Graeme Teague Photography

Red Howler Monkey 5896

Caption: Red Howler Monkey 5896
Scientific name: Alouatta seniculus
Location: Peru
Copyright: © Gress / gtphoto 832-526-1123 gtphoto@shaw.ca
AGPix ID: AGPix_GrTePh23_1848
Digital Original
Comments: Red Howler Monkey - Tambopata, Peru. The Venezuelan red howler is a South American species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, found in the western Amazon Basin in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Their diets mainly consist of leaves, but they also rely on nuts, small animals, fruits, seeds, and flowers for important nutrients. These foods provide sugar necessary for growth and energy. The most important part of their diets is leaves, which they cannot live without for more than a week. The fierce sexual competition between males is due to an unbalanced sex ratio. A female attracts males by moving her tongue around to initiate mating. If the male does not respond, she moves on to another mate. After males reach sexual maturity, they are expelled from their natal group. The male must then invade a foreign group. There, the male kills off the other leader and whatever offspring the first leader sired. By doing this, the male is killing any possible competition. Less than 25% of offspring survive male invasions. GTPhoto is a brilliant knowledge/photo agency with all award winning photographers, filmmakers, authors, scientists & guides covering our world.