Abstract
We describe a case of male takeover in the ursine black-and-white colobus (Colobus vellerosus). In April 2001, an all-male group attacked and eventually invaded our uni-male study group. Aggression increased following the takeover and the former resident male, severely wounded, became peripheral. The youngest immature received severe aggression from the new males but survived. The immature’s mother intervened in most instances of this aggression. Eventually, the former resident male re-established relationships with some of the females and concurrently intervened to protect the immature. Defeated males that stay in their group can contribute to the protection of infants born during their tenure from infanticidal males. The females mated with the new males. Takeovers may be a means by which males acquire groups of females in C. vellerosus.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Ghana Wildlife Division and the Management Committee of the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (BFMS) for permission to work at BFMS. We are grateful to Mr. Anthony Dassah, senior wildlife officer at BFMS, and research assistant Constance Serwaa, for their help throughout this study. We thank Dr. Peter Fashing and two anonymous reviewers as well as the editor for comments that improved earlier versions of the manuscript. Funding for this project was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (PS), an Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship (TLS), the University of Calgary, the Calgary Zoo Conservation Fund, Primate Conservation Inc., and an ASP Conservation grant. This research has been approved by the Animal Care Committee of the University of Calgary.
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Saj, T.L., Sicotte, P. Male takeover in Colobus vellerosus at Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, central Ghana. Primates 46, 211–214 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-004-0118-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-004-0118-4