainly an arboreal species, for the most part inhabiting forests in Ghana and some reserves in South-Eastern Côte-D'Ivoire. More specifically, studies have shown that C. roloway is primarily concentrated in the Tanoé forest of the Côte-D'Ivoire because of their heavy threats to extinction and lack of habitat. It is still difficult to gather data on wild subjects, as they have low populations in a vast forest, but they are a unique and vanishing species. 

The Roloway monkey is a species of guenon monkeys. In fact, they are the largest of all of the 26 African Cercopithecus. Of this genus, The roloway monkey is most similar to the C. diana. Both of these monkeys share similar physical features as well. They both have dark fur surrounding a majority of their body, with a dark brown-reddish patch on their lower back. The Roloway monkey has a prominent white beard resting under its black chin, and above its dark eyes is a horizontal white stripe of fur, resting directly on its brow bone. Its face is a dark black, accentuated by the bright white fur covering its shoulders and chest. Roloway Monkeys have a relatively flat skull, and unlike many other primates, they do not have an elongated chin cavity, also referred to as a rostrum. In addition, the nostrils of the monkey are closely set and they angle downwards. Its chest, and throat are bright white, and the monkey has white line of fur that runs along each outer-thigh. On the inside of the thighs, the fur can range from being white, red, brown, or even yellowish. They have exceptionally long tails, longer than the entirety of their body. There are not many body measurements of adult Roloway monkeys, but through analysis and comparison with the Diana species, it is estimated that the Roloway Monkeys body length ranges from 40 cm to 55 cm, and the tails of the monkey range from 50 cm to 75 cm long.

Male monkeys weigh about 5 kg, or 11 pounds. The female Roloway weigh only about 2.5 kg, or 5.5 pounds.The Roloway monkey has a distinct cheek pouch, something that it shares with all cercopithecus monkeys. This patch allows the monkeys to store food such as fruits, nuts and seeds, which are the majority of their diet as they are omnivorous primates. Cercopithecinae monkeys all have opposable thumbs, which are quite well-developed; the Roloway Monkey also has fingernails on all of their fingers. Finally, the Roloway monkey has a long lifespan, similar to that of other primates, ranging from 20 to 30 years.

The species occurs in a small area of eastern Ivory Coast and the forests of Ghana, between the Sassandra and Pra Rivers, and may possibly occur in Burkina Faso and Togo. The Roloway inhabit the canopy of old-growth forests, including gallery forests, in moist-low-lying regions, and avoids but can make use of forests that have been lightly logged. The Roloway monkey cannot live in areas where humans have had a large impact, therefore they only live in secluded, primary forests. Primary forests are ones that have not been majorly affected, and they are quite old and full of unique attributions that can allow for populations of animals and plants to be more stable in the long term. These forests are very lush, containing thick and moist shrubbery that allows for easy hiding. The habitats of the Roloway are very complex, and the terrain is not simple, meaning they have many places to hide and escape view. Small areas of these forests and habitats are used to inhabit the monkeys, and the group sizes of the species tend to be minuscule. The monkeys' instinct to flee combined with the areas they choose to live in, make it very hard to study them or gather any new information on the changes in their population size or behavior. Even when studies were performed where scientists stayed in the area where the monkeys were typically found, the Roloway monkey was only spotted on one occasion. In addition to this, most of the Roloway monkey found are taken to zoos to be kept and observed. This is because their population is so low and there are so few seen in the wild, so the main conservation effort is capturing these animals. In addition, the Roloway is unable to survive in a natural, wild, area that has been largely impacted by humans.