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Elegant Colobus monkeys join De Brazza’s monkeys, fruit bats, dwarf crocodiles, red river hogs and rock hyrax in the Minnesota Zoo’s newest exhibit, Faces of the African Forest, in the Zoo’s Tropics Trail.

Check out the Zoo's new "Recycle for Rainforests" program and learn what you can do to help African forests and the animals that live there.

Click on an image to enlarge and get a close up view of our new animals.

Dwarf Crocodile
Small but tough, dwarf crocodiles live in shallow streams and swamps in the tropical forests of western Africa. They hunt at night and spend their days in streamside burrows. Their speed and thick, dark scales protect them from attacking predators while their strong jaws and sharp teeth make them formidable hunters. Learn More.

De Brazza's Monkey
De Brazza’s monkeys spend their days foraging for fruit and socializing with others in their family group. Their digestive tracts, which are a lot like ours, make it hard for them to find nourishment in tough forest materials such as leaves and bark. Learn More.    

 

Fruit Bat
Fruit bats and the plants they visit depend on each other. The plants provide fruit, juice, and nectar that nourish the bats. The bats spread the plants’ pollen and seeds, helping them reproduce another generation. A two-way relationship like this is called symbiosis. Learn More.

Black and White Colobus Monkey
Colobus monkeys spend almost their entire lives up in the branches, rarely touching the ground. With cow-like multi-chambered stomachs they subsist on leaves and other things many animals cannot. They don’t even need to come down for water, finding enough in the treetops to survive. Learn More.

Rock Hyrax
Plant-eating rock hyraxes live in colonies of 25 to 80 animals amid rocks and scrub. Each family unit consists of a male, one or more females, and their young. Learn More.

Red River Hog
Red river hogs live in family groups called sounders. Generalists, they eat just about any food item they find on or in the ground and thrive in habitats ranging from swamps and forests to steppes and savannas. Learn More.