Howler monkeys define the jungles of the Americas with their ruckus. Without their throaty howl it wouldn’t be the same. As the sun rises, the howlers inflate their throat sacs like great wind instruments and bellow a haunting, deafening call that can carry for miles (as many as 10). They are perhaps the loudest animals on land. Howling is mostly an activity for the males but the females vocalize a little too.

Two males doing their thing

Then when they finish with their morning howl they start foraging for breakfast. They chew and climb slowly, taking days to cover the square kilometer expanse of a group’s range. A male, female, their young, and the whole clan will slowly move along in the upper jungle branches. They crawl along, not leaping and swinging like spider monkeys, and tend to use their favorite paths over and over. They almost always have a good grip on things with their long prehensile tails. They can spend long hours gazing into the jungle. Apparently, their diet of fruit and leaves is not very energizing for these big monkeys and they can sleep as much as 15 hours in a day. They are the largest monkeys in the Americas.

Thanks to sounding off and listening for other group’s vocalizations they won’t have to run into any other groups of howler monkeys that they would rather stay away from. They would do well to stay away from some people as well because they have been hunted for their meat in the past. With the noise they make, large size and inactivity, they don’t make very good pets.

Female black howler monkey with young

When a mother gives birth all the females of the clan gather around to have a look. The newborns hang on to the mothers back for about a year. After another six months to a year the mother lets the newborn know with a snarl or a slap that it is time to for them to become more independent and hang out with the other members of the clan. Meanwhile the mother gets ready for her next young one.

A quick clip of red howlers demonstrating their craft.