Guatemalan Black Howler Monkey
The Guatemalan Black Howler (Alouatta pigra) is a fascinating and endangered species of howler monkey native to the lush rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula, encompassing regions in Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. As the largest of the New World monkeys, males typically weigh around 25 pounds (11-12 kg), while females average about 14 pounds (6-7 kg). Their striking black fur, long prehensile tails, and specialized teeth for leaf consumption make them uniquely adapted to their arboreal lifestyle. These monkeys are primarily diurnal, spending their days foraging for leaves, fruits, and occasionally flowers, with a particular fondness for breadnut trees. Social creatures, Guatemalan Black Howlers live in groups that can range from 10 to 16 members, engaging in grooming and socializing to strengthen their bonds.
Despite their social nature, Guatemalan Black Howlers are not particularly active. They dedicate a significant portion of their day—approximately 25%—to eating and only about 10% to moving between feeding locations. The remainder of their time is spent socializing, grooming, and engaging in playful antics. Females reach reproductive maturity around four years of age, while males take up to eight years. With an average lifespan of 20 years, these monkeys have a relatively stable life cycle, but their future is under serious threat. Classified as an endangered species, the Guatemalan Black Howler faces significant risks from habitat loss, poaching, and the illegal pet trade. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) projects a staggering 60% population decline over the next three decades if current threats are not mitigated, which could elevate their status to critically endangered.
The plight of the Guatemalan Black Howler underscores the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect their habitats and ensure their survival. As they share their territory with the closely related Mantled Howler, understanding the ecological dynamics within their shared environments is crucial for effective conservation strategies. Protecting these remarkable primates not only contributes to biodiversity but also preserves the rich ecosystems they inhabit, which are vital to the health of our planet. The Guatemalan Black Howler stands as a poignant reminder of the delicate balance within nature and the responsibilities we hold in safeguarding our planet’s wildlife.
The endangered
Guatemalan Black Howler
(
Alouatta pigra
) (sometimes called the Yucatan Howler or Yucatan Black Howler) is one of many species of howler monkey, which is what is known as a ‘New World’ monkey. Its range is throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, and includes the areas of Mexico, Belize, and of course Guatemala. The Guatemalan Black Howler prefers to live in very lush areas, mostly sticking to all types of rain forests such as the semi-deciduous, lowland and evergreen. Of its cousins and relatives, the Guatemalan Black Howler is the largest, and is also one of the largest ‘New World’ monkeys (which include marmosets, owl monkeys, sakis, spider, and woolly monkeys). It weighs in at 25 lbs on average in males (11-12 kg) and 14 lbs for the females (6-7 kg). Their fur is usually black and their tails are very long, and prehensile (meaning it can grab and be used to hang from branches with). They also have specialized teeth for their diet of mostly leaves, along with the males possessing a larger hyoid bone located near the vocal chords, which enables their loud calls.
The Guatemalan Black is a diurnal howler, which means it is active during the day and it sleeps at night, as well as being arboreal, meaning it dwells in the trees most of its life. They are a social species that lives in groups up to ten members strong, which helps in alerting, foraging, and general upkeep through grooming. Some groups can be as large as sixteen, while larger groups are plausible, however at these sizes it is unlikely to function as well as a smaller group. Their diets consist of mostly leaves, and fruits, however they will snack on a flower here and there and their favorite tree of all is the breadnut, which provides most food during some seasons.
Not a particularly active species, the Guatemalan Black Howler would rather lounge about during the day; eating takes up a quarter of the day while moving locations for eating consists of only about a tenth of their daily activity. The rest of the day is devoted to socializing and grooming, with some other random antics. Females are old enough to have offspring by four years of age, while males may take up to eight years to reach maturity, and their total life-spans are an average of twenty years.
The Guatemalan Black Howler’s binomial name (its species and genus) is Alouatta pigra, the Alouatta’s as a genus make up most of the Howler Monkeys, which are the largest of the New World Monkeys with but a few possible exceptions. Alouatta is home to all of the howler monkeys (ten species and ten subspecies), and belongs to the subfamily Alouattinae. Alouattinae belongs to the family Atelidae which is one of the four families of New World Monkeys; this includes the howler monkeys, along with spider monkeys, woolly monkeys, wooly spider monkeys, and Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkeys. Atelidae belongs to the Parvorder Platyrrhini, which contains all New World Monkeys, and includes
Marmosets
and Muriquis. Platyrrhini belongs to the infraorder Simiiformes, or ‘higher primates’, and this includes all New World and Old World monkeys from South America and Africa, and includes gibbons, great apes, and the family Hominidae of which we are members. Simiiformes belongs to the Suborder Haplorrhini, otherwise called dry-nosed primates; this includes all of the higher primates as well as
Tarsiers
. Haplorrhini belongs to the Order Primates, which is all related apes, monkeys, lorids, galagos, lemurs and human ancestors. Primates are in the class of Mammalia of the phylum Chordata in the Kingdom of Animalia.
Fact
The Guatemalan Black Howler is sympatric with another species, the
Mantled Howler
. Sympatric means that they share the same niche and territory, and encounter each other in the wild, they are also closely related.
Warning
The Guatemalan Black Howler is an Endangered Species, and is close to being classified as Critically Endangered if nothing is done to curb the loss of the species. In the next 30 years the IUCN expects to see a population loss of over 60%, making this species on the more endangered alive today. Major threats are habitat loss, poaching, and capture for use as ‘pets’.
