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Drill
"Drils in the wild prefer to sleep about 30 meters high in a tree. For the first three months of their lives, drils have a pink face. After that, their face turns black."
Food
Fruit, leaves, seeds and insects
Lifespan
10 - 40 years
Weight
12 - 32 kg
Number of young
1 young
Gestation period
6 months
Habitat
Rainforests in western Africa
IUCN status
Endangered
EEP
Yes
About the Drill
The dril is a rare species of monkey from the rain forests of West Africa. They live in groups with one dominant male, who is in charge because of his color and strength. The brighter his colors, the higher his rank. Drils communicate through sounds, body language and by fleecing each other. They search the ground for food, some of which they store in their cheek pouches for later. at night, they sleep high up in trees to stay safe. Only about 4,000 drils still live in the wild.
Boss over boss
Drills live in groups of about twenty animals together. Such a group consists of several females, young animals and a number of adult males. One male is the boss of the group. He is allowed to mate with the females. Such a male usually remains in charge for no more than three years. If another male wants to take over, he starts challenging. He makes himself big and shows his teeth. Sometimes there is a real fight. The winner of the fight is the new boss.
Showing color
Male drills are almost twice the size of females. But there is another big difference. In fact, males have more color than females. A male's face is all black, but his chin is colored bright red. Also, a male's buttocks are red with blue in color. The higher in rank a male is, the brighter these colors are.
Sign language
Drils make a number of different sounds. But they also use a lot of body language to make things clear to each other. They smack their lips and show their teeth. They also turn their buttocks toward the other person. These are all ways of talking to each other. Cleaning each other's fur, also called "fleaing," is a form of communication. The drill that is lower in rank fleas the drill that is higher in rank.
Bite for later
Drills spend much of the day searching for food. When they find food, they store some of it in their cheek pouches. The muscles in their cheeks can stretch. This allows them to store about as much food in their cheeks as will fit in their stomachs. This allows them to move on faster, looking for more food. Later, when there is a moment of rest, they can eat the food from their cheek pouches.
At a safe height
For most of the day, drills are on the ground. There they look for fallen fruit and insects. Sometimes they also climb the tree to pick flowers or fruit. When the sun goes down, drils look for a tree to sleep in. High up in a tree, they are safer than on the ground. Even when danger threatens during the day, they usually flee into the trees.
Unknown
There are probably only slightly more than 4,000 drils living in the wild. They are found only in a very small area of Africa. They live in dense rainforests in Cameroon, Nigeria and on an island belonging to Equatorial Guinea. Consequently, little is known about these animals. What we do know is that drills are in danger of extinction. To properly protect them, more research needs to be done first.