Adorable Dusky Leaf Monkey
Talk about a cuteness overload! From its funky/crazy fur to its massive eyes, what’s not to love about it? The dusky leaf monkey, scientifically known as the Trachypithecus obscurus, is just too adorable! They get their name from the fact that more than 50% of their diet is leaves.
Where can you find them?
The dusky leaf monkey can be found in Thailand, Malaysia, and Burma. It weighs 5-9kg and its body length ranges from 42-67cm. They reach sexual maturity around the ages of three and four and its average lifespan is 25years but some have lived until the age of 31. These cutties have been seen wrestling, chasing each other, and grabbing onto each other’s tails, which is how they play with each other. Each troop has one male in it that keeps everyone together.
Diet:
This animal’s diet consists of seedlings, leaves, flowers, fruits and shoots and eats about 2kg of food per day. Since they don’t get enough energy in their food, they usually spend most of their day sleeping. They have enlarged salivary glands that help them break down the cellulose in the leaves that they eat. They also have multi chambered stomachs which help down break down leaf cellulose and also the bacteria neutralizes any toxicity in the unripe seeds or fruits they may have eaten.
Gestation:
Do they have any predators?
Oh yes they do! Snakes, raptors and big carnivores eat these adorable animals if they are able to reach them.
Are they in danger of being extinct?
Yes they are, and that’s mostly because of humans. Some people see them as a source of food and also sell them to people to have as pets. This will not come as a surprise but deforestation just so happens to be the other reason why they are in danger of being extinct.
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They are soooo adorable! Why oh why would people want to eat them :(