Red-bellied Spider Monkey

Conservation Status:
CITES Appendix 2

Description:
Spider monkeys have a head-and-body length of 15-25 inches, and weigh about 13 pounds.  They have a slender body with very long arms, legs, and tail.  The tail is prehensile (adapted for grasping).  Their fur is dark brown or black overall, and reddish brown on the belly.  They have long fingers for grasping tree branches, and the underside of the tail tip is bare, allowing it to function as an extra hand.  They do not have thumbs.

Range:
Eastern Panama and parts of Columbia

Habitat:
Rain forests and montane forests

Diet:
In the wild they mainly eat fruit, with supplements of nuts, seeds, flowers, leaves, insects, spiders, and eggs.  In the zoo, our spider monkeys eat leaf-eater diet, monkey chow, kale, carrots, apples, bananas, and other produce when available.  They are also fed other food items for enrichment, such as raisins, peanuts, and peanut butter.

Life Cycle:
Red-bellied spider monkeys can breed year-round.  Most females give birth once every three years.  Gestation lasts 200-232 days, and one offspring is born at a time.  Twins are possible, but rare.  The young may nurse from 10 weeks up to 2 years.  Females are mature when they are 4 years old, and males reach maturity at 5 years.  They can live up to 48 years in captivity, but their lifespan in the wild is probably about 15 years.

Did You Know?

·        Spider monkeys spend most of their time high in the rain forest canopy, using their long arms to swing from branch to branch.  When they walk on the ground, they hold their arms up over their heads to keep them from dragging on the ground.

·        When approached in the wild, spider monkeys break off heavy branches and try to drop them on the intruders.

·        During times of abundant food, they may gather in groups of up to 100 individuals.  When food becomes harder to find, larger groups split into many small groups of 2-30.  Females may move from one group to another, but males usually stay with the group they were born with.

·        The males in each group work together to defend their group’s territory.

·        This species is thought to be vulnerable, due to habitat destruction, poaching, and capture for the pet trade.

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