depending on the season. It can be found foraging on the ground and typically stays within a foraging path of approximately 500 meters. It lives in small groups of less than 4 females and 1 to 3 males. Unlike males, females interact closely: males rarely interact and try to show dominance. Either males or both sexes will disperse from family groups. The king colobus have an average home range of 22 hectares with some overlap between groups. Groups rarely encounter other groups of the same species but when they do, males engage in aggressive displays. Territorial calling is a common form of aggression but can also be a warning to the group of predators. King colobus have been shown to live approximately 23.5 years in captivity and possibly around 30 years in the wild. Reproduction The king colobus live in a single male (polygynous) and multi-male (polygynandrous) mating system. Some groups have shown year round births while others have shown births in relation to the dry seasons. The average gestation period is 175 days and the females produce 1 offspring every 20 months. Both males and females reach sexual maturity at approximately 730 days or 2 years. Females provide the parental care by providing milk, grooming, protection and carry the newborns as they cannot walk immediately. Status and conservation The king colobus has a moderate-sized range; it used to be a common and widespread species but numbers have declined over the last few decades. The main cause for the decline is hunting which is threatening and fragmenting populations. In the 19th century the king colobus was hunted for its fur. There is also a continuing decline in the quality and quantity of the forested habitat where it lives; it seems to be largely restricted to primary forest and gallery forest, although it sometimes visits secondary forest. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being endangered. Maintaining this species in captivity has mostly failed and focus has been on managing the habitats to prevent further degradation and habitat destruction that could harm the species. References External links king colobus Mammals of West Africa king colobus Taxa named by Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann