Report Writing-Black Spider Monkey

Black Spider Monkey

Black spider monkeys are endangered. What can we do about it?

Habitat

You can find the black spider monkey in the South American rainforest. Spider monkeys are found in healthy tropical rainforests in Central and South America. The black spider monkey, Ateles paniscus, its scientific name, is one of three species of spider monkey.They are called spider monkeys because they look like spiders when they are suspended by their tails.

Appearance

There are three species of the spider monkey, black headed spider monkey, brown headed spider monkey and   Colombian spider monkey. The black headed spider monkey is found in Colombia, Nicaragua and Panama.The brown headed spider monkey is found in northwestern Ecuador. The Colombian spider monkey is also found in Colombia Nicaragua and Panama.Females give birth to only a single baby every two to five years. Young monkeys depend completely on their mothers for about ten weeks, but after that time they begin to explore on their own and play amongst themselves. Mothers continue to care for their young for the first year of their lives, and often move about with their offspring clinging to their backs.

Behaviour

When spider monkeys sense predators approaching, they will make barking sounds to deter them. If that doesn’t work, they will shake the branches of the trees with their arms and legs, while hanging from their tails. They will even break off and drop “twigs” weighing up to eight pounds to frighten the intruder away.Spider monkeys live in communities of 20-40 members, called a troop. These diurnal (active during the day) creatures cover about one half-mile of distance each day, spending their time eating fruits, nuts, and seeds, as well as grooming each other to remove dirt and insects from their fur.

Reproduction

There is no set mating season for the Spider Monkey. The females are in control of when it will happen though. Studies show that when they have enough food they will go into an estrus cycle. If they aren’t getting enough food though they aren’t going to mate at all. This is why it can be tough to get the numbers back up out there in the wild for them.The females are very particular about the male in the group they will mate with. They may turn away several of them before selecting one. After successfully mating it is about two months later when the baby will be born. It is very rare for twins to arrive. The young are going to be well cared for by nurturing mothers and group members. They will feed from the milk of their mother for about 10 months.The young will stay very close to their mothers until they are about 3 years of age. At that time both the male and the females have to leave. They will have to go find another group to live with or they will create one of their own.

Yes, Black spider monkeys are endangered we can help them by not destroying their habit.

By Jessica