Monkeys

Among the larger wild mammals in Honduras [1]’s forests, the three monkey species indigenous to the country—mono aullador (howler), mono cara blanca (white-faced), and mono araña (spider)—are unquestionably the easiest to spot. Noisy and very visible as they roam the upper stories of rainforests and cloud forests, the intelligent and social creatures hang out together in groups ranging from just 3–4 to more than 25. Good places to scout for monkeys are Cuero y Salado [2] and Pico Bonito [3], near La Ceiba [4]; Punta Sal [5] and Laguna de los Micos [6], near Tela [7]; Sierra de Agalta and La Muralla in Olancho; and all over the Mosquitia.

Howler monkeys are the largest and the loudest of the three. A stocky beast with dark fur weighing as much as seven kilograms, the male howler is owner of an unusually large set of vocal cords, contained in the bulging sac in his neck. After warming up with a series of loud grunts, the male howler lets loose with an unearthly roar echoing out over the jungle, which can be heard for several kilometers. The howlers’ favorite time to howl is in the early morning and sometimes in the late afternoon, also. Despite their intimidating cries, howlers are fairly passive and sedentary, and they live on a diet of fruits and plants.

Impressively acrobatic but shy and elusive, spider monkeys are named for their long, slinky limbs perfectly designed for cruising through the upper stories of tropical jungle. The tail of the spider monkey is astoundingly dexterous, equipped with sensitive pads like on the tips of fingers to better probe and grip with. Spider monkeys flee from human settlements and are much less frequently seen than other monkeys. But should you run across a group, for example, out in the forests of the Mosquitia or in Sierra de Agalta, expect them to aggressively screech, fling twigs and nuts at you, rattle branches, and create a ruckus until you move on. Like the howlers, spider monkeys subsist principally on fruits and leaves, though they may occasionally eat insects also.

Diminutive but remarkably intelligent, the white-faced or capuchin monkey stands only 40 centimeters tall or so, with a distinctive tuft of white hair around its head. Unlike the spider and howler, the white-faced monkey is an omnivore, quite content to raid a bird’s nest for its eggs or gobble a slow-footed lizard that happens by. If it finds a fruit too hard to gnaw into, a white-faced monkey will industriously bash the food against a tree or rock until it relinquishes its nourishment. White-faced monkeys were once quite bold near the Sierra de la Botija, in southern Honduras [1] near the Nicaraguan border, but reprisals from farmers whose corn they would steal have caused the monkeys to retreat deeper into the forest.