Much like most New World monkeys, they use prehensile tails to harvest fruit and nuts. Both sexes of howler monkeys have trichromatic color vision, and this evolved differently from other New World monkeys due to gene duplication. Ready to learn more? Let’s explore 10 incredible Howler Monkey Facts!
1. Howler Monkeys Have Prehensile Tails
Howler monkeys’ tails are prehensile, meaning they can grasp. This fifth limb, the monkey tail, is used to grasp branches. It uses its tail to grip branches by gliding around and foraging high in the trees. A normal family group consists of between 15 and 20 howlers. There is a strong possibility that their tail might be used as an extra hand. With its help, they can swing from trees or pluck fruit from the ground. The tail of a howler monkey supports full body weight.
2. They Have a Very Keen Sense of Smell
Howler Monkeys have developed extraordinarily sensitive noses throughout time to help them find ripe food. One of the howler’s primary senses is its ability to detect odors. The short snouts of these monkeys have wide, o-shaped nostrils, and they can smell fruits and nuts from more than two kilometers.
3. They Are the Only Monkeys in the New World That Primarily Eat Leaves
Except for nuts and seeds, howlers primarily ingest leaves from canopies. For their safety, they must not eat too many leaves from the same species since some of them carry poisons that might kill them. Howler monkeys have been known to steal eggs from bird nests and chicken coops, but this is rare.
4. Only Male Howler Monkeys “Howl”
Males are the only ones capable of making these booming noises. There are just a few dominant male howlers in any social group, and their roars and wrath entice several females to mate with them. There are six males and many females in the other groups, all engaged in a collective form of “jungle love.”
5. They Have A Special Bone In Their Throat Which Amplifies Their Calls
Howler monkeys are one of the most obnoxious land animals, producing a deep, low rumble. This wailing sound comes from a hole in their larger hyoid bone that allows them to inhale air. A bone in their skull called the hyoid bone allows them to emit exceptionally loud vocalizations.
6. Their Tails Can Be Up to 5 Times the Length of Their Body
With a tail up to 5 times as long as their torso, these creatures are formidable and tough to handle.” Black howler monkeys are the largest primates found in Latin American rainforests. Males have larger bodies than females, with their tails reaching lengths of up to 24 to 26 inches (60 to 65 cm).
7. Their Name Comes from the Sound They Make
Their wild yelps have earned them the moniker “Howler.” A group of howlers can be heard wailing as far as three miles away at dawn or dusk. This can be a highly frightening sound at night in the rainforest, which is why it’s best to avoid it!
8. Howler Monkeys Howl to Declare Their Territory
According to the study, black howler monkeys walked in lengthy, straight lines before reaching a spot where they had previously encountered another group of monkeys. The monkeys began producing noisy sounds to signal to other monkey groups that they had arrived. Males may use this loud cry to scare off potential rivals, and this is because howler monkeys are fiercely protective of their home range.
9. They Can “Sense” With Their Tails
Howler monkeys, as well as other New World monkeys, have large, side-opening nostrils and no padding on their rumps, unlike Old World monkeys. The tails of howlers are similarly prehensile. However, some Old World monkey species use their tail as an extra limb to hold onto and even dangle from branches. In this way, they are like humans in that they can sense with their tails as people do with their hands.
10. They Are Considered One of the Loudest Land Mammals
Black howler monkeys have a lion-like roar and are the world’s loudest land animal. Listeners may hear their calls from as far away as three miles away!
