proboscis monkey

(also called ‘long-nosed monkey’, ‘Dutchman monkey’)

a kind of animal – mammal – four-legged – leaf-eating – arboreal (= living mostly in trees) related to the monkeys – medium-sized with dark red fur (hair) on the top of the head down the back, reddish-brown on the back, orange on the shoulders with grey hand and legs and the lower part, medium-sized head with short ears, very long dropping nose (in adult males) and long upturned nose (in young and females), short thick neck, long arms and legs, very large pot belly, a long white tail; size: 2-2½ feet long, and weight: 24 Kg. (males much larger than females – females only 1½ feet long and weighs only 12 Kg), with a 2 feet-long tail; feeds mostly on (eats) leaves, and seeds, shoots and raw (unripe) fruit; lives for 20-25 years; only one of its kind (unique) found in the coastal areas of Borneo island and Mentawai island of Sumatra in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia & Brunei)

male ~~ male

female ~~ female

baby ~~ infant

group ~~ troop; barrel; tribe; cartload; (band – some different troops joined)

voice (call) ~~ honk

Special Features:

The most striking feature of proboscis monkey is the very long drooping nose in the males; the young and the females also have long noses but they are not as long as that of males, and are not drooping but upturned. {‘Proboscis’ means ‘long, moveable snout’ of an animal, such as an elephant’s trunk, and ‘long, delicate spring-like growth’ in place of a mouth to suck up the juices (nectar) from the flowers in some insects, such as a butterfly.}

female with short nose

The proboscis monkeys have large pot-bellies because they are ‘leaf-eaters’, i.e. they eat a lot of leaves, and to digest the leaves they need to have large stomachs! Proboscis monkeys are known to stand and walk upright when on land! They are also good swimmers, crossing rivers and going as far as a mile into the sea! Proboscis monkeys are hunted for their meat which the natives say is very tasty.

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