| Gray woolly monkey[1] | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Atelidae |
| Genus: | Lagothrix |
| Species: | L. cana |
| Binomial name | |
| Lagothrix cana (É. Geoffroy, 1812) |
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| Geographic range | |
The gray woolly monkey, Lagothrix cana, is a woolly monkey species from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. Lagothrix cana gets its common name, gray woolly monkey, from its thick gray coat. Their hands,feet,face and the inside of their arms are dark in color.[3] There are currently two known subspecies of Lagothrix cana: Lagothrix cana cana and Lagothrix cana tschudii. Lagothrix cana cana is found in both Brazil and Peru and Lagothrix cana tschudii is found only in south eastern Peru.[4] There was an isolated population that was discovered by Wallace and Painter in the Madidi National Park which is located in Bolivia. This population is distinctively darker and could soon be a new subspecies.[5] The gray woolly monkey has been considered endangered by IUCN since 2008. The reason for being listed as endangered is due to the species suffering a 50% decrease in population over the past 45 years due to deforestation and hunting.[6]
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Lagothrix cana or the gray woolly monkey predominately lives in cloud forest, which is a type of forest that is under cloud cover for most of the year. They can be found anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 meters above sea level. The population of gray woolly monkeys in Bolivia have been reported to be found as low as 700 meters above sea level.[5] They spend the majority of their time high in the tree tops in search of food.[7] They move through the trees with the use of their large prehensile tails which is a common trait seen in the family Atelidae.[8] They are capable of hanging from their tails and often use their tails to bridge gaps in between trees when traveling in between trees.[9]
The gray woolly monkey predominately eats fruit, but occasionally when fruit is scarce will eat young leaves and sometimes seeds.[7]
Gray woolly monkeys live in groups in sizes of anywhere from 11 members to 25 members. These groups are of both mixed ages and sexes.[8] The group will move together and show little aggression towards other groups and will often share the best feeding spots with other groups.[3]
In general, males are larger than females. The males head-body length ranges from 46 to 65 centimeters in length. The females head-body length ranges from 46 to 58 centimeters in length. The tail length of the gray woolly monkey is on average from 66 to 68 centimeters in length.[3] The male gray woolly monkey weighs an average of 9.5 kilograms. The female gray woolly monkey weighs an average of 7.7kilograms.[10]
The main threat that the gray woolly monkey faces is hunting. They are hunted for food and pets. The female gray woolly monkeys are often targeted for hunting as they are shoot and then their offspring are taken and sold as pets. There is a reported story in the western Amazon of several hunters that killed over 200 woolly monkeys in less than 2 years which lead to their local extinction. Deforestation is another major threat that the gray woolly monkey faces. Mining for cassiterite, which is a mineral used to make tin, is also a threat for both losing habitat and hunting.[11]
The gray woolly monkey is currently protected in many national parks.[12] They are also listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade of Endagenered Species (CITES).[13] The following is a list of protected areas in Brazil where the gray woolly monkey occurs or may occur.[14]
The following is a list of protected areas in Bolivia where the gray woolly monkey occurs. The entire known population of the gray woolly monkey in Bolivia occurs in these protected areas.[15]
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