Amazon Rainforest Monkeys are one of the main animals people search for in the rainforest. Perhaps they remind us of our own ancestry and we feel more of a connection to this group. Whatever the reason, the diversity of primates is astonishing and you are sure to find different species if exploring the Amazon with a professional guide.
A fantastic place to visit to see a high diversity of Amazon monkeys is the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Reserve of the western Amazon Rainforest. You can visit this area from the Tahuayo Lodge located 150km from the city of Iquitos, north Peru.
Spider Monkey
Spider monkeys feed on fruits, berries, soft leaves, insects, and honey and live in large territorial groups. The groups split during the day to feed and meet back in the evenings sounding out greeting calls. They live in the western Amazon Rainforest.
Titi Monkey
Titi Monkeys have a robust body with short limbs and a hairy non-prehensile tail. Titis feed off grubs, leaves, seeds, and fruit. They seem to prefer trees near bodies of water and form pair bonds.
Tamarin Monkey
Tamarins feed on birds, invertebrates, soft fruit, and plant exudates. They are very diverse in appearance and their names reflect this e.g Saguinus mystax, the moustached tamarin, or Saguinus imperator, the emperor tamarin named after Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German emperor. Google Kaiser Wilhelm II and look at the above photo to see why. Tamarins form troops of 2 to 11 members with frequent migrations and live in tropical forest areas in Central and South America.
Squirrel Monkey
Squirrel Monkeys live in the forests of South America and feed off fruit and invertebrates. They have diverse calls specific to alarm, courtship, dominance, and pain. Around 26 different calls have been recorded. The best time to see these monkeys is early morning. They sometimes approach visitors out of curiosity and even throw small items onto onlookers. They generally form larger groups than other monkeys of the New World, which consist of 120 – 300 or more individuals in areas of unaltered Amazon rainforest.
Night Monkeys
Night Monkeys, or Owl Monkeys, are often seen while night spotting for nocturnal Amazon wildlife. Night monkeys form pair bonds and you will usually see two or more heads poking out from tree holes in the forest. They form close family groups of 4 or 5 family members. There are many species of owl monkey with a lot of disagreement among naturalists regarding taxonomy.
Capuchin Monkeys
Capuchin monkeys eat leaves, fruit, insects, and other small animals. Capuchins are also known to use stones to crack open shelled prey like crabs. They live in troops of around 10 – 40 members in South American forests and are more able to adapt to habitat change than most other monkeys.
Books on Wildlife
Here is a selection of good books and guides on wildlife to help you learn more about animals and plants in their natural environment.
