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Black howler monkeys move through their environment using mental maps that the primates modify and adapt as the landscape changes – a skill previously seen only in humans
Howler monkeys are a noisy bunch, and their deep hollering vocalizations (which seem to be associated with small testicles) can travel remarkable distances through the canopy. New research published in the journal Animal Behaviour has uncovered another way in which these roaring monkeys are perfectly adapted to rainforest life, as they found that howlers have remarkable navigation skills. Not only could they remember the location of their favourite foods (and when they were in season) they knew the critical locations for reminding neighboring troops to keep out of their territory with warning calls.
The research, led by Oxford Brookes University, studied black howler monkeys (
Credit: Dallas Levey
An international team of researchers led by Oxford Brookes University shows that black howler monkeys in Mexico not only remember where important events took place in their habitat, but also when to return to such locations.
The researchers recorded the behaviour of five groups of black howler monkeys accumulating over 3,000 hours of field observations at Palenque National Park, southern Mexico.
Expert fruit foragers
Black howler monkeys were observed navigating deliberately towards out of sight fruit trees that were ripening. Fruit is a desired food by many animals in rainforests so being able to anticipate when fruit is going to be available and where, is a great strategy to forage ahead of competitors. The monkeys selected a small subset of fruit trees with easy-to-remember ripening cycles - showing, like humans, a tendency to minimise information processed during navigation.