Oftentimes you’ll hear them far in the distance, and before you can make it to them, they’re gone.
The first time that I saw one, I was hiking along a trail in the city and noticed a group of people stopped just ahead, pointing up towards las copas de los árboles, or the tree canopy. It was a hot, sunny afternoon, and the monkey was stretched out lazily on a tree limb, sleeping through the hottest part of the day. I couldn't imagine a creature that cute, and that sleepy, making the noises that I’d heard from miles away!
Mantled howler monkeys are one of the six species of monkeys in Panama. They live from Mexico to the Pacific coasts of Colombia and Ecuador. One place where you can see and hear howler monkeys is on Barro Colorado Island, or BCI, where the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has a field station and laboratory. BCI is a small island in the Panama Canal, a man-made waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. You can also hear a boat horn, about 20 seconds into the recording, telling researchers to hurry up and not miss their boat ride back to the mainland. I had the privilege to spend a few weekends on BCI and saw, and heard, many critters that call the Panamanian rainforest home, but howler monkeys just might be my favorite.
Howler monkeys travel in troops through the treetops. I saw at least five when I made this recording, and they use their howls to tell other monkeys not to mess with them. After one troop calls, another one will answer. Sometimes as you’re walking through the forest, you’ll hear howlers calling from all around you.
