Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
Black-and-White Colobus Monkey in Budongo Forest Reserve
- Sightings
- Common
- Best Months
- Year-round
- Where
- Budongo Forest Reserve
This Black-and-White Colobus Monkey features a glossy jet-black coat contrasted sharply by a u-shaped long white mantle of fur flowing down its back and a bushy white tail. It lacks thumbs, an adaptation that allows its hands to function like hooks for rapid canopy swinging. They possess a complex, multi-chambered stomach specialized for fermenting and digesting tough, fibrous leaves, which form the bulk of their diet. Because they eat almost nothing but leaves, they live in large troops without competing hard for food.
Common in the canopy at Kibale Forest National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, black-and-white colobus monkeys move the way acrobats do, launching themselves across ten-meter gaps between trees.
From Our Guides
Seeing the Black-and-White Colobus Monkey at Budongo Forest Reserve provides a striking visual contrast against the deep green jungle canopy. These stunning primates spend almost their entire lives high up in the ancient ironwood and mahogany treetops, rarely descending to the forest floor. They are incredibly easy to spot due to their glossy black fur, stark white mantles, and long, flowing tails that catch the sunlight as they leap effortlessly between branches. Unlike the chaotic, noisy travel style of baboons or red-tailed monkeys, the Colobus moves with a distinct, silent elegance, often observed sitting in calm, contemplative groups quietly chewing on mature leaves.
- What Budongo Forest Reserve Is Known For
Budongo is known for chimpanzee trekking at Kaniyo Pabidi and Busingiro, for its towering mahogany and ironwood trees, and for forest specialist birds including the rare Nahan's francolin.
- Best Time to Visit Budongo Forest Reserve
June through September and December through February are the driest and easiest for forest trekking. However, chimpanzee trekking runs year-round here, regardless of season.
Last updated October 27, 2026
· Written by Enoch, Huko Safaris
5.0average traveler rating
Local expert: Enoch
Best Months to See Black-and-White Colobus Monkey in Uganda
From our team
Black-and-White Colobus Monkey
For the best photographic capture, track them along the Kanyanchu primate walk trails in Kibale Forest National Park. They are also incredibly easy to spot in the Kanyiyo Pabidi forest sector of Murchison Falls National Park and the riverine fringes of the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
— Enoch, Huko Safaris
Budongo Forest Reserve
I recommend the full-day habituation over the standard one-hour trek(if you want a transformative experience) because it gives you the time needed to actually observe the chimpanzee society. When you sit with a community for hours, the initial excitement fades, and you start noticing the heavy, quiet parallels to human behavior: the calculated politics of who gets to sit next to whom, the intense eye contact, and the meticulous way they groom each other's hair to diffuse tension. It changes from a simple wildlife sighting into a genuinely reflective study of our own origins.
— Enoch, Huko Safaris