5 Types of Monkeys in Sudan (2025)

What kinds of monkeys live in Sudan?

types of monkeys in sudan

Luckily, there are quite a few species you should be able to find. So, keep reading to learn how to identify each monkey, ape, and primate, and learn some fun and interesting facts. Pictures and range maps are also included!

5 monkey species that live in Sudan:


#1. Hamadryas Baboon

  • Papio Hamadryas

Types of monkeys in Sudan

Identifying Characteristics

  • Males have a silver-white cape that develops when they are about the age of ten. They’re much larger than females, up to 80 cm (31 in) tall.
  • Females are brown all over. They grow 40-45 cm (16-18 in) tall.
  • Both sexes have long tails that end in a tuft of fur.

Hamadryas Baboons live in arid grasslands, savannas, and rocky areas. They require cliffs for sleeping and finding water. However, these primates are omnivorous and adapt to dry habitats better than the other baboons.

In the wet months, they feed on blossoms, wild roots, seeds, grasses, bark, and leaves from acacia trees. In the dry season, they eat dobera glabra and sisal tree leaves. Hamadryas Baboons also feed on spiders, scorpions, worms, insects, birds, and small mammals, including antelope.

Striped Hyenas, Spotted Hyenas, and African Leopards are their natural predators. Though they may be at risk through habitat loss due to agricultural expansion and irrigation projects, there are no major threats to their population.


#2. Grivet

  • Chlorocebus aethiops

Types of monkeys in Sudan

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults are 42-49 cm (17-19 in) long, and their tails are 30–50 cm (12–20 in) long.
  • Their faces have a white line above the eyes and long white whiskers on the cheeks.
  • They have olive and white-colored fur with a spiky texture. Additionally, their bellies have a distinctive blue coloring.

These monkeys in Sudan spend their time on the ground.

They’re most active in the mornings and early evenings. Then, at night, they use trees for sleeping. These social primates spend a lot of time playing, grooming one another, and climbing.

Grivets prefer to live in savanna woodlands near a water source, especially during the dry season. However, they can easily adapt to all kinds of environments.

Unfortunately, their population is threatened by a variety of factors. Often, they are hunted for food or killed for commercial purposes. Another huge concern is the destruction of their natural habitat for development. Additionally, Grivets have to watch out for predators like large snakes, leopards, and sometimes even baboons.


#3. Blue Nile Patas Monkey

  • Erythrocebus poliophaeus
Types of monkeys in Sudan
Credit: Blue Nile patas monkey. (2022, September 19). Wikipedia.

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Their limbs, bellies, and necks are covered in white fur, while the fur on their backs is a rusty brown.
  • They have black faces, rings of pink skin around the eyes, and white hair above the lips that look like a handlebar mustache.

Finding Blue Nile Patas Monkeys in Sudan is extremely rare!

These elusive primates have a small, fragmented range, and experts haven’t collected enough data to know if their population is threatened.

Humans are likely a threat to the Blue Nile Patas Monkey. The development of housing and farms has further shrunk their habitat. People also try to sell them illegally, which may pose a threat to their population.


#4. Olive Baboon

  • Papio anubis

Also known as the Anubis Baboon.

Types of monkeys in Sudan

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults grow up to 85 cm (33 in) long.
  • Their long muzzles resemble a dog’s, and their tails are strangely bent as if they were broken.
  • As their name suggests, their fur has an olive tint.

Olive Baboons are among the largest monkeys in Sudan!

You’ll find them in savannas, forests, and grasslands. These primates gather in groups of 15-150 members.

Their flexible diets, as well as their adaptability to different habitats, have made them the most widespread species of all baboons. Olive Baboons eat anything from plants to small animals. When hunting as a band, they can even take down small antelopes! Populations close to farmlands also prey on goats and sheep.

These monkeys follow a complex social hierarchy. Adult females form the core of the system, with social ranks passed down from mother to daughter. Several females create smaller sub-groups to groom each other and provide backup during conflicts. Meanwhile, males compete with one another to establish dominance.


#5. Patas Monkey

  • Erythrocebus patas

Also known as the Wadi Monkey or Hussar Monkey.

Types of monkeys in Sudan

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults are generally 61-89 cm (24-35 in) long and have 51-76 cm (20-30 in) tails.
  • Males are much larger than females.
  • White hair frames their dark faces. They have pale coats that grow reddish brown around their backs.

Patas Monkeys aren’t your average monkey in Sudan that lives in trees!

Instead, they are ground-dwellers known for their impressive speed. Patas Monkeys are the fastest sprinters among primates, clocking in at 55 km/h (34 mph). They roam savannahs where trees are sparse and widely spaced.

Troops of Patas Monkeys can contain up to 60 members, with only one adult male leading the females and juveniles. At night, they sleep together in trees where predators can’t reach them. Sometimes, they must boldly fight off wildcats and jackals at watering holes!

Since they live in arid habitats, they spend a lot of time finding food and water. These monkeys like to feed on sap leaking out from Acacia tree trunks. Where their territories encroach with human settlements, they’ve acquired a taste for farm crops.


For more information about animals in Sudan, check out these guides:


Which of these monkeys in Sudan is your favorite?

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