When traveling through the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica, you can hear these monkeys from a ways off making their signature calls in the jungle.

Distribution

The range of Mantled Howlers is from Southern Mexico to Northern Colombia and Ecuador. In Costa Rica, they can be found on both coasts inhabiting lowland forest and montane forest. Some of their specific locations in Costa Rica include Cahuita National Park, La Amistad International Park, Corcovado National Park, Palo Verde National Park and Manuel Antonio National Park.

Mating & Reproduction

Mantled Howlers are polygamous. One male will mate with a group of females, and is considered an alpha male. If the alpha is distracted, then another male may get a chance to mate. An alpha male will reign over a troupe for around 2 to 3 years, and he may sire up to 18 individuals in that time.

The gestation period for a pregnant female is around 186 days, and baby Howler Monkeys are born with silver fur. The fur will change after about 3 months. The baby Howler will cling to its mother’s belly for 2 to 3 months before the mother starts to try to break the child of this behavior.

Behavior

Mantled Howler Monkeys live in groups of 10 to 20 individuals, and they spend their daylight hours foraging for leaves. Leaves make up the largest part of their diet, but they have also been observed eating fruit. They have a ranking system in their groups that seem to indicate that males are at the top followed by females and children.

Howler Monkeys call out as a way to meet with other groups, and seek out more sources of edible foliage. They see in three colors which helps them distinguish between tree leaves of nutritious value and those that are not.

Miscellaneous Info

Mantled Howler Monkeys are not known to use tools, but it has been hypothesized that they do. There is one recorded instance of Howlers in Venezuela using clubs to hit sloth, but it is unconfirmed. They are a pretty inactive monkey, and they sleep through the night and parts of the day.

Where to see it in Costa Rica: Cahuita National Park, La Amistad International Park, Corcovado National Park, Palo Verde National Park, Manuel Antonio National Park
Diet: leaves, fruit
Migration Pattern: non-migratory
Habitat: lowland forest, montane forest
Size: length=545-655 mm (tail) weight=3.1-9.8 kg height=481-675 mm
Species: Alouatta palliata