Spider Monkey

    Spider Monkeys are mammals and are known as the "trapeze artists" of the animal world. They spend much of their time swinging from limb to limb in the trees high above the jungle floor. These quick and well coordinated monkeys are found in the rainforests located in places such as Southern Mexico, Central and South America, Brazil and Northwestern Columbia.

    The average weight of a spider monkey is 12 - 20 pounds, the length from head and body is 19 - 20 inches and the length from head to tail is 27 - 30 inches.
   
    Spider monkeys are social animals and stay in troops of up to two or three dozen during the day. However, they split up at night in small groups, each group consisting of half a dozen or fewer monkeys. They have black glossy hair that covers their entire bodies except the face. They do not have thumbs but they can still grip powerfully to tree branches. They also have a patch of skin at the end of their long tails. This patch works like a finger, it increases their gripping ability by using their tails to swing from tree branches leaving their long arms and legs free to grab food items from other branches. Spider Monkeys feast on 90% fruit and in the wild they eat nuts, seeds, leaves, insects and bird eggs. It is believed that spider monkeys play an important role in spreading seeds of plants throughout the rainforest.

    Typically, female spider monkeys are somewhat larger than males and they give birth to a single baby every 2 or 5 years. Young monkeys depend completely on their mothers for about ten weeks. Mothers continue to care for their young for the first year and a half of their lives, and often move about with their babies clinging to their backs.

    Sadly, man is the spider monkeys greatest enemy. Humans are destroying their habitats, hunting them down for meat, and are also responsible for dragging these beautiful animals into the  pet trade business to make money.

      One day I hope to be able to help these fascinating creatures and hear them make loud noises that can be heard up to 1000 meters on the ground and up to 2000 meters above the trees.