Mandrills are large terrestrial monkeys that are closely related
to baboons. Their vivid colours are important socially since
they communicate maturity and status. Males have bright blue and
red patches on their faces, while the bottoms of female
Mandrills swell and become bright red when they are ready to
mate. Mandrills live in groups that comprise one dominant male
and several females and their young. The dominant male is the
biggest and most brightly coloured; other males are chased from
the group and live alone. Sometimes groups come together to form
large troupes. The largest troupe recorded contained 1300
animals. Mandrills are extremely noisy as they communicate while
feeding with deep grunts and high-pitched crowing. Like other
primates, Mandrills groom one another, which strengthens social
bonds. Females give birth to one young. Mandrills live in
tropical forests where they can forage for a diverse range of
food. During the day they move along the forest floor looking
for food, and at night they ret