Colobus monkeys are highly arboreal Old World primates with specialist digestive systems and complex group structures requiring careful zoo welfare management.
Colobus welfare requires enclosures with substantial vertical complexity that allows the full expression of brachiating locomotion. Social group management must accommodate their multi-male group structure while monitoring for excessive aggression. Diet management is particularly important given their specialist fermentative digestive system, which requires high-fibre, low-nutrient feeds that closely approximate wild leaf diets.