DYADIC ASSOCIATIONS OF RED COLOBUS AND DIANA MONKEY GROUPS IN THE TAINATIONAL-PARK, IVORY-COAST

Members of the genus Colobus have been observed to associate frequentl y with Cercopithecus monkeys in several African sites. In the Tai Nati onal Park, Ivory Coast, one group of western red colobus was found to be in association with one particular group of diana monkeys more than could be expected by chance (HOLENWEG et al., 1996). We show that dya dic association is not an idiosyncrasy of these two groups, but rather a pattern that is general for our study site. All five red colobus gr oups we studied were closely associated with diana monkeys during more than 60% of the time. Four groups had one particular diana partner gr oup, the fifth two different partners. Apart from the red colobus, thr ee more primate species, the olive colobus, Campbell's monkey, and the lesser spot-nosed monkey, were also strongly attracted to diana monke ys.