Howler Monkey
Howler Monkey
2. As the sun rises over the tropical forests of the New World, a powerful bellow echoes through the treetops. Louder than any dawn chorus sung by birds, this is how howler monkeys greet the day. Their supersized voice boxes amplify the sound to carry up to 3 miles (5 km), informing other groups that this patch of forest is occupied.
3. The Howler Monkey is the loudest monkey and the loudest land animal. The only animal that is louder than the Howler Monkey is the Blue Whale. The Howler's call can be heard up to three miles (5 km) away.
4. The Howler is the largest New World monkey (monkeys from South, North, and Central America). These social primates live high in the trees (the canopy) of the rain forests of southern Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia.
5. Howlers have a life span of about 20 years. These monkeys are in decline due to a loss of habitat.
6. Adult male Howlers are black to brown; females and the young are lighter in color.
7. Howlers grow to be about 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1.2 m) tall and weigh from 8 to 22 pounds (3.5 to 10 kg).
8. They have a long tail, a short snout, and wide-set, round nostrils.
10. Howlers eat mostly leaves, but occasionally supplement their diet with fruit and maggots.
11. Large birds of prey (like the harpy eagle) prey upon the howler monkey.
12. The Howler Monkey is the loudest monkey on land. The howler monkey is the largest monkey on land.
13. The mystery of why howling monkeys were suddenly falling from trees for no apparent reason.
14. Howler monkeys are noted for their remarkably loud guttural calls described as howls or growls. The male howler monkey has the loudest call of any primate. The angle of the lower jaw and the hyoid bone are greatly enlarged. These adaptations make possible the loud vocal resonations that amplify the sounds they project. These loud calls are used by male howler monkeys to communicate group location, distance and composition.
15. Calls are also used to mark territory and keep intruders away.
16. Male and female black howler monkeys look very different. Males are all black but the females have gold fur and a black face. This difference is called dimorphic coloration. All babies have gold colored fur when they are born, but by the time they are two and a half years old, the male’s fur color changes to black. The gold color of females and young may help them blend into the forest providing protection from predators.
17. Howler monkeys have prehensile tails - a special feature that is useful for treetop living. Prehensile tails have a patch of bare skin on the underside of the last part of the tail that allows them to grasp branches. They rarely leap or jump from one branch to another. Instead they use their strong, muscular tails to anchor themselves as they climb in the trees. They use their tails to extend their reach and they can even hang from a tree by their tail alone.
18. Howler monkeys spend 75% of their time resting, and rarely leave the trees.
19. Most of their diet consists of leaves.
Alouatta is the most widespread New World monkey genus.
20. The ancient Maya civilization worshipped howler monkey gods, and although this culture has long since disappeared, the monkeys still roam the ruins of Mayan cities in Honduras and Guatemala. More of a roaring, guttural whoop than a howl, their powerful call is the loudest sound made by any land animal. The “long calls,” as they are known, may serve to maintain distance between groups, avoiding the need for confrontation or aggressive encounters, and thus conserving energy
21. The male howler has a specially adapted bone in his throat which allows him to make his loud calls for which howlers are known.
22. Black howlers are sexually dimorphic in both size and color. Males are black, females are yellow-brown or olive colored. Infants are blonde.
23. The hyoid of howlers has air spaces within bones, one of the few cases of this condition outside of dinosaurs. This allows the super loud “howler” vocalization.
24. Strong prehensile tail, bare on the underside so it is sensitive to touch; acts like a fifth hand.
25. While the females of most species of New World monkeys are trichromats, both male and female howler monkeys are, that is they both see in color.
26. Named for their vocalizations, Black howlers may be heard most often around sunrise.
27. This "dawn chorus" sounds much more like roaring than howling, and it announces the howlers' position as a means to avoiding conflict with other groups.
28. Live in family groups of as many as 19 individuals; smaller groups of 5-8 are more common; in multi-male, multi-female groups. When mating, males and females within a single group pair off.
29. Somewhat territorial
30. Mark territory using scent gland on ano-genital area and male uses throat scent gland.
31. These monkeys commonly sleep or rest most of the day, making them one of the least active monkeys in the New World.
32. They are large bodied but not the largest monkey by any means wooleys and spider monkeys are larger.
33. Primarily arboreal
34. Rarely leap from branch to branch - The prehensile tail is very strong and acts as a fifth limb, allowing the monkeys greater versatility when climbing and allowing them greater safety in the occasional fall from a high branch
35. Preyed on by harpy eagles and jaguars
36. They require forests with diverse species of plant life to supply their dietary needs.
37. Because their limb structure makes terrestrial movement awkward they rarely come down from the trees they live in and their water needs are usually met by their diet. In the dry season, they will come down to drink water in lakes or supplement their diet with marsh-living herbaceous plants. They also drink by wetting their hands on arboreal leaves and licking their hands.
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