Ranging behaviour of red colobus (Colobus badius tephrosceles) in the Gombe National Park

The ranging behaviour of one troop of red colobus in the Gombe National Park is described. The troop moved about its range in a semi-regular fashion, spending much more time in some areas than in others. The distribution of its time was closely correlated with the joint distribution of the three tree species on which the animals fed most. At the time of year when they fed most on shoots and flowers (as opposed to mature leaves) the animals moved furthest each day, visited the greatest number of different areas, distributed their time most evenly across the range and moved around it in the shortest period.