Red-faced spider monkey Ateles paniscus
A veritable forest devil.
Learn all about the life of the red-faced spider monkey in the rainforest treetops.
The red-faced spider monkey in a nutshell
- eats
- fruits and leaves
- inhabits
- Central and South America
- excels at
- tree climbing
Red-faced spider monkeys are native to Suriname, where they are also known as forest devils (bosduivels). They received this name because the adults have a pale face that contrasts sharply with their black fur. They are social animals, and live in groups.
Prehensile tail
Red-faced spider monkeys live high in the trees where they search for fruit to eat, using their long tail as an anchor. While sleeping, they also wrap their tail tightly around a branch so as not to fall out of the tree.
Almost endangered
According to the Red List of Threatened Species issued by the IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature), the red-faced spider monkey is approaching endangered status. The number of these spider monkeys has declined by 30 percent over the past 45 years, due to habitat loss and hunting. The IUCN expects numbers to decline still further in the coming years.
Communication
Red-faced spider monkeys recognise each other by smelling or licking each other’s chest or genitals. They also scratch each other’s chests, shake tree branches back and forth, throw objects from trees, nod their heads and wave their arms.
Their vocal communications include screeching, grunting, whistling and barking. They use these calls to warn each other about enemies or to indicate where food can be found.
't Veentje
At ARTIS, the red-faced spider monkeys live in the centre of the historical pond 't Veentje, created in 1911. This pond was modelled upon the Naardermeer, which was the first protected nature reserve established by Natuurmonumenten (the Dutch Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments).
The red-faced spider monkey has been adopted by Halmos Adviseurs.