Introduction: Studying woolly monkeys

Abstract

Woolly monkeys are large Neotropical primates widely distributed in most of the Amazon basin and in the Northern Andes, living in forests from see level up to 2,500 m. Two species have been recognized since the first taxonomic revision (one small population in the Peruvian Andes and a widespread one in the rest of the range), and current evidence supports this view. Woollies live in relatively large groups with multiple males and multiple females and their offspring. Females migrate from their natal groups more often than males and males are tolerant with other males and aggressive toward females. Estrous females commonly copulate with all adult males in the group, and infanticide has not been reported in natural populations. Group cohesion varies and in some populations woolly monkeys show fluid fission-fusion groupings. Woolly monkeys prefer ripe fruit and complement their diet with young leaves, arthropods, small vertebrates, unripe fruits and flow- ers. This primate has a long history of interaction with humans, particularly because they are preferred hunting targets of indigenous people across their geographical range. Woolly monkeys are hunted for nutritional reasons, but in some cases they have been captured as bait for hunting spotted cats, as pets, and for biomedical purposes. Because of hunting and habitat loss, natural populations have declined and they have been eliminated from many regions within their original distribution. Captive colonies are common, but reproduction and survival in captive conditions occur at low rates. The subspecies living in the Andean region have suffered the most and are now considered Critically Endangered (CR) by IUCN standards. In this chapter, we relate the history of research on these primates and we briefly describe the contents of this book.