Like other species of colobus, the babies are born with an all white fur coat, which starts to turn black at around three months of age.

In contrast to other species of colobus, they have slender bodies and ischial callosities, a hard thickened area of skin on the buttocks that allows comfortable sitting on branches.

Their social behavior is like that of many polygynous monkeys, with each group consisting of related females their juvenile offspring and a territorial male.

[3] Ursine colobus are mainly vegetarian and have a diet which is made up of new leaves and seeds, with the occasional addition of fruits, insects, and termite clay.

Its range falls within a region which includes a dense and rapidly growing human population, where forest destruction has been extensive, and there is uncontrolled hunting of wildlife in many places.