Mandrill
Mandrillus sphinx
The mandrill is a primate of the Old World monkey family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the drill. It is found in southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo. Mandrills mostly live in tropical rainforests and forest-savanna mosaics. They live in groups called hordes. Mandrills have an omnivorous diet consisting mostly of fruits and insects. Their mating season takes place from June to October.
Both the mandrill and the drill were once classified as baboons in genus ''Papio'', but recent research has determined they should be separated into their own genus, ''Mandrillus''. The mandrill is the world's largest species of monkey. Charles Darwin wrote in ''The Descent of Man'' that "no other member in the whole class of mammals is coloured in so extraordinary a manner as the adult male mandrills." The mandrill is classified as vulnerable by IUCN.
Both the mandrill and the drill were once classified as baboons in genus ''Papio'', but recent research has determined they should be separated into their own genus, ''Mandrillus''. The mandrill is the world's largest species of monkey. Charles Darwin wrote in ''The Descent of Man'' that "no other member in the whole class of mammals is coloured in so extraordinary a manner as the adult male mandrills." The mandrill is classified as vulnerable by IUCN.
