Hangin’ Around

Alarm clock—I don’t need one in the rainforest.  Every morning before dawn (usually around 5:30 AM), howler monkeys are letting us know they are waking up.  I am always surprised that a monkey that only weighs about 12 pounds can make such a loud, deep howl.

Here is what my early morning alarm clock sounds like.  Howlers also howl when they’ve chosen their nighttime sleeping spot (to tell other howler troops to stay away), when it starts raining (maybe they don’t like getting wet), and male howlers howl to keep other males away. 

Howler monkeys have prehensile tails.  This means that they can use their tails to hold on to branches; a very convenient feature to have in the forest.  The first part of this video shows a howler hanging by its tail so its hands are free to eat the juicy fruits from the tree.  The second half of the video gives you a very good look at the howler’s face and hands.  Maybe an appropriate title for this video should be, “does anyone have a napkin that I may use?”

- Fran Zakutansky