Honorable Mention: Feeding Time

Photo by Charlene Fournier, graduate student, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

This picture represents Figiri, a subadult male red-tailed monkey born in a habituated mixed-species group between red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius) and blue monkeys (C. mitis) in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Red-tailed monkeys are known for their distinct facial coloring patterns, such as white cheeks and nose, golden crown and dark face. Figiri is eating fruits of the Lukungu tree (Grewia platyclada), which bares fruit only during the dry season between May and September. Cercopithecus monkeys have defined home ranges, but their ranging patterns are seasonal, affected by food availability, which in turn is affected by annual precipitation. During the dry season, members of our study group spend most of their early mornings feeding in the Lukungu trees located on the lake shore.