Mandrill
Mandrillus sphinx (Linnaeus, 1758)
The mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) is a primate in the family Cercopithecidae, subfamily Cercopithecinae and tribe Papionini. It is a medium-sized mammal with a representative adult body mass of 18.25 kg, and reported values range from 12.33 to 30.61 kg.
Quick facts about the mandrill
The mandrill is a diurnal, scansorial herbivore. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and has a gestation period of 174 days.
- Weight
- 12.3 kg – 30.6 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 40 years – 46.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- fruits, seedssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 174 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.05src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.63 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.83src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Scansorialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the mandrill
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the mandrill live?
Not recorded
What is the mandrill?
The mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males have a larger body, longer canine teeth and brighter coloring. Its closest living relative is the drill, with which it shares the genus Mandrillus. Both species were traditionally thought to be baboons, but further evidence has shown that they are more closely related to white-eyelid mangabeys.
Mandrills mainly live in tropical rainforests but will also travel across savannas. They are active during the day and spend most of their time on the ground. Their preferred foods are fruit and seeds, but mandrills will consume leaves, piths, mushrooms, and animals from insects to juvenile bay duiker. Mandrills live in large, stable groups known as "hordes" which can number in the hundreds. Females form the core of these groups, while adult males are solitary and only reunite with the larger groups during the breeding season. Dominant males have the most vibrant colors and fattest flanks and rumps, and have the most success siring young.
The mandrill is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Its biggest threats are habitat destruction and hunting for bushmeat. Gabon is considered the stronghold for the species. Its habitat has declined in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, while its range in the Republic of the Congo is limited.
From the Wikipedia article “Mandrill” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mandrill&oldid=1384969998), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mandrill endangered?
The mandrill is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the mandrill classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderPrimates
- familyCercopithecidae
- genusMandrillus
- SpeciesMandrillus sphinx (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Maimon burlacei, Mandrillus escherichi, Mandrillus hagenbecki, Mandrillus insularis, Mandrillus schreberi, Mandrillus sphinx insularis, Mandrillus sphinx madarogaster, Mandrillus tessmanni, Mandrillus zenkeri, Mandrillus zenkeri ebolowae, Papio planirostris, Papio sphinx, Simia latidens, Simia madarogaster, Simia maimon, Simia mormon, Simia pennanti, Simia sphinx, Simia suilla
Other names and names in other languages (13)
- ماندريلArabic
- ميمون أبو الهولArabic
- МандрылBelarusian
- ΜανδρίλλοςGreek
- MandrilSpanish
- mandrilliFinnish
- MandrilloItalian
- マンドリルJapanese
- Mandryl barwnolicyPolish
- СфинксRussian
- МандрилRussian
- Мандрил звичайнийUkrainian
- 山魈Chinese
Relatives of the mandrill
Other species in the same genus Mandrillus.
Drill
Mandrillus leucophaeus
CompareMandrill vs Drill
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the mandrill?
The mandrill is a mammal in the order Primates and the family Cercopithecidae.
How heavy is a mandrill?
An adult Mandrill has a representative body mass of 18.25 kg. Reported values range from 12.33 to 30.61 kg.
What does the mandrill eat?
The mandrill is a herbivore.
Is the mandrill endangered?
The mandrill is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does a mandrill live?
The mandrill has a lifespan of 40 years, with values up to 46.3 years reported.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mandrill
“Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mandrill.
@misc{mandrill_2026,
title = {Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mandrill},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}