Gelada Aggression, Howletts, 14 March 09

What seemed like a peaceful coexistence in this mixed primate exhibit quickly turned violent. The black-and-white colobus fled for the safety of their cage as the geladas, led by this male, suddenly turned aggressive.

Can the Geladas get into the cages? I thought that with the Colobus being mainly arboreal and the Geladas terrestial that they would have less confrontations, but apparently not.

I can't say how frequently the confrontations occur, having only spent about 15 minutes at the exhibit. The species have been mixed for a couple of years already, so perhaps it's not as frequent as you might think.

Before it all kicked off several colobus were on the grass, but they never strayed far from the nearest rope or pole. The geladas were grazing in the centre of the exibit, and slowly moved towards the colobus. The colobus swiftly moved left the grass and watched the geladas intently from the logs which lead into their cage. When the geladas sprang up on to the log, the colobus dashed for safety.

I would say the female gelada would definitely be able to enter the colobus cage, but maybe not the male. I suppose it's unlikely that the female would enter without him.