February 29th, 2012 – Pavones, Costa Rica

There are three types of monkeys (howler monkey, white face monkey and Squirrel monkey) that you can find here in the Pavones area.   The monkey pictured above is the howler monkey.  Howler monkeys cannot be mistaken by their howl as it is considered the loudest land animal and can be heard up to three miles away.  They are most vocal at dawn and dusk.  These monkeys are claimed to be the laziest in the animal kingdom and spend 80% of their time resting on the dense tree tops in the rain forest.  It is rare that you see them come down from trees.  Their diets mostly consist of leaves, flowers and fruit.  The howler monkey can grow from 56 to 92 cm (not including tail) and weigh between 15-20 pounds.  The lifespan of a howler monkey ranges between 15 to 20 years.  All howler monkeys travel in groups.

Most tourists who hear howler monkeys for the first time think its some type of big animal like a guerrilla!  But don’t be alarmed, they are not aggressive and they keep their distance from humans.