Grassland Geladas

A gelada (no, not gelato!) is a monkey that lives in the mountainous Ethiopian highlands, who instead of wearing its heart on its sleeve wears its heart on its chest - literally.  It is especially prominent on the males along with their long mane.  Like with most primates, the males are larger than the females and rather regal looking.

Male gelada   Source:  Wikipedia

Geladas are just about the only primate that lives almost entirely on grass and at such a high altitude.  They also eat flowers, fruit, and roots, but grass composes about 90% of their diet.  They spend days grazing just like cows!  At night however they seek out rocky cliff ledges that rim the plateau to avoid predators.

Female gelada   Source:  Wikipedia

Geladas live in family groups of one to four males and one to twelve females and their young offspring.  Female offspring remain with the group and male offspring eventually join all male bands of two to fifteen males.  The family groups then form bands made up of several or many family groups, and multiple bands form herds that can consist of up to 60 family groups.

Source:  Wikipedia

Geladas have a large repertoire of vocalizations and often call to each other while foraging for food.  They are sometimes called gelada baboons, but they are actually baboon cousins.  While their numbers have been reduced considerably since the 1970s due to agricultural expansion, they are not considered endangered.  To see a short video, click here.