Howler Monkey Feeding in Monteverde’s Canopy

The mantled howler (Alouatta palliata) is among the loudest land animals on Earth, with males producing calls audible up to three miles away through a specialized, enlarged hyoid bone in the throat. Troops in Costa Rica's cloud forests typically number between six and fifteen and rarely descend to the ground, spending nearly their entire lives in the upper canopy. Their diet consists mainly of leaves supplemented with fruit and flowers, and slow, deliberate movement helps them conserve energy from this low-calorie food source. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with habitat fragmentation posing the primary threat to populations in Costa Rica's forest reserves.

Taken February 2019