Colobus angolensis ranges from northeast Angola north to the Congo-Ubangui river system, eastwards (with a disjunct range) to the montane and coastal forests of Tanzania and southeastern Kenya (Anderson et al. 2007, Bocian and Anderson 2013). It occurs from sea level to 2,415 m asl (Nyungwe, Rwanda) in East Africa (Anderson et al. 2007, Fashing et al. 2007).

Eight subspecies are recognised, of which one is undescribed:

• Colobus angolensis angolensis (Sclater’s Angola Colobus) occurs in northeastern Angola, north to the great bend of the Congo River and southwards to perhaps extreme northwestern Zambia (Bocian and Anderson 2013). C. a. angolensis became locally extinct before 1990 in the Domaine de Chasse de Swa-Kibula in southwestern DRC (Dino 2014).

• Colobus angolensis cottoni (Powell-Cotton’s Angola Colobus) is endemic to DRC. It ranges from northeast of the Congo River, east to Lake Albert and north to the Uélé-Ubangui river system (it forms a hybrid zone with C. a. ruwenzorii in the southeast).

• Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii (Rwenzori Angola Colobus) occurs along both sides of the Western (Albertine) Rift, from the Semiliki Valley and the Rwenzori Mountains of extreme eastern DRC and extreme western Uganda, to Rwanda, Burundi and northwestern Tanzania.

• Colobus angolensis cordieri (Cordier’s Angola Colobus) is endemic to DRC between the Lowa River and Luama River from the Lualaba River in the western to near Lake Kivu in the east, where it forms a hybrid zone with C. a. ruwenzorii.

• Colobus angolensis prigoginei (Prigogine’s Angola Colobus) is endemic to Mount Kabobo, eastern DRC.

• Colobus angolensis palliatus (Peters’s Angola Colobus) is found in Kenya and Tanzania. It inhabits extreme southeastern Kenya in the north (Kwale County), the Eastern Arc Mountain blocks of East Usambara, Western Usambara, South Pare, Malundwe, Uluguru and Nguru. It is rare in Nguu. This subspecies is also found in the coastal forests of Tanzania north of the Rufiji River and riverine forest along the Rufiji River (Rogers 1981, Anderson et al. 2007).

• Colobus angolensis sharpei (Sharpe’s Angola Colobus) inhabits areas around Lake Rukwa in southwestern Tanzania to north Malawi and northeastern Zambia. This subspecies might occur in northern Mozambique (Groves and Ting 2013).

• Colobus angolensis ssp. nov. is presumably endemic to the Mahale Mountains, central western Tanzania (Nishida et al. 1981, Groves 2001, Grubb et al. 2003).

Colobus angolensis is listed on Appendix II of CITES and on Class B of the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Present in a number of protected areas across its range, including Lomami National Park, Salonga National Park, Virunga National Park and Okapi Wildlife Reserve (DRC), Rwenzori Mountains National Park (Uganda), Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda), Shimba Hills National Reserve (Kenya), and Udzungwa Mountains National Park and Mahale Mountains National Park (Tanzania).

In the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania the species is safe only where there is effective protection, such as in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park.

Colobus Conservation based in Diani, Kenya (the only conservation organisation dedicated to a subspecies of Colobus), promotes the conservation, preservation and protection of C. a. palliatus (and sympatric primate species) and its associated coastal forest habitats.

Colobus angolensis prigoginei is listed as Endangered due to its small range (Mount Kabobo, eastern DRC) and low densities (Plumptre et al. 2008). All other subspecies are listed as Vulnerable.