Kid Territory:Critters: A Smiling Mandrill
Mandrills like PJ are one of the largest species of monkeys in the world.
They are native to Africa.
It's hard to miss the brilliant colors of an adult mandrill's rump. The
bold hues attract the females and make it easy to find the male in the
dark forest.
PJ grooms one of his enclosure-mates. You can see the adult female is
much smaller and doesn't have the bright colors of the male on her face
or backside.
Zoo name: PJ
Species: Mandrill
Location: San Diego Zoo
His story
If you've had a chance to visit the San Diego Zoo, it would be hard to miss seeing PJ, the male mandrill. With his brightly patriotic-colored face of red, white, and blue, and his flamboyantly pink and purple colored rump, he's tough to miss and a sight to behold!
PJ was born in 1990 at the Chafee Zoo in Fresno, California. He spent some time living in Orlando at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but there was already another adult male mandrill living there. Male mandrills don't happily share the leadership of a troop with each other, so PJ had to be separated. Realizing this was not the best situation for him; the keepers at Disney asked the San Diego Zoo if we had a place for him. We welcomed him with open arms!
A handsome fellow
As a mandrill male becomes mature, his colors brighten to attract females. PJ's beautiful colors made him a hit with the ladies when he first moved here in 2001. He's also quite a hit with Zoo visitors, who are often amazed at his glorious hues!
"I Want to Work!!"
Keepers here say that PJ is a pretty laid-back, calm guy who gets along well with the two females he currently lives with, Dora and Angie. He has a great life: room service, two lovely companions, and a large, beautiful home. What more could a monkey ask for? Well, keepers say missing a training session can make PJ grumpy. That's right, he likes to work and, to be more honest, PJ really likes the rewards he gets from doing his trained behaviors correctly.
The keepers usually do multiple training sessions with PJ, Dora, and Angie, asking them to come to a station, hold their position on a target, sit on a scale, go willingly into a crate for transport, and a few other behaviors. When they do what's asked of them correctly, they are given a bit of their favorite foods as a reward. These training sessions have helped the keepers build a very positive relationship with PJ and the females so that their health and well-being can be maintained.
Unlike most monkeys, mandrills will actually smile and show you their teeth when they're happy. PJ's keepers say they are usually greeted first thing in the morning with his big toothy, grin. So stop by PJ's exhibit and see if he'll flash a grin your way!
More
Meet the Critters: Great Gorillas, Agile Gibbons, Operation Orangutan
Animal Bytes: Mandrill, Monkey
San Diego Zoo
