Proboscis Monkey
Proboscis Monkey
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Habitat
The Proboscis Monkey can most often be found in Borneo’s mangrove forests, swamps, and even the lowland riparian forests. The primates are known to move easily between dry land and shallow water and they even swim in deep water. What makes these primates unusual is that they move about from island to island, and in doing so they are often seen walking upright in a single file line. These monkeys basically move from area to area as they see the need to meet feeding and shelter needs.
Diet
The Proboscis Monkey is known for the size of its belly and that is due in large part to what they eat. Because of what the primates eat, its digestive system is broken into compartments where bacteria digest cellulose and do away with toxins that the monkeys ingest from certain foods. This digestive system allows for the species to remain in the forest canopy and feed on plants that would otherwise make them quite ill. Because of the makeup of the digestive system, the contents of the Proboscis Monkey’s stomach make up for a quarter of their weight! One downfall of the system is that these primates are not able to digest ripe fruit; therefore they eat mostly seeds, leaves, mangrove shoots, and unripe fruits.
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