Venezuelan red howler monkey

Alouatta seniculus

Irish Name: Moncaí uallach rua Colómach
IUCN: Least Concern

The Venezuelan red howler monkey is a medium-sized primate that belongs to the New World monkeys (monkeys that are found in North and South America). It has a red-brown coat, a large jaw and neck and a long tail. Its tail is sometimes longer than its body.

Venezuelan red howler monkey

Alouatta seniculus

Irish Name: Moncaí uallach rua Colómach
IUCN: Least Concern

The Venezuelan red howler monkey is a medium-sized primate that belongs to the New World monkeys (monkeys that are found in North and South America). It has a red-brown coat, a large jaw and neck and a long tail. Its tail is sometimes longer than its body.

General Information

Where do they live? (Natural habitat)

Venezuelan red howlers live in many different forest habitats, including rainforests, tropical deciduous forests and even mangrove (tropical trees found near water, usually saltwater) swamps. They are found on the South American continent in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivia and Brazil.

How long do they live?

Venezuelan red howlers can live up to 25 years in zoos and around 18 years in the wild.

What do they eat?

Venezuelan red howlers are herbivores (plant-eaters) and over 52% of their diet comes from leaves. Their large jaws help them chew tough leaves. Leaves are not very nutritious, so they supplement their diet with seasonal fruits (like wild figs) and flowers. They spend most of their time high up in tree canopies where the most nutritious leaves are found. Venezuelan red howlers are not picky eaters. They have been seen eating 195 different species of plants.

Group name

Troop

Zoo location

South American House

Closest related species / sister species

The Bolivian red howler monkey, once considered a subspecies of the Venezuelan red howler monkey, is the closest related species.

Animal class

Mammalia

Animal order

Primates

Fun Facts

Noisy neighbours

Venezuelan red howlers have large jaws and hyoid bones (the bone that attaches all the muscles in your tongue and throat). This allows them to produce loud vocalisations that can be heard 3 - 5 km away. Howler monkeys are the loudest land animals in the world.

An extra hand

The Venezuelan red howler has a prehensile tail, meaning that it can use its tail to grasp things. The tail acts as an extra hand for grabbing onto branches, leaving its hands free to collect food.

It takes a village

Venezuelan red howler infants are cared for by all the females in a troop. The females without their own babies spend lots of time admiring the newborn infants, gently touching them with their noses.

Four thumbs up!

Venezuelan red howlers grab branches with their thumbs and index fingers on one side and the rest of their fingers on the other side, making it look like they have two sets of thumbs. This gives them a strong hold on branches.

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Family Life

Venezuelan red howlers are social primates and live in troops of 2-13 members. These troops contain a dominant male, a couple of females and younger males. The troop spends a lot of the day maintaining social bonds between its members. This is mainly done by members grooming each other.

Like all howler monkeys, Venezuelan red howlers are very vocal. Howling helps them to establish and maintain their territories. When a troop starts to howl, any other howler monkeys close by will return the howl. As a result, each troop knows the position of other troops nearby.

Baby name

Infant

Gestation (pregnancy) period

Approximately six months

Number of young at birth

Generally one

Weight at birth

Approximately 450 g

Age at maturity

4-5 years of age

Adult size

6-72 cm long body, 49-75 cm long tail, 4.5-7.5 kg in weight

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Conservation

Least Concern

Currently, the Venezuelan red howler monkey is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Current population estimate

Unknown but decreasing

Threats

The main threats to Venezuelan red howlers are habitat loss due to deforestation (for agriculture, logging and human development) and hunting by humans.

What is Dublin Zoo doing?

Dublin Zoo provides education on and raises awareness of this species and the conservation threats it faces in the wild.

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FAQs

  • Where do red howler monkeys live?

    Red howler monkeys live in many different forest habitats, including rainforests and tropical deciduous forests, in South America. They are found in Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivia and Brazil.

  • What do red howler monkeys eat?

    Venezuelan red howlers are herbivores (plant-eaters). They mostly eat leaves, but they also eat fruits (like wild figs) and flowers.

  • Do red howler monkeys have any natural predators?

    Venezuelan red howlers do have natural predators. These include harpy eagles and jaguars. Pumas and Boa constrictor snakes may also hunt them.

  • Are red howler monkeys endangered?

    No, Venezuelan red howlers are currently not endangered. They are classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, their populations in the wild are decreasing, and they face threats like the deforestation of their habitats and hunting by humans.

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