Журнал географии и стихийных бедствий
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Nutritional ecology of the mona monkey in Okomu National Park, Nigeria

Olaleru F, Ogunjemite B G, Onadeko A B, Egonmwan R

Mona monkey is one of the eight nonhuman primate species in Okomu National Park, a lowland rainforest in southwest Nigeria. Little is known about the varieties of plant parts it accesses as part of the diet and much less about the nutritional composition. We studied the feeding ecology of the monkey using field observations and opportunistic collection of food refuse. Nutritional contents of their diet were determined through proximate, fibre fraction and amino acids analyses using standard procedures. Their diet included 28 plants species in 19 families, 57% being fruits. Gmelina arborea fruit and Jateorhiza macrantha seed discovered in the study were not found in literature as the monkey’s diet. Mona monkeys obtained 79% of their diets within the Park. The proximate contents of the foods were higher during the dry season. Percent crude protein of 7.02±1.92 (n=14) is within the 6.4-8.0% recommended by National Research Council for primates in captivity. Amino acids cysteine and methionine had the least values. A good management plan where monkeys obtain all their food resources from within the park is recommended in order to adequately conserve them.