kidzsearch.com > wiki   Explore:web images videos games  

Howler monkey

KidzSearch Safe Wikipedia for Kids.
Jump to: navigation, search

Howler monkey
Brown howler
Scientific classification
Type species
Simia belzebul
Linnaeus, 1766
Howler monkey distribution

Howler monkeys, genus Alouatta, are one of the largest New World monkeys. There are 15 species. They are native to South and Central American forests.[1]

These monkeys are famous for their loud howls, which can travel three miles (4.8 km) through dense forest.[2] They are the loudest monkey and may be the loudest land animal. Group males call at dawn and dusk, and at times during the day. The function of howling may relate to intergroup spacing and territory protection.

These social primates live high in the trees (the canopy) of the rain forests of Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Brazil, northern Argentina, and Bolivia. Howlers have a life span of about 20 years. They are in decline due to a loss of habitat.


  1. Groves C.P; Wilson D.E. & Reeder D.M. (eds) 2005. Mammal species of the world. 3rd ed, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 148–152.

    Template-specific style sheet:

    ISBN 0-801-88221-4
  2. Dunn, Terry at Smithsonian National Zoological Park
A pair of black howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) vocalising