Like small, fluffy acrobats suspended like gossamer webs between the forest branches, spider monkeys are undoubtedly the cutest and most delicate looking things in the Costa Rican canopy. They are also the moot agile! Gifted with long, spindly limbs and a prehensile tail, the spider monkey can whiz around the branches with a carefree abandon that looks positively suicidal to clumsy humans like us.
Gin you imagine having five hands? Well, if you take into consideration a tail that can grip and curl, that's exactly what a spider monkey has. What lucky things that they are! Troops can consist of 50 or more individuals, but unlike other primate species, the spider monkey does not live in a stable family unit. If food is plentiful they will travel as a single community, gorging themselves on fruits and berries. But should food become scarce, they will split into smaller search parties and head their separate ways.
While traveling, they communicate to each other over long distances using a special call which sounds a little like a horse's whinny. Each animal has its own recognizable call so that group members can tell who is who. This long-distance language allows spider monkeys to arrange rendezvous, avoid enemies, share food and gossip.
Although the males have very little to do with bringing up babies, mothers; on the other hand, invest a great deal of time and effort into their young. For up to seven years, a mother spider monkey will teach her offspring the ways of the forest until her child is Moe enough to go it alone and find its own food.
Above all other things, spider monkeys love ripe fruit, a high-energy diet that passes through their digestive tracts at an extremely rapid rate. Tourists' heads are prime targets for monkey poop, as are open mouths. 5o be warned and be aware and try to keep your mouth shut when watching jungle primates.
Although unpleasant to us, a spider monkey poop is manna to a rain forest. Veritable defecating machines, spider monkeys fertilize the land and spread seeds wherever they go. From the humblest turn springs forth life eternal. Without monkeys, many tropical plants could never reproduce. It's a reciprocal arrangement because a healthy forest needs spider monkeys and spider monkeys need a healthy forest. Both go hand in hand.
It is of little surprise then to hear that throughout their range, spider monkeys are becoming uncommon. As we all know, healthy forests are vanishing. So if you are lucky enough to witness a performance from these moot agile of acrobats, enjoy the show, but remember: keep your mouth closed!
Ecotourism and Nature 
