Gray Lanudo Mono In Its Natural Habitat

Gray Lanudo Mono in its natural habitat

When we talk about a woolly monkey, we refer to one of the most unknown primates. These monkeys inhabit the northwestern zone of the Amazon basin and are characterized by the thick fur that names them. Specifically, the best known of all of them is the gray lanudo monkey, belonging to the genus Lagothrix as well as the other species that make up the group of these curious primates.

Gray Lanudo Monkey Characteristics

The gray lanudo monkey is one of the greatest primates in the New World, after the Lanudos spider monkeys and the man. Its name is due to the fact that it is covered with a grayish -colored waning fur, and also has a presile tail as well as other monkeys in South America, such as the case of the hard -headed capuchin monkey. The average weight of these animals is seven kilos, although in captivity there have been copies of about fifteen kilograms.They have large territories, of more than 400 hectares, and move between one and three kilometers a day. They spend most of the time feeding and moving, for which they look for fruits and seeds that are the main component of their diet, although they can also eat flowers, leaves, shoots and invertebrates. They have a strong bite, so they consume large hard bark fruits that are not consumed by other primates. In addition, they are natural seed scatters when including them in their diet, so they have a role in forest growth.

Behavior of the gray lanudo monkey

Like the vast majority of primates, the gray lanudo monkey is a social animal that lives in groups of about twenty specimens, although during the search for food they are divided into subgroups that gather at night in trees, where they sleep at a height30 meters above the ground.

In these primates, females are those that leave the group while males remain in the group, for which one of them is the dominant male, so it monopolizes reproduction. After a gestation of almost eight months, a breed is born normally every two years, which will reach the adult stage around six years. The gray lanudo monkey is an animal that performs many vocalizations, and they make shouts similar to the howler monkey to be able to locate, although of less power. They have a lot of sounds that use social or aggression contexts. Like other monkeys, these animals have predators, although their size allows them to be less exposed. Some rapt birds such as the Eagle Harpía, or some felines such as the puma and the ocelot, which may surprise them during the night stand out.

Habitat and threatened

The gray lanudo monkey lives in the world’s largest jungle: it can be found north of the Amazon, so its main distribution country is Colombia, although it also appears north of Peru and in some regions of Ecuador and Brazil.Inhabits large wet forests, in quite high trees. These primates share the habitat with other members of the same mammal order, such as squirrel monkeys or capuchinos. 

As for their conservation, they are considered vulnerable animals due to their hunting and loss of habitat. Pet traffic, although less common than in other species, is also another threatened of this species, so you have to remember why you cannot have a monkey as a pet.