Black Howler Monkey

Facts about Black howler monkey. "Scientific name for Black howler monkeys is Alouatta caraya". Black howler monkeys are species of howler monkeys. The Black howler monkey are large monkeys that come from Northeastern Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. From the genus alouatta, they are the southernmost members. Scientific name for fear of monkeys is maimouphobia.

The body length of Black howler monkey is about 22 to 36 inches (55.8 to 91.4 cm). The Tail length is about 23 to 36 inches (58.4 to 91.4 cm). The weight is about 15 to 22 lbs (7 to 10 kg). The Black howler monkey necks and lower jaws are big housing their super sized vocal cords. This explains why they have energy to howl so loud.

Male Black howler monkey in adulthood are black and females and juveniles in both sexes have whitish to yellowish-buff. But there are male adults that have patches of reddish brown or buff fur.
Black howler monkeys live in groups of three to nineteen individuals. They know how to divide themselves because their sex ratio is one to three males for every seven to nine females. When it comes to mating the Black howler monkey pair themselves in a group within their territory.

Black howler monkeys are very loud and this is why they are named howler monkeys. They arise very early and they can be heard howling in a far distance. When you listen carefully you will realize that they are roaring more than howling and it is a way of announcing that they don’t want conflicts with other groups. The Black howler monkey roars can be heard as far as 3.10 miles (5 km) away from their territory.

The male Black howler monkey are the loudest and their roar is more common than that of the females. The Black howler monkey can’t end their day without howling to make sure that they know where their competitors are. The howls are answered by other males that are within.

Around the world, they are known to be less active compared to other species. The Black howler monkey spend 70% of their day sleeping or resting. When they are active, they like climbing trees and running or leaping. But the reason the Black howler monkey climb the trees all the time is because their limb structure makes terrestrial movement awkward. So they only come to the ground to drink water especially when the weather is hot.

The Black howler monkey have a prehensile tail that is very strong helping them to stabilize and offer safety options from falls that happen when they climb in trees. In fact it acts at their fifth limb.

When it is not hot they have a way of drinking water instead of coming down from the trees. The Black howler monkey wet their hands on moist leaves and the lick the water. Surprisingly the small amount of water can take them to so many days without the need of looking for more.

The Black howler monkey are folivorous (means that they mostly eat leaves). But this is not their only diet, fruits and figs are also their delicacy. Living in forests where their habitat is, ensures that they have all these in plenty.

The Black howler monkey lifespan varies and this is because the ones in captivity can live up to 20 years with the wild ones living up to 15 years. When they are in captive make sure they have plenty of leaves to feed on.

Black howler monkeys are threatened by human, clearance of forests and being caught for captivity. Most people are keeping them in zoos and as pets.
Monkey meaning (any mammal of the order Primates), this includes the macaques, capuchins, guenons and langurs, this excludes humans, the anthropoid apes, and, usually, the prosimians and tarsier.