Howler Monkey

Howler Monkey, Costa Rica

Howler monkeys are the largest of the new world monkeys and the loudest land animal. The only animal louder than the howler is the blue whale. They are primarily herbivorous and are sometimes attacked by harpy eagles and white-faced monkeys. Like many rain forest animals their numbers are dwindling due to loss of habitat.

D1x, 600f4, 1.4x, iso 400, 1/500, f5.6 (manual).

I have a box full of monkey slides but no howler shots that I am really happy with. Almost all my previous howler images were shot from a steep angle with strong backlighting. During a recent visit to Costa Rica I spotted a group of howlers in a forest canopy. After noting their direction of travel, I hiked several hundred meters to get above and ahead of them. I was lucky that the clear area I found also provided nice frontal early morning lighting and the chance to shoot down on a subject that was about 15 meters above the ground. This male howler was the only member of the group that presented an unobstructed shot. I like this shot because it shows the howler using his prehensile (grasping) tail and also demonstrates the characteristic coloring. You can also see a sagging area under the chin that allows the male monkeys to howl so effectively.

Comments and critiques welcome.