Tuesday 21 May
In the News: First crane egg in the western UK in four centuries

What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Primates |
| Family | Atelidae |
| Genus | Lagothrix (1) |
Geoffroy’s woolly monkey (Lagothrix cana) is a large, arboreal primate from the Amazon (3) (5). As its alternative common name of grey woolly monkey suggests, Geoffroy’s woolly monkey has a thick, dense, grey coat (2). The face, hands and feet are black and the inside of the arms are also dark (2). Woolly monkeys (those belonging to the genus Lagothrix) have protruding stomachs and for this reason they are known in Portuguese as ‘macaco barrigudo’, meaning big-bellied monkeys (6). Despite their large size and robust build, woolly monkeys are able to manoeuvre aptly through the trees with the help of their large prehensile tails (7).
Geoffroy’s woolly monkey spends most of its time high in the tree tops, moving through the upper canopy as it searches for fruit in the crowns of large trees (10). It is not as fast as other South American monkeys, such as the spider monkeys, and rarely leaps between trees, but it can hang suspended by only its tail if it needs to bridge a large gap (5). Although primarily a fruit eater, Geoffroy’s woolly monkey supplements this diet with young leaves and seeds during times of fruit scarcity (10).
Geoffroy’s woolly monkey lives in mixed-sex groups of 11 to 25 individuals (2) (7). The group moves together around the home range, sharing the best feeding spots with other Geoffroy’s woolly monkey groups in the area. There is little aggression between groups and they often forage close together and communicate with clucking calls. The males also make ‘neighing’ calls which can be heard up to 400 metres away (2).
Geoffroy’s woolly monkey usually lives to about 26 years old (2). The oldest males, who are also the most dominant, are very tolerant of other males in the group and allow the females to mate with more than one male (2). In primate terms, the length of mating in Geoffroy’s woolly monkey is very long, lasting an average of four minutes (2).
TopGeoffroy’s woolly monkey occurs in South America. Two subspecies are currently recognised: Lagothrix cana cana occurs in Brazil and Peru while Lagothrix cana tschudii occurs only in south-east Peru (1). An isolated population of Geoffroy’s woolly monkeyshas also been discovered in Bolivia (8); this population may soon be classified as another distinct subspecies as individuals in this group are much darker in colour than those in Brazil and Peru (1).
TopThis primate is usually found in cloud forest between 1,000 and 2,500 metres above sea level, although theBolivian population have been found as low as 700 metres (8). Geoffroy’s woolly monkey prefers non-flooded areas where there is an abundance of mosses, tree ferns, bromeliads and orchids (9).
TopGeoffroy’s woolly monkey is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List (1) and listed on Appendix II of CITES (4). Subspecies: Lagothrix cana cana is classified as Endangered (EN) and the Peruvian woolly monkey (L. c. tschudii) is classified as Data Deficient (DD) on the IUCN Red List (1).
TopGeoffroy’s woolly monkey is desperately threatened by hunting (11), both for food and for the pet trade. Females with offspring are frequently targeted so that the babies may be sold into the pet trade. It has been reported that three hunters in the Western Amazon killed over 200 woolly monkeys in a little less than two years, resulting in their local extinction (11), illustrating the devastating effect that hunting may have on this species. Deforestation is also a serious problem for Geoffroy’s woolly monkey (1); forest is cleared to make way for agricultural land and, in the south of its range, as a result of mining for cassiterite (a mineral that is the chief source of tin) (11).
TopLuckily, many of the areas in which Geoffroy’s woolly monkey occurs are now protected within National Parks. In Bolivia the entire known range of the Geoffroy’s woolly monkey is contained within two protected areas (1). It is also listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning that any international trade in this species should be carefully monitored (4).
TopTo find out more about Geoffroy’s woolly monkey conservation projects, see:
To learn more about the conservation of primates in the Amazon see:
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
More »Related species
Image credit
© Nick Gordon / www.ardea.com
Ardea wildlife pets environment
35 Brodrick Road
Wandsworth Common
London
SW17 7DX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 208 672 2067
Fax: +44 (0) 208 672 8787
ardea@ardea.co.uk
http://www.ardea.com
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.