RED HOWLER MONKEY

Did you know? Half of our Rainforest Expeditions guests spot these vocal primates!

The boat ride to our Amazon lodges is as peaceful as it is beautiful. Green jungle flanks each side of the smooth, coffee-brown Tambopata River. An elegant Anhinga stalks the shoreline, and a pair of Red and Green Macaws screech fly high overhead. It’s a sunny afternoon and cicadas lazily drone from the Peruvian jungle. Just as the boat rounds a bend, the guide suddenly yells out, “Red Howler Monkey!”

Red Howler Monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) are one of several primate species that make their home in the forests of Tambopata. Not as active as other monkeys, they tend to sit in their favorite tree, feasting on leaves for long hours. This monkey lives around all of our Amazonian eco-lodges, and many guests see them during their jungle tours.

Red Howler Monkey Fun Facts

• Aptly named: The name of this primate species describes them well. They have reddish fur, and like all howler monkeys, are quite vocal. They make a windy, roaring noise created by a specially modified hyoid bone in their throats. The sound is so loud that it can carry for 20 miles! In fact, Howler monkeys are the loudest animals in the New World.


• Prehensile tail: Like many monkeys in the Amazon, Red Howlers have a prehensile tail (able to grasp) to hold onto tree branches. This keeps them from falling to the forest floor.


• Color vision: While color vision in most New World monkeys is restricted to females, both sexes of Red Howler Monkeys can see in color.


• Social animals: Red Howler Monkeys usually live in groups of 10 to 15, each including a few males, several females, and young monkeys.


• Vegetarian: Howler Monkeys are the only New World primates with a diet of mostly leaves. They also eat nuts, some fruits, and they occasionally snatch bird eggs.

How to plan your Amazon travel to see Red Howler Monkeys and other rainforest wildlife

• Watch for reddish “balls” in treetops: It’s surprising how well Red Howler Monkeys can blend into their surroundings! They can be easily overlooked due to their inactivity. Use binoculars to check any ball-like objects in the treetops, to see if they are Red Howler Monkeys.


• Watch treetops on boat rides and from canopy towers: Red Howlers are true denizens of the canopy. Boat rides along the Tambopata River and canopy towers provide views of treetops frequented by this monkey species.


• Travel with an experienced guide: To trek and boat in the monkeys’ habitat, visit our stunning Rainforest Expedition lodges in the Peruvian Amazon. One of our experienced guides will help you spot them!