In the movie, The Lion King, Rafiki is referred to as a baboon, but he is actually a mandrill. Rafiki has bright blue and red skin on his face, proving that he is a mandrill. Let’s find out what is so cool about this creature.
1. Social butterflies
Mandrills are very social animals and live in large hordes, usually between 600 and 800. The largest group of mandrills living together ever recorded was 1,300 individuals, found in Lopé National Park in Gabon.
2. Flaunting colours
The male might have the brightest and most colourful hides you have ever seen in nature. He has a red and blue coloured nose and a multi-coloured behind decorated with a mix of scarlet, purple, blue, pink and red. His beard is usually yellow-orange and the rest of his fur is an olive green or dark grey colour. When the mandrill gets excited, these colours become even brighter, making him stand out and attracting the female mandrill.
3. Portable cushions
The mandrill’s bum, with its bright colours, is not only used to attract females, it is also hairless, toughened and cushion-like so they can sit upright and sleep comfortably in trees high up in the sky. Being able to sleep upright in tall trees without fear is a cool skill to have.
4. Big monkeys, big emotions
Mandrills are the largest monkeys in the world. The female’s body length is about 55-67cm while the male’s is 75-95cm. The tail adds another 5-10cm, and the male’s tail is usually longer than that of the female. Not only is the mandrill very large, he also shows his emotions in a big and obvious way. When he is excited, he shows his teeth and shakes his head, but watch out when he slaps the ground and stares, because then you know the mandrill is not messing around.
5. Home is where the rainforests are
They enjoy living on the ground in rainforests, even though they sleep in trees. You can find them in tropical rainforests and woodlands in African countries such as Gabon, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo. They can also be seen in rocky forests and stream beds.
6. Food pouches
The mandrill has the special ability to store food in his mouth. He has large cheek pouches which he stuffs full of food to eat when he wants to. Since he is an omnivore, he stores things like fruit, roots, insects and reptiles. He doesn’t even need his hands to carry his food around, he can use his mouth – imagine having pockets in your cheeks! You will never be hungry again!
7. Noisy communicators
You will definitely hear the deep grunts and high-pitched screams of mandrills from far away. When they travel around and forage, they need to communicate with each other over long distances, and that’s why they are noisy and loud. When they are closer to each other, they communicate through scent marks and body language. Both males and females have chest glands that produce a scent to attract a mate. This is like a built-in perfume, which tells the others that he is looking for a mating partner. He wants to impress, and what better way to do that than to smell nice?
8. Human-like families
Just like humans, mandrill families live with and care for each other. Mandrills only have one baby at a time and are not likely to get twins. The mother mandrill gives the baby food and she grooms him, while the rest of the family has the fun task of playing with the babies and keeping them busy and safe. The father tends to live away from the horde until the mating season comes around, which happens from June to October.
9. Young adults
The average mandrill usually lives between 20 and 25 years in the wild, which is not much for a human, but a lot for a wild animal. In captivity, however, they live up to 30 years, with the longest recorded lifespan for a captive mandrill being 46 years.
10. Mistaken identity
The mandrill was previously mistaken for a baboon, since they look similar, but because the mandrill is so cool and different, he is now grouped separately. The big difference between the mandrill and baboon is the mandrill’s colourful appearance and size. His behind is multi-coloured, while that of the baboon’s is only red or pink. The mandrill is also larger than the baboon.
