A pensive gelada monkey in Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia’s northern highlands. Credit: Graeme Green
It’s a ‘you-scratch-my-back, I’ll-scratch-yours’ situation,” says wildlife guide Dani Fikru. We’re watching a huddle of geladas caringly checking through each other’s fur. “They spend 30 to 40 per cent of their day grooming. They’re picking out parasites, but it also has social value: it’s a way to show friendship.”
These monkeys are ‘friendly’ to humans too, or, at least, many of them are habituated enough that, with no sudden moves or loud noises, I can sit among them as they go about their daily grazing and grooming. Geladas are one of Ethiopia’s endemic species, along with the Ethiopian wolf and the walia ibex. I’m here to discover more about the wildlife of the Highlands.