Commonly known as Green monkey, this is a semi-terrestrial species that occurs in wooded savannas, woodlands, and forest-grassland mosaics, reaching highest densities on the edges of rivers and lakes. They are good swimmers.

The grivet monkey is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and is considered abundant in Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea.

All main threats are expected to be human-caused. The human population of Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing in the world with a 3% annual growth rate. At this rate. Ethiopia’s population will double within 30 years. Habitats over its geographic distribution are being degraded, lost, and fragmented and current number of grivet monkeys captured and exported for medical research and vaccine production each year is not known.

One of our grivet monkeys, Joey, is a rescued animal that RSE took in in 2007, after it was found by the police on a boat at the Santa Pola sea port. The species is listed on Appedix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).