The Truth About Howler Monkeys, Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica

Howler Monkeys are amongst the largest of the new world monkeys

. They are native to Central and South American forests and one of the best National Parks to see them in Costa Rica is Corcovado National Park.

This species of monkeys lives up to an elevation of 2,500 m from southern Mexico to northwestern South America. Canopies of lowland and mountain forests are home to them.

Howler monkeys range in size from 56 to 92 cm, excluding their tail which can be as long. Like many New World monkeys, these guys have prehensile tails. Unlike other New World monkeys, both male and female howler monkeys have color vision. An adult male Howler can weigh up to 7 kg and a female may weigh up to 5 kg. They have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.

These monkeys are named Howlers because of their incredible vocalization skills. Their howls can be heard more than 1 km away through the forest. They usually scream at sunrise and at sunset or in response to people, airplanes, rain and thunders, or other howlers. Some biologists conclude that the howling is used as a spacing mechanism between individuals or to communicate within the troop.

The group is usually defined as several adult males and females, with their juveniles and infants, although juveniles usually leave their parents' group eventually at 12 weeks old. A female will become sexually active at 3 years, and have her first infant before her fourth year, with a gestation period of 6 months. Within a group, all adult males are dominant to all adult females, but the youngest adult of either sex holds the alpha rank for that sex. Average group size varies from 11 to 18 depending on the region. Howlers hardly ever descend to the ground except to travel between islands of trees. Howlers are relatively common in Costa Rican forests, where they constitute 69% of primate biomass within the country.

These primates are sedentary foragers. They eat mostly leaves, but they may also pick fruits and flowers. Since they are not dependent on only eating fruit (as spider monkeys do), howlers can survive in home ranges rather small for a primate of their size. From one tree they may choose mature leaves, young leaves, flowers or the petioles. They also seem to base their food choices on how much the plant contains protein, fiber, and levels of alkaloids and tannins. Essentially, they try to maximize protein and amino acids in their diet but minimize their intake of fiber and plant secondary compounds.

One of the best places where you can find Howler monkeys is Corcovado National Park. This park hosts a number of Howler monkeys and you are going to bump into one of them for sure while you take a trip through the park.

by: Marina K. Villatoro

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