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The margay ( Leopardus wiedii) is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest.

Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wildlife trade, which resulted in a large population decrease. Since 2008, the margay has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List because the population is thought to be declining due to loss of habitat following deforestation.

Appearance

The margay is very similar to the larger ocelot in appearance, although the head is a little shorter, the eyes larger, and the tail and legs longer. It weighs from 2.6 to 4 kg (5.7 to 8.8 lb), with a body length of 48 to 79 cm (19 to 31 in), and a tail length of 33 to 51 cm (13 to 20 in). Unlike most other cats, the female possesses only two teats.

Its fur is brown and marked with numerous rows of dark brown or black rosettes and longitudinal streaks. The undersides are paler, ranging from buff to white, and the tail has numerous dark bands and a black tip. The backs of the ears are black with circular white markings in the centre.

Most notably the margay is a much more skilful climber than its relative, and it is sometimes called the tree ocelot because of this ability. The margay may spend its entire life in the trees, leaping after and chasing birds and monkeys through the treetops.

The margay is mostly nocturnal. Like most cats, they are solitary. They have large home ranges of 11 to 16 square kilometres (4.2 to 6.2 sq mi). They use scent to mark their territory ( urine spraying) and leave scratch marks on the ground or on branches. Their vocalisations are short range: they do not call to each other over long distances.

The margay is one of only two cat species with ankles flexible enough to climb head-first down trees. The other is the clouded leopard; the little-studied marbled cat may also have this ability.

The margay is very agile; its ankles can turn up to 180 degrees, it can grasp branches equally well with its fore and hind paws, and it is able to jump up to 12 feet (3.7 m) horizontally. The margay has been seen to hang from branches with only one foot, and can run upside down beneath branches.

The margay is found from southern Mexico, through Central America and in northern South America east of the Andes. The southern edge of its range reaches Uruguay and northern Argentina. They are found almost exclusively in areas of dense forest, ranging from tropical evergreen forest to tropical dry forest and high cloud forest. Margays have sometimes also been observed in coffee and cocoa plantations.

Fossil evidence of margays or margay-like cats has been found in Florida and Georgia dating to the Pleistocene, suggesting that they had a wider distribution in the past. The last record from Texas was from 1852.

It eats small mammals (sometimes including monkeys), birds, eggs, lizards and tree frogs. The margay is able to hunt its prey entirely in trees. However, they do sometimes hunt on the ground, and have been reported to eat cane rats and guinea pigs. During the day, they rest in safe branches or clumps of lianas. There is a report of a margay using sound mimicry to lure a prey.

Reproduction

Gestation lasts about 80 days, and generally results in the birth of a single kitten (very rarely, there are two) usually between March and June. Kittens weigh 85 to 170 grams (3.0 to 6.0 oz) at birth. This is relatively large for a small cat, and is probably related to the long gestation period. The kittens open their eyes at around two weeks of age, and begin to take solid food at seven to eight weeks. Margays reach maturity at twelve to eighteen months of age, and have been reported to live more than 20 years in captivity.

A 26-year-old margay named Carlota lives at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden as of April 2018.

Infants suffer from a 50% mortality rate. Coupled with the problems they have breeding in captivity, this makes the prospect of increasing the population very difficult.

Conservation

It has ten subspecies over a large geographical range from Mexico to Argentina. Its past range even included the southern United States.

They are hunted mainly for their fur and this has resulted in a large population decrease - around 14,000 are killed a year. They also suffer from a loss of habitat, which is also a significant part of this decline.

Images for kids

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The margay ( Leopardus wiedii) is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wildlife trade, which resulted in a large population decrease.

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Margay facts, pictures, video and information. Meet the margay, a wild cat found in the rainforests of South America. This small predator has the amazing ability to climb head-first down trees - a feat accomplished with the aid of specially-adapted flexible ankles.
(Main image by By Clément Bardot. Image size altered. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Let's find out more about this awesome felid ...
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Margay Facts at a Glance

Other Name(s): Tree ocelot, long-tailed spotted cat

Scientific name: Leopardus wiedii

Type of Animal: Mammal

Animal Family: Felidae (the cat family)

Where Found: Central and South America

Head-Body Length: 48 to 79cm (19 to 31in)

Tail Length: 33 to 51cm (13 to 20 in)

Weight: 2.4 to 4kg (5.7 to 8.8lb)

Conservation Status: Near Threatened

Meet the Margay: Introduction

The margay is a small, spotted wil d cat native to the rainforests of Central and South America. Ten subspecies of margay are currently recognized. Each of these has slight physical variations to distinguish it from margays found in other areas within its total range.

What Does The Margay Look Like?

The margay is similar in appearance to two other spotted rainforest cats: the ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis) and the oncilla ( Leopardus tigrinus). It is mid-way in size between these species, being smaller, and having a more slender build and longer limbs than the ocelot, but being slightly bigger than the oncilla.

You can see a margay in the wild in the video below ...

The margay's soft, thick fur ranges from greyish brown to tawny yellow in color. It is marked with numerous rows of dark spots and rosettes. Each margay's coat has a unique pattern.

The margay's tail can reach up to 51 cm (20 in) in length, and is marked with 10 to 12 dark rings. The tip of the tail is black. The backs of the ears are black, and have white central markings.

Other distinguishing features of the margay include: fur on the back of the neck that points forwards rather than backwards; and very large eyes in proportion to its head size.

Distribution

The margay has a broad distribution range, although it occupies only a fairly small portion of it. The species is found in parts of Mexico, throughout Central America, and in northern South America.

Is The Margay Found In The USA?

There has been one record of the species being seen in Texas, but it is unlikely that there is a resident population in the United States.

Margay Habitat

The margay tends to stick to areas with an extensive tree cover. These include: evergreen forest, tropical dry forest and high cloud forest.

Occasionally the species can also be found in savanna habitats with small forest fragments and even cocoa and coffee plantations, although in general the margay will avoid human settlements and other habitats altered by humans.

The margay is rarely found at elevations (heights) above 1,200m (3,937ft). However, there are some reports of the species occurring at elevations above 3,000m (9,843ft) in the Andes mountain range.

Behavior

The margay is mainly nocturnal. It hunts at night and tends to spend the day in the trees, resting high up in the branches and in tangles of lianas (vines).

Like most other cat species, the margay is solitary and spends most of its life alone.

Margays establish relatively large territories considering their small physical size. A typical margay home range varies in size from 11 to 16km 2 (4.2 to 6.2mi ²). Individuals mark their home range by scratching the ground and branches, as well as by urinating.

Adapted To Climbing

With a long tail to help with balance and wide feet with large claws to help achieve a secure grip, the margay is an excellent climber. Because its ankle joints are flexible (rotating up to 180 degrees), the animal is able to climb head first down a tree trunk.

The margay can also dangle from a branch holding on with just one hind foot, while manipulating an object with its front paws.

Despite its agility as a climber, the margay is more likely to hunt and travel on the ground.

Breeding

The margay may breed any time of the year. Mature females usually become pregnant only once every two years. The female may be in oestrus (ready to mate) for 4 to 10 days every 32 to 36 days. Both females and males vocalize (make vocal sounds) to attract the attention of potential mates.

The gestation period (pregnancy) lasts from 76 to 84 days, after which a single kitten (or very rarely two) is born in a burrow or in a hollow log.

Weighing 85 to 170g (3.0 to 6.0oz) at birth, the kittens are relatively large for a small cat species.

The kittens' eyes are closed for the first two weeks of their lives. They start exploring their environment at around 5 weeks of age, and by 2 months of age have started to eat solid food.

It's thought that only around half of all margay kittens survive to maturity.

Margay Facts: Diet - What Do Margays Eat?

Although the margay mainly hunts on the forest floor, it will occasionally find prey in the trees. Small rodents make up the largest proportion of the margay's diet, but it will also prey on other small and medium-sized mammals, including: squirrels, rabbits, agoutis and monkeys.

Lizards, birds, eggs, tree frogs and insects feature less prominently in the margay's diet, and the species will also consume small quantities of fruit, grass and other plant matter (which are thought to help with digestion).

The margay has been observed mimicking the vocalization of a prey species when hunting: it can imitate the call of the infant pied tamarin ( Saguinus bicolor) in order to lure adult tamarins closer.

Is The Margay Endangered?

The margay is rated ' Near Threatened ' by the IUCN.

Since the margay naturally occurs at very low population densities, produces very few young (which themselves have a low survival rate), and has a population which is severely fragmented, it is expected that the species will keep declining.

The main threats to the margay include:

Habitat loss: Margay habitat is disappearing and becoming fragmented as a result of road building and conversion of forests into pastures and plantations.

Illegal trade: Although margay is no longer as heavily exploited as it was a few decades ago, illegal fur and pet trade continues to affect the species in some areas.

The 'ocelot effect': The presence of ocelots has a negative impact on margay numbers in regions in which the two species co-exist. The larger ocelot competes for the same prey species and will also hunt margays to eliminate competition.

Margay Facts: Related Articles at Active Wild

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Margay Facts, Pictures, Video & In-Depth Information For Kids & Adults

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Margay facts, pictures, video and information. Meet the margay, a wild cat found in the rainforests of South America. This small predator has the amazing ability to climb head-first down trees - a feat accomplished with the aid of specially-adapted flexible ankles. (Main image by By Clément Bardot. Image size altered.

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Characteristics
The margay is about two feet tall from feet to shoulders, three feet long and weighs about five to twelve pounds. It has gray to golden-brown fur with black and brown spots. The spots on its sides are often different shapes and are often black with a brown center. Its undersides are white. The margay has a small head, large ears and eyes and a long tail.
Range
The margay can be found from Mexico to Argentina. It was once found in the United States in Texas. The last margay seen in the United States was spotted in Texas in the 1850s.

Habitat
The margay makes its home in tropical and subtropical forests.
Diet
The margay eats a wide-variety of food including birds, bird eggs, small mammals, reptiles and fruit. It hunts primarily in trees.
Life Cycle
Margays mate year-round. Females give birth to one or two young three to four months after mating. The kittens begin to eat meat when they are about eight weeks old.
Behavior
The margay is nocturnal. It is a very good climber and jumper. It has joints in its ankles that rotate 180 degrees. This helps it climb down vertical trees headfirst. It is the only cat in North America that can do that! It can also hang from tree limbs by one hind foot. It spends most of its time in the tree canopy hunting for birds, small mammals, reptiles and eggs.

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The margay is about two feet tall from feet to shoulders, three feet long and weighs about five to twelve pounds. It has gray to golden-brown fur with black and brown spots. The spots on its sides are often different shapes and are often black with a brown center.

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The margay can be found in the lowlands of northern Mexico, through Central America, and into South America. Within this range, the species is closely tied to primary forest (tropical dry forest, very humid tropical evergreen forest, very humid premontane forest, and montane cloud forest.
Distribution map courtesy of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), compiled in 2015.

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The margay can be found in the lowlands of northern Mexico, through Central America, and into South America. Within this range, the species is closely tied to primary forest (tropical dry forest, very humid tropical evergreen forest, very humid premontane forest, and montane cloud forest.

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Tree ocelot, Long-Tailed Spotted cat

The margay is a small cat, somewhat bigger than a large domestic cat, its coat varying in color from grayish brown to tawny yellow and marked with rows of open rosettes and dark spots. Its head, neck and throat have black lines, and behind the ears they are black with a white spot in the center. The cat's fur is relatively soft and thick, and, unusually, grows "in reverse" on the back of its neck, instead, slanting forwards. This animal has much individual variation in its beautiful coat pattern. Males and females are similar in size and appearance.

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Tree ocelot, Long-Tailed Spotted cat The margay is a small cat, somewhat bigger than a large domestic cat, its coat varying in color from grayish brown to tawny yellow and marked with rows of open rosettes and dark spots. Its head, neck and throat have black lines, and behind the ears they are black with a white spot in the center.

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International Society for Endangered Cats (ISEC) Canada

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HB Length: 46-69 cm (18-27″) Tail Length: 23-52 cm (9-20″) Height: Appr. 30 cm (12″) Weight: 2.3-4.9 kg (5-11 lbs) Pop. Trend: Decreasing Margays Leopardus wiedii are among the mo...

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In 2022, 75% of our income supported sustainability programs. Learn More »

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San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance conservation scientists discovered that okapis have a secret language. They watched okapis closely and recorded their sounds. They heard coughs, bleats, and whistles quite often, but it wasn't until they returned to the Sensory Ecology Lab to examine their recordings closely that they realized okapis also use other calls with very low frequencies.

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The ocelot quietly stalks through the grass in a Mexican forest. It crouches, then—bam!—pounces on an unsuspecting mouse. Dinner is served. The rodent probably never saw this wild cat coming. Its unique spotted coat helps it blend into the forest while it hunts for prey. The ocelot’s camouflage also helps protect it as it sleeps during the day on tree branches or in bushes. Although the cat is twice the size of an average house cat, ocelots are prey for harpy eagles, pumas, jaguars, and anacondas. NIGHT CAT Ocelots are nocturnal, meaning they’re most active at night. They use their sharp vision and hearing to hunt rabbits, rodents, iguanas, fish, frogs, monkeys, and birds. When they’re ready to eat, the wild cats don’t chew their food—instead they use their teeth to tear meat into pieces and then swallow it whole. Like a domestic cat, an ocelot’s raspy tongue can clean a bone of every last tasty morsel. CUTE KITTENS An ocelot family usually includes a mom and one or two young. The kittens are born with their spots but have gray coats and blue eyes that turn golden brown when they’re about three months old. Ocelots live with their mom for about a year and then leave to find their own territory. There’s a whole lot to love about ocelots! Text by Allyson Shaw / NGS Staff

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A mother kinkajou takes full responsibility for caring for her young. She gives birth to one baby (two are rare) in the hollow of a tree. This is where she leaves her baby while she looks for food. After one or two weeks, the baby's eyes open.

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Kinkajous live in the tropical forests of Central and South America, where they spend most of their time in the trees. They are able to turn their feet backwards to run easily in either direction along branches or up and down trunks. The kinkajou also has a prehensile (gripping) tail that it uses much like another arm. Kinkajous often hang from this incredible tail, which also aids their balance and serves as a cozy blanket while the animal sleeps high in the canopy.

Though many of its features and traits sound like those of a primate, the kinkajou is actually related to the raccoon.

Kinkajous are sometimes called honey bears because they raid bees' nests. They use their long, skinny tongues to slurp honey from a hive, and also to remove insects like termites from their nests. Kinkajous also eat fruit and small mammals, which they snare with their nimble front paws and sharp claws. They roam and eat at night, and return each morning to sleep in previously used tree holes.

Kinkajous form treetop groups and share social interactions such as reciprocal grooming. They are vocal animals-though seldom seen, they are often heard screeching and barking in the tropical forest canopy.

Female kinkajous give birth to one offspring in spring or summer. The baby is born with its eyes shut and cannot see for a month. It develops quickly, however, and by the end of the second month, it is already able to hang upside down from its tail.

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Kinkajous live in the tropical forests of Central and South America, where they spend most of their time in the trees. They are able to turn their feet backwards to run easily in either direction along branches or up and down trunks. The kinkajou also has a prehensile (gripping) tail that it uses much like another arm.

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Kinkajous are mammals native to the rainforests of South and Central America. These animals are arboreal, which means they live and forage in trees. This may be the perfect place for them to live, because kinkajous love to eat fruit! Read on to learn about the kinkajou.

Description of the Kinkajou

These climbing mammals have wooly fur that consists of a top (outer) coat, and a bottom (under) coat to keep water out. Their fur is a gold color, and the undercoat is gray. Kinkajous have round ears, large eyes, and sharp teeth. They also have a long, prehensile tail that they can use to grip branches.

Interesting Facts About the Kinkajou

Not only are kinkajous adorable, but they are also actually incredibly interesting animals. They hold a very specific niche in the rainforest, and have many adaptations to utilize their habitat.

Non-Carnivorous Carnivore - Because kinkajous have sharp teeth, they are part of the taxonomic group Carnivora. Most animals in the Carnivora group are, as you may guess, carnivores. Kinkajous however, are actually herbivores. Fruit makes up the vast majority of their usual diet.

Arboreal Living - Kinkajous are amazingly adapted to living in trees. They have a fully prehensile tail that they can use as a fifth "arm" to grip branches with. This tail allows them extra stability while climbing. They can also rotate their feet 180º to better grasp branches. This allows them to move backwards on branches, and climb down trees headfirst.

Nocturnal Behavior - As nocturnal animals, Kinkajous are most active at night, putting their large eyes to work seeing in the dark. Most of their foraging occurs between sundown and midnight. As you would imagine a tree climbing animal might do, when the sun comes up kinkajous choose a nice tree hollow to nap in.

Long Lived - When kinkajous are in human care they can be quite long-lived. This is because they are safe from predators, and have access to medical care. The average lifespan of a kinkajou in captivity is 23 years. The oldest recorded kinkajou was a 40 years old male named Sugar Bear at the Honolulu zoo.

Habitat of the Kinkajou

Because they live in trees, habitats must have forests to support kinkajous. They are found in tropical rainforests, mountain forests, dry forests, and small sections of forests found on the edges of savannahs. They will congregate on fruit bearing trees, despite being mostly solitary animals.

Distribution of the Kinkajou

Kinkajous are found from the Sierra Madres mountain range in Mexico, to Southeast Brazil. They are not found west of the Andes Mountain range in South America.

Diet of the Kinkajou

The vast majority - 90% - of the food a kinkajou consumes is fruit. They particularly enjoy eating figs. Because they eat so much fruit, they play an important role in seed dispersal. Because trees reproduce via seeds within fruit, when a kinkajou eats a tree's fruit, what goes in must come out! If a kinkajou eats a fig, and then "releases" the seeds a mile away, that allows trees to spread in a farther range.

Kinkajou and Human Interaction

As with many other rainforest species, deforestation poses a huge risk to kinkajous. As rainforest is cut down, vital habitat is destroyed and kinkajous have fewer trees to live in. Deforestation also causes population fragmentation.

When populations are separated by large, impassable areas, animals cannot reproduce between the populations. This means that kinkajous in fragmented habitats are more likely to reproduce with a close relative, causing genetic defects.

Domestication

While kinkajous are kept as pets, they are wild animals and have not been domesticated.

Does the Kinkajou Make a Good Pet

In some states it is legal to own a kinkajou. Even if it is legal, owning a kinkajou is hard work. They require lots of fresh fruit for their diet, and it must be human grade to keep them from getting sick. Veterinary bills are much higher for exotic animals, and procedures are more dangerous. Kinkajous are also nocturnal, and may very well keep you up at night.

Kinkajou Care

As arboreal animals, kinkajous must be provided with plenty of climbing opportunities. They are most active at night, and must be provided with food and exercise at that time. A variety of fresh fruit should be provided, and kinkajous are frequently supplemented with dog kibble, corn, and other veggies.

Behavior of the Kinkajou

Kinkajous are social, but only on their terms. They are mostly solitary, but will gather when feeding on fruit trees. They will occasionally gather for socialization and play, grooming, or sleeping together. They tend to remain in a territory, but they don't always live in that territory alone. They use scent marking to establish territory boundaries and communicate with one another.

Reproduction of the Kinkajou

After reproducing, a female kinkajou gives birth to a single baby. She will make her nest in the hollow of a tree, and leave the baby while she forages for food. She will begin to feed her baby solid food at eight weeks, and he will begin to climb at three months. Males will remain with their mother a little over a year and a half, females will stay for two years.

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Kinkajou - Description, Habitat, Image, Diet, and Interesting Facts

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Kinkajous are mammals native to the rainforests of South and Central America. These animals are arboreal, which means they live and forage in trees. This may be the perfect place for them to live, because kinkajous love to eat fruit! Read on to learn about the kinkajou.

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Caiman

The caiman is a large aquatic reptile found in the swamps and tropical rivers that cover Central and South America. Although the caimans have much narrower bodies, they are most closely related to alligators and crocodiles.

Caimans are found in a variety of habitats throughout Central and South America from marshes and swamps to mangrove rivers and lakes. As with other reptiles, caimans have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence.

Caimans range in size from the dwarf caiman which measures just over a meter in length, to the black caiman which can to grow to be nearly 5 meters long. The black caiman is the largest caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and lakes that surround the Amazon basin.

There are six different species of caiman found throughout the watery, jungle habitats of Central and Southern America. The average length for most of the other caiman species if about 2.5 meters long.

The caiman is a carnivorous predators and, like the alligator and the crocodile, the caiman has a diet that consists of a great deal of fish. The caiman also hunts insects, birds and small mammals and reptiles.

Due to the large size and ferocious nature of the caiman, it has few natural predators within its environment. Humans are the main predators of the caiman as they have been hunted for their meat and skin. Jaguars are the only other predator of the caiman.

Female caimans build a large nest in which to lay their eggs, which can be more than 1.5 meters wide. Female caimans lay between 10 and 50 eggs which hatch within about 6 weeks. Once they have hatched, the mother caiman takes her young to a shallow pool of water where they can learn how to hunt and swim.

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The caiman is a large aquatic reptile found in the swamps and tropical rivers that cover Central and South America. Although the caimans have much narrower bodies, they are most closely related to alligators and crocodiles.Caimans are found in a variety of...

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Caiman, also spelled cayman, any of several species of Central and South American reptiles that are related to alligators and are usually placed with them in the family Alligatoridae. Caimans, like all other members of order Crocodylia (or Crocodilia), are amphibious carnivores. They live along the edges of rivers and other bodies of water, and they reproduce by means of hard-shelled eggs laid in nests built and guarded by the female.

Caimans are placed in three genera: Caiman includes the broad-snouted ( C. latirostris) and spectacled ( C. crocodilus) caimans; Melanosuchus, the black caiman ( M. niger); and Paleosuchus, two species ( P. trigonatus and P. palpebrosus) known as the smooth-fronted caimans.

Karl Weidmann-The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers

The largest of these species is the black caiman, a potentially dangerous animal attaining a maximum length of about 4.5 metres (15 feet). The other species normally attain lengths of about 1.2-2.1 metres, with a maximum of about 2.7 metres in the spectacled caiman.

The spectacled caiman, a native of the tropics from southern Mexico to Brazil, takes its name from a bony ridge between the eyes that resembles the nosepiece of a pair of eyeglasses. It is abundant along quiet mud-bottomed waters. After the American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis) was placed under legal protection, large numbers of spectacled caimans were imported into the United States and sold to tourists.

The smooth-fronted caimans, smallest of the caimans, are usually inhabitants of fast-flowing rocky streams and rivers in the Amazon region. Their common name refers to the lack of the bony ridge present in the spectacled caiman. They are strong swimmers and feed on fishes, birds, insects, and other animals.

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Caiman, also spelled cayman, any of several species of Central and South American reptiles that are related to alligators and are usually placed with them in the family Alligatoridae. Caimans, like all other members of order Crocodylia (or Crocodilia), are amphibious carnivores.

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These palm-sized possums can glide over 150 feet and are closely related to kangaroos.

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Pit viper | Venomous, Nocturnal, Tropical

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Pit viper, any species of viper (subfamily Crotalinae) that has, in addition to two movable fangs, a heat-sensitive pit organ between each eye and nostril which together help it accurately aim its strike at its warm-blooded prey. Pit vipers are found from deserts to rainforests, primarily in the

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TAXONOMY

Other names: Aye-Aye; Fingerdyr eller aye-aye (Danish); Vingerdieren (Dutch); Aiai (Finnish); Fingertier (German); ahay, aiay, bekapaky, hay-hay, karakapaky (Malagasy); fingerdjur (Swedish)

Due to its specialized traits and distinctiveness from other primates, the aye-aye is included in its own family, genus and species. There has been much dispute as to where exactly to place the aye-aye taxonomically due to its odd conglomeration of traits.

MORPHOLOGY

The aye-aye is a distinctive and unique species and the largest nocturnal primate (Mittermeier et al. 1994; Simons 1995; Sterling 1995). It is dark in color with two layers of hair: longer, coarse black hair with white tips and shorter and softer off-white hair. The face of the aye-aye is pale in color with dark ring&s around the eyes and black ears (Mittermeier et al. 1994). In captivity, the average weight of an aye-aye male is 2.688 kg (5.926 lb) and females weigh 2.516 kg (5.547 lb) (Glander 1994). The aye-aye's body, excluding its tail, is approximately 319.5 mm for the males and 305 mm for the females. If the bushy tail is included, the aye-aye's body length more than doubles as its tail is longer than its body (Feistner & Sterling 1995). In addition, the aye-aye's tail has the longest hairs of any prosimian at over 9 in (22.5 cm) (Simons & Meyers 2001). There is little to no sexual dimorphism in the aye-aye (Feistner & Sterling 1995).

Photo: Tomas Junek

Perhaps the most marked trait of the aye-aye is a thin and elongated middle finger on each of its hands. This third digit is independent in movement from the other digits and is extremely versatile (Erickson 1994; Soligo 2005). The third digit's complete independence in movement serves two main purposes, tapping to find insects within cavities in wood and probing to find and remove larvae from those cavities (Milliken et al. 1991). This method of locating and extracting insect larval prey is called percussive foraging (Erickson 1994). Other uses of the elongated third digit include drinking liquids by quickly moving the digit back and forth between the aye-aye's mouth and the liquid, as well as grooming (Iwano 1991; Erickson 1994; Simons 1995). Movement of the third finger from the food source to the mouth can be very rapid and has been measured at 3.3 strokes per second (Iwano & Iwakawa 1988). The hand of the aye-aye is quite large for its body size. This aids in foraging, as only one hand is available to grip a perch while the other taps for prey. Large hands allow the aye-aye to grip with greater force and decrease its chance of falling (Soligo 2005).

Other unique morphological features of the aye-aye are its inguinal (located near the groin) mammary glands and nipples and its persistent oogenesis in which the female produces ova throughout her lifetime (Petter-Rousseaux & Bourlière 1965; Sterling 1993a). Also, the aye-aye possesses the largest brain among the prosimians (Erickson 1995). A final feature very rarely found in primates is the presence of a nictitating membrane (third eyelid), which moistens the eye when it becomes dry (Sterling 1993a; Sterling & Feistner 2000). This membrane may also protect the eye from wood debris when the aye-aye is gnawing on wood to extract larvae (Sterling 1993a).

The ears of the aye-aye are extremely large and moveable, presumably to assist in locating larvae in wood cavities through percussive foraging (Simons 1995). Percussive foraging may in fact rely on touch and not on auditory clues at all (Erickson 1994). The aye-aye possesses large, ever-growing incisors, which it uses to gnaw wood and to access the subsurface larvae it locates through tapping. This feature of ever-growing teeth is unique among primates (Simons 1995). It also uses its rodent-like teeth to gnaw at nuts and hard-shelled fruits (Sterling et al. 1994, Sterling 1994b).

The aye-aye moves quadrupedally, both walking and climbing. Climbing can be very rapid and agile leaping is also observed (Ancrenaz et al. 1994; Curtis & Feistner 1994). Descent down a tree trunk can be either headfirst or tailfirst (Ancrenaz et al. 1994). Aye-ayes possess a toilet-claw used in grooming and functional claws on other digits except the big toe (hallux). They are the only Old World primate to possess such functional claws (Sterling 1993a; Soligo & Müller 1999). The only other primates that have true claws are the Callitrichidae. The aye-aye claws appear to have redeveloped after having been lost by ancestral species (Soligo & Müller 1999). Aye-ayes have been known to survive in captivity for 24 years (Hakeem et al. 1996).

RANGE

CURRENT RANGE MAPS (IUCN REDLIST):
Daubentonia madagascariensis

The aye-aye is found exclusively in Madagascar. Situated to the southeast of Africa and separated from the continent by the 800 km-wide (497 mi) Mozambique Channel, the island of Madagascar is in the Indian Ocean and is the fourth largest island in the world (Swindler 2002). the aye-aye was believed to be extinct as recently as the mid-1900's, it now appears that the species has one of the largest distributions among non-human primates in Madagascar albeit at very low population densities (Sterling 1994a). Thus, the aye-aye range may not represent a continuous population distribution. They are found in the eastern rain forests of Madagascar from as far south as the Andohahela Reserve near the south coast to the northern end of the island at Ankarana Special Reserve (O'Connor et al. 1986; Hawkins et al. 1990). The west coast of Madagascar, long thought to be devoid of the aye-aye, is home to the species as far south as the Bemaraha Nature Reserve (Harcourt & Thornback 1990). The only area of Madagascar where the aye-aye is not found is the southwest of the island (Sterling 2003a).

Several artificial aye-aye populations have been established for conservation purposes and since 1986 a number of aye-ayes have been exported from Madagascar in an effort to establish captive breeding colonies. These efforts met with success in 1992 when the first captive-bred aye-aye was born to a colony at the Duke University Primate Center (Carroll & Haring 1994). Currently, there are over three dozen aye-ayes in captivity ( http://www.isis.org). In 1966, aye-ayes were introduced on the island of Nosy Mangabe, located in the Bay of Antongil on the east coat of Madagascar. At that time, the island was designated a Special Reserve by the government of Madagascar and still serves as an important site of conservation (Constable et al. 1985).

HABITAT

Aye-ayes adapt well to different types of habitat, including those affected by people. Aye-ayes are typically found in Madagascar's eastern rainforest, deciduous forest, secondary littoral forest near the sea, degraded secondary forest and cultivated areas such as plantations (including those for the production of sugar cane, coconuts and cloves) (Pollock et al. 1985; Ganzhorn & Rabesoa 1986; Iwano & Iwakawa 1988; Harcourt & Thornback 1990; Ancrenaz et al. 1994; Andriamasimanana 1994). The aye-aye may also live in mangrove swamps and dry scrub forest (Tattersall 1982). Aye-ayes build their nests high in the crowns of trees and thus require habitats containing trees suitable for this purpose (Ancrenaz et al. 1994). Sightings of aye-ayes have also occurred at surprising distances from the nearest forest with one individual being sighted in savanna around 3 km (1.86 mi) from any type of forest (Hawkins et al. 1990). Because the aye-aye's distribution is spread all along the east coast of the island up to the northern areas and on the west coast, there are many differing temperatures and rainfall amounts within the aye-aye range. In the north of Madagascar, the aye-aye inhabits areas with windy, dry and warm winters and hot and humid summers. In the south of the island, the climate is less tropical and drier than in the eastern rainforests where it is rainy year-round (Donque cited in Jury 2003). There is no record of the aye-aye living in the spiny desert areas of the southwest of Madagascar (Sterling 2003). Aye-ayes can also live in a variety of altitudes, ranging from near sea level to as high as 1875 m (6151.57 ft) above sea level (Goodman & Ganzhorn 2004).

Aye-ayes have been studied in several locations, most significantly the island of Nosy Mangabe, located on the east coast of Madagascar in the Helodrano Antongila. Near Nosy Mangabe, records indicate that the average rainfall is 3326 mm (130.9 in) per year and temperatures range from 24.0 C (75.2 F) in July to 30.5 C (86.9 F) in January (Pollock et al. 1985). This introduced island population has been the site of studies by several researchers including Eleanor Sterling and Taizo Iwano. Other research has been conducted in the Mananara-Nord Biosphere Reserve just south of the Helodrano Antongila by Mina Andriamasimanana. In addition to these studies, several other field observations have taken place in addition to a number of captive studies.

ECOLOGY

Photo: David Haring

Aye-ayes eat a number of different types of food but it appears that primarily, they eat seeds, nectar, fungus, and insect larvae (Sterling et al. 1994). They are best described as omnivores whose food choice varies with habitat type and food availability. At Nosy Mangabe, 90% of the diet was composed of just four items, fruits, nectar, insect larvae, and growths (cankers) on the barks of trees (Sterling et al. 1994). When cultivated areas are near to or comprise the aye-aye habitat, however, other foods may enter the diet. At the Mananara-Nord Biosphere reserve on the mainland south of Nosy Mangabe, the main component of the aye-aye diet was the nectar of the traveller's tree ( Ravenala madagascariensis). In the same reserve closer to a coconut plantation, however, the aye-aye staple was the coconut although this population still ate larvae as well (Ancrenaz et al. 1994). In a different study, also at Mananara-Nord, a male aye-aye ate, in order of preference, coconuts, larvae, and cankers on trees (Andriamasimanana 1994). Aye-ayes have also been observed eating ramy nuts ( Canarium madagascariensis), a hard-shelled product of the ramy tree similar in form to a walnut, in addition to litchi and mango fruit (Petter & Petter 1967; Iwano & Iwakawa 1988).

The diet of the aye-aye also appears to change with the seasons as the availability of food changes. On Nosy Mangabe in the cold, wet season (mid-May to mid-August), reliance on cankers increases. This is in contrast to the rest of the year, during which aye-ayes rely more on seeds. Throughout the year, the aye-aye's reliance on insect larvae remained relatively constant (Sterling et al. 1994).

The aye-aye is nocturnal and sleeps in an arboreal nest during the day. Emergence from the nest for a start of activity may start as early as 30 minutes before sunset and the aye-aye may not return to a nest until after the sun rises in the morning (Ancrenaz et al. 1994). A male's nocturnal activity typically starts earlier than a female's and over the course of the nighttime activity, more than 50% of the aye-aye's time is spent moving. Other major activities undertaken by the aye-aye during its activity period are feeding, grooming and resting (Ancrenaz et al. 1994; Andriamasimanana 1994). Several times a night an aye-aye may self-groom in bouts lasting up to 30 minutes. This grooming may be performed with the aye-aye's hands, feet, and third digit, and the entire body is inspected. The longer the grooming session, the higher in the canopy the aye-aye will perch, ostensibly for safety (Ancrenaz et al. 1994). Nighttime activity is also punctuated by periods of rest in which the aye-aye remains sedentary but fully aware of its surroundings and is not asleep. These rest periods may last as long as two hours (Ancrenaz et al. 1994).

Photo: Tomas Junek

Aye-aye nests are typically oval-shaped and placed quite high in the crowns of, forks of and tangles in trees (Petter 1977; Ancrenaz et al. 1994). In one study, the height of such nests in trees was found to average 17.6 m (57.74 ft) (Sterling 1993a). There is an approximately 15 cm-wide (5.9 in) opening at one end of the nest (Petter 1977). Each aye-aye utilizes several nests and one aye-aye individual was observed using seven different nests in a four-week period. Sometimes nests are grouped close to one another and larger trees may contain several aye-aye nests (Ancrenaz et al. 1994). Different aye-ayes may use the same nest on different nights, and nests may be abandoned and then repaired and reused (Petter 1977; Andriamasimanana 1994; Mittermeier et al. 2006). In one study, a specific nest was observed to have been used by four individuals at different times (Sterling 1995). Typically, the species is observed to sleep one individual per nest per night; however, a pair of males has been observed sharing a nest in a single night (Sterling unpubl. data cited in Sterling 1993b).

The aye-aye home range has been measured on an island to vary from 1.26 km² (.49 mi²) to 2.15 km² (.83 mi²) for males and .317 km² (.12 mi²) to .395 km² (.15 mi²) for females (Sterling 1993b). Unrestrained by geography, the home ranges of aye-ayes may be significantly larger (Sterling pers. commun. cited in Andriamasimanana 1994). Either way, it does appear that the home range of the female is smaller than the male's. Nightly range length can range average from 1551.8 m (5091.21 ft) to 2256 m (7401.57 ft) for males and 1227.2 m (4026.25 ft) to 1528 m (5013.12 ft) for females. The home ranges of males may overlap those of other males and females. Home ranges of females have not been observed to overlap those of other females (Sterling 1993a; 1993b; 1995).

The only potential non-human predator for the aye-aye is the fossa ( Cryptoprocta ferox), a large mammalian predator adapted for both arboreal and terrestrial movement (Petter 1977). Some human populations of Madagascar see aye-ayes as harbingers of bad luck and kill them on sight (Petter 1977). This belief makes humans the primary predator of the aye-aye.

SPECIAL NOTES

An extinct robust form of the aye-aye ( Daubentonia robusta) once existed in the dry southwest of Madagascar, the only area where the extant form currently does not exist. This extinct form likely weighed between three and five times what Daubentonia madagascariensis weighs with a predicted average weight of around 13.5 kg (29.76 lbs) (Simons 1994). Some evidence exists as to the coexistence of this form with humans as several drilled incisors attributed to Daubentonia robusta have been found ostensibly for use as pendants of some sort. It remains unclear however as to whether or not human action contributed to the extinction of this species (MacPhee & Raholimavo 1988).

Content last modified: July 27, 2007

Written by Kurt Gron. Reviewed by Eleanor Sterling.

Cite this page as:
Gron KJ. 2007 July 27. Primate Factsheets: Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology . <http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/aye-aye>. Accessed 2020 February 18.

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Primate Factsheets: Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology

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Other names: Aye-Aye; Fingerdyr eller aye-aye (Danish); Vingerdieren (Dutch); Aiai (Finnish); Fingertier (German); ahay, aiay, bekapaky, hay-hay, karakapaky (Malagasy); fingerdjur (Swedish) Due to its specialized traits and distinctiveness from other primates, the aye-aye is included in its own family, genus and species.

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The aye-aye's diet is highly specialized, consisting mainly of the interior of Ramy nuts, nectar from the Traveller's Palm tree, some fungi and insect grubs. The animals are also known to raid coconut plantations, and have been seen eating lychees and mangoes, which are also plantation crops. Most of what we know about the diet and social behavior of wild aye-aye populations is based on a two year study in the early nineties by Yale University Undergraduate, Eleanor Sterling.

Since a significant percentage of an aye-aye's diet consists of insect larvae that dwell inside dead or living trees, the animals have evolved a specialized method for locating the larvae. As they walk along a branch, the animals continuously and rapidly tap it with their middle finger. Cupping their huge ears forward, the aye-aye listens intently to the echoing sounds coming from the tapped tree. When the sound indicates they are above an insect tunnel, the animals begin to tear off enormous chunks of the outer bark with their impressive teeth, until the insect tunnel is revealed. Then the aye-aye inserts its slender and highly flexible third finger into the hole, and when the prey is located, it is hooked with the tip of the finger and removed.

HERE is a video of two aye-ayes, Ardrey and her daughter Elphaba, using the same process to eat eggs as they would to locate and eat insect larvae that dwell inside trees. First they tap, then they chew, and finally they use their long flexible middle fingers to dip into and remove the yolks of the eggs. When they finish, the delicate eggshells remain fully intact, except for the small hole created by the aye-ayes' strong front teeth!

Click HERE to see Agatha, a five-month-old infant aye-aye, learning how to tap-forage from her mom, Medusa.

HERE is another video: Watch two aye-ayes, Ardrey and her daughter Elphaba, using the same process to eat eggs as they would to locate and eat insect larvae that dwell inside trees. First they tap, then they chew, and finally they use their long flexible middle fingers to dip into and remove the yolks of the eggs. When they finish, the delicate eggshells remain fully intact, except for the small hole created by the aye-ayes' strong front teeth!

Aye-aye breeding can occur at any time of year. In April of 1992 an infant, Blue Devil, was born at the Duke Lemur Center whose mother, Endora, was captured in Madagascar while pregnant. This was the first recorded captive birth of an aye-aye. Angelique, born at Duke in 2005, was the first aye-aye ever born to parents who themselves were born in captivity. Merlin, "who as clueless and knew nothing about breeding," had to be coached for two years by Duke staff before breeding successfully with Ardrey to produce Angelique. The experience "taught the center's primatologists an invaluable lesson - that the complex creatures need socialization to mate." (See "Angelique the Aye-Aye, A Primate Center Triumph," published in Duke Today in 2006.)

In the wild, infants are weaned as early as 7 months, but they will continue nursing in captivity as long as they remain housed with their mothers; infants might still be nursing even at 1.5 years of age. In captivity, females give birth every 2-3 years. At the DLC, a captive born female bred at age 3.5 years, indicating that this is the age of sexual maturity in this species. Gestation period is around 170 days. Learn more about Ardrey's pregnancy with Elphaba in Jason Bittel's "What I learned from hanging out with lemurs" (2014).

Of the 16 captive births that have occurred at the DLC since 1992, four have occurred in October; two each in December, June, April, and January; and one each in August, February, July, and September.

Aye-ayes are nocturnal, solitary foragers who spend up to 80% of the night feeding and traveling through the forest canopy. The majority of their time is spent in the trees although traveling on the ground is reasonably common. Males have huge home ranges, between 100 and 200 ha, while the home ranges of females are much smaller, usually between 30 and 50ha. A male's territory may overlap with that of several different males, and although encounters between neighboring males are rare, they might be hostile. Female ranges do not overlap with those of other females, but they always overlap that of at least one male. Aye-ayes sleep in elaborate tree nests during the day, with different animals possibly using the same nest on different days.

Wild aye-ayes spend most of their lives alone. The only social interactions occur during courtship and when an infant is dependent on its mother. During these interactions, females are considered to be dominant over males, giving them preferential access to food. (Female dominance in primates is unique to prosimians.) In captivity, however, a male/female pair and their single infant might coexist peacefully for years.

When aye-ayes get excited or agitated, their long, mostly white guard hairs stand on end and give the poofed-up lemur the appearance of an animal twice its actual size! This adaptation perhaps evolved as a strategy to make the aye-aye look more threatening to would-be predators, but it can also be seen at times when the animal is not being threatened. For example, our techs have reported seeing it during play behavior between a mom and an infant or juvenile, and it can also be observed in instances similar to those of Grendel (pictured below): he just got moved to a brand new room and, although the size and shape of the new room were exactly the same as the old, the layout of branches and many of the smells were totally different. At first Grendel just wasn't sure what to make of it.

Once considered one of the most endangered mammals in the world, the aye-aye has in recent years been shown to be much more widely distributed than originally thought. This is due to the fact that recent years have seen an influx of researchers into Madagascar, including those specifically looking for this rare and elusive animal. Current findings indicate that the aye-aye is sparsely distributed along the east coast and in the northwestern forests of Madagascar.

The main threats to the survival of the aye-aye are loss of habitat and hunting pressure. Unlike many lemur species that are hunted for food, aye-ayes are sometimes killed as crop-threatening pests in agricultural areas, and also because their bizarre appearance has traditionally led many villagers to regard the animal as an evil omen which must be killed on sight to avoid bringing bad luck onto an entire village. Aye-ayes are found in at least 16 protected areas, and several of these locations appear to have healthy populations of this lemur.

Worldwide, the captive population of aye-ayes stands at about 50. As of December 2016, there were 23 captive aye-ayes in the United States: 10 males and 13 females. Of these, nine reside at the Duke Lemur Center and 14 are held at six additional AZA institutions. All but one of these 23 are descendants of the DLC's original eight wild caught founder animals. An aye-aye pedigree chart can be viewed HERE.

Aye-aye breeding has also occurred at the Durrell Wildlife Park (Jersey Islands). Overseas, the Bristol Zoo, London Zoo, Paris Zoo, Tokyo Zoo, and Frankfurt Zoo house aye-ayes that descend from the DLC's founding eight.

Adopt an aye-aye: Want to learn more about aye-ayes AND help support their care, not only here but in Madagascar? Consider symbolically adopting Agatha, a young female aye-aye, through the DLC's Adopt-A-Lemur program! Adoption packages start at just $50 -- see below for options.

Send an aye-aye a present: You can send special treats like coconuts to the DLC's aye-ayes, as well as raw materials for us to construct special enrichment activities to keep them happy and healthy. Simply visit our amazon wishlist! Aye-ayes in particular love coconuts, coconut milk, peanut butter, and any of the fun treats labelled "aye-aye enrichment item."

Spread the word: This spring, 7-year-old Hailey wrote to us asking if we'd consider posting her best drawing of an aye-aye - her favorite animal in the world - so others could learn more about these amazing lemurs and why it's important for us to save them.

Thank you so much, Hailey, for helping the DLC save lemurs! Your love for aye-ayes and your desire to teach people about them is inspiring, and it means so much to us. You've already made a positive difference, and you're just getting started!

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The aye-aye's diet is highly specialized, consisting mainly of the interior of Ramy nuts, nectar from the Traveller's Palm tree, some fungi and insect grubs. The animals are also known to raid coconut plantations, and have been seen eating lychees and mangoes, which are also plantation crops.

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What's that tap-tap-tapping in the Madagascar trees? Meet the aye-aye, the only primate that uses echolocation to find food.

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Adaptations

Legs, Legs and More Legs

Like all spiders, tarantulas have eight legs. Curly hair tarantulas have sensitive hairs on their legs to detect vibrations of passing prey or potential predators. They also have four other appendages near their mouth. They have two leglike pedipalps used to hold and carry prey items, transport eggs or dig burrows. They also have two fang-tipped appendages called chelicerae that strike in a downward motion to inject venom.

Spider Shed

Tarantulas have an external skeleton or exoskeleton that is different from the internal bony skeleton of humans. The exoskeleton is hard and inflexible so it cannot accommodate a growing spider. Tarantulas must periodically molt discarding their old exoskeleton and growing a new exoskeleton as they get bigger.

Nocturnal Predators

Curly hair tarantulas are nocturnal hunters that lie in wait for prey in their burrows. The sensitive hairs on their legs pick up vibrations that detect prey as it approaches. The spiders rapidly dart out of the burrow to seize passing prey. Holding the prey with their pedipalps they inject powerful venom. The venom serves two purposes - first paralyzing the prey and then beginning digestion. Tarantulas have narrow mouths so they cannot ingest pieces of food. Once the venom has liquefied the prey, the tarantula sucks up the proteins and fats of the prey item leaving behind a small pile of undigested body parts.

Physical Description

Curly hair tarantulas are up to 2.8 inches (6-7 cm) long.

They have a leg span up to 5.8 inches (14.5 cm) long.

Their body and legs are covered with dark brown bristly hairs and longer golden hairs.

Males are lighter in color than females

They have eight legs plus two fang tipped appendages and two chelicerae in front near the mouth.

They have a hard exoskeleton that is molted as they grow.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild: Insects, small vertebrates

Social Organization

Tarantulas are solitary except when mating.

Life Cycle

Female curly hair tarantulas are mature at three to four years of age and males slightly younger. Unreceptive females are aggressive to approaching males and may try to kill and eat them. A receptive female will allow a male to mate, passing a packet of sperm to the female using his pedipalps or legs. The resulting fertilized egg sac is the size of a golf ball and contains 500-1000 eggs. The female lays the egg sac in a burrow where it is incubated for seven to eight weeks before the pale colored spiderlings emerge. The tiny young spiders are the size of a pencil point and stay in the burrow developing quickly for a couple of weeks. After their first molt they disperse to find food, make their own burrows and live independently. Male curly hair tarantulas may live nine to 10 years and females up to 20 years.

Fun Facts

Curly hair tarantulas are named for the light tan or orange hairs covering their body and legs. The hairs have a distinctive curl - giving them the appearance of a tarantula with a perm!

Tarantulas are solitary and do not usually tolerate others of the same species.

They can spin webs but use the web material to line their burrows.

Most tarantula bites are not harmful to humans - equivalent to a bee sting - but their fangs can produce painful puncture wounds.

When threatened, tarantulas display their fangs.

Curly hair tarantulas are generally docile but can move quite fast.

They have simple eyes that detect variations in light.

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Classification Habitat & Range Tropical rainforest regions, either around the base of large trees, near rivers or in patches of cleared rainforest. Honduras, Nicaragua and northeastern Costa Rica Curly hair tarantulas are nocturnal hunters that lie in wait for prey in their burrows. The sensitive hairs on their legs pick up vibrations that detect prey ...

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TAXONOMY

Other names: douroucouli or night monkey; doeroecoeli (Dutch); douroucouli or singe de nuit (French); macaco da noite (Portuguese); cuatro ojos, marta, marteja, mono de noche, mono nocturno, or tutamono (Spanish); mirikina, nattapa, or negronattapa (Swedish); A. azarae: A. azarai; Azara's night monkey; A. lemurinus: Colombian night monkey, gray-bellied night monkey, or lemurine night monkey; A. l. brumbacki: Brumback's night monkey; A. l. griseimembra: grey-legged night monkey; A. hershkovitzi: Hershkovitz's night monkey; A. miconax: Andean night monkey or Peruvian night monkey; A. nancymaae: A. nancymai; Nancy Ma's night monkey or Peruvian red-necked owl monkey; A. nigriceps: black-headed night monkey or Peruvian night monkey; A. trivirgatus: northern night monkey, northern owl monkey, or three-striped night monkey; A. vociferans: noisy night monkey, Spix's night monkey, or Spix's owl monkey

Aotus nancymaae
Photo: Rosie Bolen

The Genus Aotus used to contain only one species ( Aotus trivirgatus) with ten subspecies, but in 1983, all ten subspecies were elevated to species level and subsequent genetic work has refined the taxonomy even more (Groves 2001). Within the genus, there are two groups of owl monkeys, the gray-necked ( lemurinus and subspecies, hershkovitzi, trivirgatus, and vociferans), found north of the Rio Amazonas (Amazon River) and the red-necked ( miconax, nancymaae, nigriceps, azarae and subspecies), found south of the Rio Amazonas (Groves 2001). Because this change in taxonomy was introduced fairly recently and is disputed, some published research continues to refer to the entire group as A. trivirgatus rather than distinguishing among species and subspecies. It may be necessary to generalize about some of the characteristics of owl monkeys because of the confusion of taxonomy in the literature in addition to the limited published information about this taxonomic group (Wright 1994; Sussman 2000).

MORPHOLOGY

Separated into two groups based on their coloration, karyotype, and geographic distribution, owl monkeys have gray-tan to brown bodies and either gray or red fur on the sides of their necks (Ford 1994). They have pale yellow to orange fur on their stomachs, underarms, and inner legs, light gray to white markings above and below their eyes, and three conspicuous, black stripes from the top of their head to either side of each eye and straight down the forehead between the eyes to the bridge of the nose (Ford 1994; Rowe 1996; Groves 2001). Their coats range in thickness and length depending on the altitudes at which they are found, with species living at higher elevations having thicker, shaggier coats than those living at sea level (Wright 1981; Groves 2001). They are unusual in their appearance compared to other primates because of their disproportionately large, brown eyes which have evolved as an adaptation to their nocturnal lifestyles. All owl monkeys are at least somewhat nocturnal and they are the only New World monkeys active at night (Wright 1994). While a nocturnal lifestyle is associated with primitive primates like prosimians, owl monkeys are not primitive but rather they re-evolved nocturnality from diurnal ancestors (Wright 1994; Rowe 1996). Changes in the morphology of the eye and brain of owl monkeys reveal how specialized they have become to keep this nocturnal lifestyle but also reveal structural commonalities between other diurnal primates (Rowe 1996). To see objects in low light levels, owl monkeys have evolved large eyeballs, their lenses have a more spherical shape than is seen in diurnal primates, and there are also more rods and fewer cones (Noback 1975). Though they do see in color, owl monkeys have less acute color vision than other primates. This is not a disadvantage as they are faster at locating and following moving objects at low light levels and have better spatial resolution at low light levels than other primates which helps them capture insects and move through arboreal habitat (Wright 1994).

Photo: Luiz Claudio Marigo

There is very limited data on body size and weight for Aotus, most measurements from wild animals are extrapolated from only a few samples. Owl monkeys are not sexually dimorphic so males and females are about the same size and weight (Wright 1994). Average male A. a. azarae weigh about 1254 g (2.76 lb) while females average 1246 g (2.75 lb). Wild A. a. boliviensis males weigh, on average 1180 g (2.60 lb) while females are slightly heavier, having an average weight of 1230 (2.71 lb) (Fernandez-Duque in press). The weights from one wild A. a. infulatus male and one female are 1190 g (2.62 lb) and 1240 g (2.73 lb), respectively, and data from one male and one female A. brumbacki reveal weights of 875 g (1.93 lb) and 455 g (1.00 lb) (Fernandez-Duque in press). Data from wild A. lemurinus reveal an average male weight of 920.7 g (2.03 lb) and average female weight of 859 g (1.89 lb). The weight of one male A. nigriceps was 875 g and the average weight of two females was 1040 g (2.29 lb). There is a fair amount of information available on the body weights of A. nancymaae and A. trivirgatus. A. nancymaae males weigh, on average, 794 g (1.75 lb) and females weigh 780 g (1.72 lb) while wild A. trivirgatus males weigh, on average 813 g (1.79 lb) and females average 736 g (1.62 lb) (Fernandez-Duque in press). The weights of wild A. vociferans and A. zonalis are also based on small sample sizes. Male A. vociferans weigh 697.5 g (1.54 lb) and there are no data for wild females while A. zonalis males have an average weight of 889 g (1.96 lb) and females weight 916 g (2.02 lb), on average (Fernandez-Duque in press). There are no data available for A. miconax.

Owl monkeys move quadrupedally on branches and vines in the forests in which they live and are skilled leapers, able to cross gaps in the canopy up to four meters wide (Wright 1984). The maximum recorded longevity for a captive owl monkey is 20 years (Rowe 1996). The only data on their longevity in the wild comes from an A. azarae population where it is known that a male has lived at least 11 years (Fernandez-Duque pers. comm.).

RANGE

Owl monkeys are widely distributed across southern Central America and northern South America (Groves 2001). A. lemurinus subspecies are found in Panama, northern Colombia, and northwestern Venezuela while A. hershkovitzi ranges only in Colombia. The other gray-necked species include A. trivirgatus, which occupies a range extending from eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela into part of northern Brazil and A. vociferans, which is widely distributed across Colombia, northern Brazil, northern Peru, and eastern Ecuador (Groves 2001). All of the gray-necked species live north of the Amazon River while the red-necked owl monkeys are found south of the Amazon. A. miconax is limited to a very small region in northwestern Peru; A. nancymaae occupies a small region straddling the Peru-Brazil border and is sympatric with both red-necked ( A. nigriceps) and gray-necked species ( A. vociferans); A. nigriceps is found in Brazil and Peru, and A. azarae subspecies are found in Paraguay, Argentina, southern Bolivia, and Brazil (Groves 2001; Fernandez-Duque et al. 2001).

Little research has been conducted on Aotus in the wild probably primarily due to the difficulty of studying nocturnal primates (Sussman 2000). Research on owl monkeys requires not only specialized forest skills, including the ability to maneuver through the forest at night and good auditory and nocturnal visual skills, but radio-tracking equipment as well (Sussman 2000; Aquino & Encarnación 1994). Some of the intrepid owl monkey researchers and contributors to the knowledge of wild Aotus include Patricia Wright (Peru and Paraguay), Rolando Aquino and Filomeno Encarnación (Peru), and Eduardo Fernandez-Duque (Argentina). Captive studies of Aotus have been conducted at the New England Primate Research Center.

HABITAT

Aotus species widely inhabit primary, secondary, and remnant tropical forests as well as seasonally deciduous scrub forest, subtropical dry forest, and gallery forest from Panama to Argentina and Paraguay at a wide variety of elevations from sea level to 3200 m (10,498 ft) (Wright 1981; Aquino & Encarnación 1994; Fernandez-Duque et al. 2001). Temperatures at higher elevations can be as low as 5° C (41° F) and in the Chaco of Argentina, night temperatures as low as -5° C (23° F) are tolerated by Aotus (Fernandez-Duque 2003). They tend to inhabit areas of high plant species diversity with a relatively dense canopy and will forage at all canopy levels (Kinzey 1997). In Peru, they specifically prefer two types of habitats: lowland forest that is flooded seasonally or highland forest that is never flooded. In the flooded forest, where water can be as deep as seven meters (23.0 ft) during the rainy season, there is a predominance of trees with thickened trunks and branches that provide hollows used as sleeping sites, as well as pervasive growth of lianas and epiphytes, important plants used as sleeping sites and refuges (Aquino & Encarnación 1994). In Colombia, Aotus species are found in high, primary forests and in remnant and older secondary forests, but not in young secondary forests with low species diversity. In Argentina, Aotus is found in both high and low forests as well as gallery and island forests with dense canopies (Wright 1981; Fernandez-Duque et al. 2001). In Brazil, A. infulatus uses a variety of habitats including coastal forests with palm trees, mangroves, and gallery forest (de Sousa e Silva & Fernandes 1999). All of the habitats in which they are found exhibit seasonal patterns of rainfall and temperature changes, with the rainy season generally lasting from about September to about May and the dry season occurring during June through August (Wright 1981).

ECOLOGY

Aotus is the only nocturnal monkey. Adopting a system of nocturnal behavior seems disadvantageous to animals like primates that have a high dependence on vision: food, including insects, animal prey, and fruit, is more difficult to find at night, locomotion through the forest canopy is significantly more dangerous in dim light, and a different set of environmental conditions such as cooler temperatures, differences in humidity, competitors, and predators pose threats (Wright 1989). Despite these obstacles, the fossil record proves that owl monkeys assumed this nocturnal role from diurnal ancestors and, based on their wide geographical distribution, have been successful in exploiting this niche. Many of the ecological and behavioral characteristics of Aotus can be explained or at least linked to their unique pattern of life. Though most species of owl monkeys are nocturnal, A. a. azarae shows the particularly rare pattern of cathemeral activity in which it is regularly active during both daylight and nighttime hours (Fernandez-Duque 2003). Because of its range in the very seasonal Chaco of Argentina and Paraguay, the ability to forage during daylight hours is probably an adaptation to avoid activity on extremely cold, moonless nights (Fernandez-Duque 2003).

Photo: Marilyn Cole

Members of the genus generally leave their sleeping site about 15 minutes after sunset and return before sunrise each day (Wright 1986; Garcia & Braza 1993). After leaving the sleeping site, groups travel and feed until about midnight, when they stop to rest for 90 to 120 minutes. Owl monkeys are frugivores and supplement their diet with flowers, insects, nectar, and leaves (Wright 1989; 1994). They prefer small, ripe fruit when available and in order to find these, they forage in large-crown trees (larger than ten meters [32.8 ft]) (Wright 1986). Seasonal availability of fruit varies across environments. Aotus species in tropical forests eat more fruit throughout the year because it is more readily available compared to the dry forests where fruit is limited in the dry season and owl monkeys are more dependent on leaves (Wright 1994). It is difficult to quantify leaf and insect eating during the night, though, and researchers sometimes have to rely on fecal sample composition to project quantity and therefore importance to owl monkeys. Insect foraging occurs at dawn and dusk. Rather than seeking out insects in holes and crevices, owl monkeys are adept at grabbing flying insects out of the air or snatching them off of a branch (Wright 1989). They most often eat large orthopterans, moths, beetles, and spiders and probably specialize in these because of the insects' rhythms. Moths are active at night, orthopterans call loudly at night, exposing their location, and beetles are active at night are easier making them easier to see (Wright 1989). After spending the night traveling, foraging, resting, and socializing, as dawn approaches owl monkeys increase their activity levels, and forage as they travel to either the same sleeping site from the previous day or another one within their home range (Wright 1981). Sleeping sites are either tree holes or thickets of dense foliage made up of lianas or epiphytes and, if they are big enough, may be shared with other nocturnal animals like bats (Aquino & Encarnación 1986; Garcia & Braza 1993). Owl monkeys spend most of their time foraging and sleeping above in the high canopy, above ten meters (32.8 ft) (Wright 1994).

Density of owl monkeys ranges from two to 16 groups per km² (.772 to 6.18 groups per square mile) (Fernandez-Duque et al. 2001). Home ranges of owl monkeys are smallranging between .031 and .175 km² (.012 and .068 mi²), depending on the species (Fernandez-Duque in press). The average nightly range is about of 708 m per night (.441 mi), but they use a larger area during the wet season, 829 m (.515 mi) per night and a smaller area during the dry season, 252 m (.157 mi) (Wright 1989). This use of space indicates that they spend more time resting and rely on fewer resources during the dry season, but resource availability is not the only factor influencing nightly travel distance. Nightly path length is also correlated with available light; the distance traveled is directly linked to the amount of moonlight on a given night. Owl monkeys travel twice as far on bright nights with full moons than on dark nights, and they concentrate their movement during the times of night with the most moonlight (Wright 1989; Fernandez-Duque 2003). Even though they do not travel as far, they still need to move on dark nights to find food and one adaptation to this need to forage is to travel the same routes repeatedly. They probably memorize routes and use chemical cues to help them find their way between food sites and sleeping sites (Wright 1989).

Aotus azarae azarae
Photo: Eduardo Fernandez Duque

Though owl monkeys are sympatric with other primates that use similar resources, they do not compete for access to resources because of their alternative schedules. Furthermore, non-primate nocturnal competitors are usually small-bodied (like bats) or forage alone or in pairs, not posing a significant source of competition (Wright 1989). Nocturnal predators do not usually eat monkeys, but some potential threats include owls, snakes, and felids. Diurnal raptors may pose a threat to owl monkeys if they are not well hidden in their sleeping sites (Wright 1989; 1994).

SPECIAL NOTES

At any given time, there are about 150 to 200 million people worldwide infected with malaria and over a million children annually under the age of five die from this disease spread by infected mosquitoes (Dixson 1994). Owl monkeys have been successfully employed in biomedical research on malaria since the 1960s because of their natural resistance to the parasites that cause the disease (Ford 1994). Individuals of some species are intermittently removed from the wild to bolster captive colonies for research, breeding programs, and zoos, but effects on the total population are not significant and the population can recover after these "cropping" events (Aquino & Encarnación 1994).

Content last modified: July 18, 2005

Written by Kristina Cawthon Lang. Reviewed by Eduardo Fernandez-Duque.

Cite this page as:
Cawthon Lang KA. 2005 July 18. Primate Factsheets: Owl monkey (Aotus) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology . <http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/owl_monkey>. Accessed 2020 February 13.

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Primate Factsheets: Owl monkey (Aotus) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology

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Other names: douroucouli or night monkey; doeroecoeli (Dutch); douroucouli or singe de nuit (French); macaco da noite (Portuguese); cuatro ojos, marta, marteja, mono de noche, mono nocturno, or tutamono (Spanish); mirikina, nattapa, or negronattapa (Swedish); A. azarae: A. azarai; Azara's night monkey; A. lemurinus: Colombian night monkey, gray-bellied night monkey, or lemurine night monkey; A.

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Main Characteristics Philippine Eagles are one of the world's rarest birds of prey. This huge eagle has a body length between 86 and 100 cms (34 - 39 inches), a wingspan of approximately 2 m (6.6 ft) and they weigh between 4.5 and 8 kgs (10 - 18 lbs).

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Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in Explore Raptors: Facts, habitat, diet | The Peregrine Fund

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When forests are cut down, many of the animals who once lived there are forced to move. With less and less available forest, there often isn't enough habitat to support all the wildlife that needs a home. Many end up dying.

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Map of South America

Capybara

Capybara Classification and Evolution
The Capybara is a large, semi-aquatic rodent that is found inhabiting the water-logged regions of Central and South America. Closely related to other South American rodents such as Chinchillas and Guinea Pigs, the Capybara is the largest rodent in the world weighing up to 75kg and measuring nearly 1.4 meters long. Despite their enormous size though, these mammals have adapted well to life in the water and have a number of distinctive characteristics that aid their amphibious lifestyle, including the webbed skin between their toes which is particularly helpful when swimming. Interestingly enough, the common name of the Capybara is thought to mean "Master of the Grasses", whilst its scientific name comes from the Greek word for water hog.

Capybara Anatomy and Appearance
The Capybara is a heavy, stocky-looking animal with a short head and muzzle in comparison to its body and hardly any tail at all. They have short but sturdy limbs and hoof-like claws on their toes which along with the webbing, helps the Capybara both when negotiating the slippery banks and with swimming and also prevents the Capybara from sinking too deeply into the surrounding mud. Their coarse, short fur is pale to dark brown in colour with varying tinges of yellow, red and grey and is perfectly designed to dry out quickly once the Capybara is back on land. One of the Capybara's most distinctive features is the fact that their eyes, ears and nostrils are all positioned on top of its head meaning that they still have excellent sight, sound and smell whilst in the water. The placement of these features also means that when threatened, the Capybara can retreat into the water only leaving these parts of its body exposed to hide from potential predators.

Capybara Distribution and Habitat
The Capybara is found throughout a variety of habitats in Central and South America providing that there is a constant source of standing freshwater. They are found in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru, down through Brazil and Paraguay and into northern Argentina and Uruguay where they are most commonly found in swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes. The Capybara can be found inhabiting grassy plains and even in rainforests where they occupy territories in herds, with these areas reported to be adequate territories year round even with the differing seasons. During the dry season the Capybara must have water and areas where they are able to feed (often small sandbars in the water), but in the wet season when the area floods they must still be able to graze which they often do on the grassy banks.

Capybara Behaviour and Lifestyle
The Capybara is a very sociable animal that tends to inhabit densely vegetated areas close to water in herds of around 20 individuals, which are usually made up of a dominant male with a number of females and their young. Capybara herds occupy very stable home ranges that are known to vary in size depending on the size of the herd to ensure that there is enough food, and although small parts of their territory may overlap those of another herd, they will tend chase intruders off their patch. The Capybara actually sleeps very little, preferring instead to doze whilst resting during the morning in thickets on the banks, or wallowing in the mud and water when cooling down in the heat of the midday sun. They begin to emerge onto land in the early evening when they graze on grasses and aquatic plants which the Capybara will continue to do throughout most of the night.

Capybara Reproduction and Life Cycles
In a Capybara herd it is only the dominant male that has the breeding rights to the females, and although it can occur all year round depending on the conditions, the breeding season tends to be during the rains in April and May. After a gestation period that lasts for around five months, the female Capybara gives birth to between 1 and 8 pups on land. Capybara young are very well developed at birth and not only have all their fur and can see, but are also able to run, swim and dive within hours of birth. The female rejoins the main group within hours with her newborn offspring, which begin to eat grass after about a week (although they will continue to suckle milk from their mother until they are around four months old). The Capybara tends to live for up to 10 years in the wild and slightly longer when kept in captivity.

The Capybara is a herbivorous animal that only eats plant matter in order to acquire all of the nutrients it needs. The diet of the Capybara is mainly made up of grasses and aquatic plants, along with fruits and berries and the occasional munch on soft tree bark. Despite spending a number of hours during the night grazing, the Capybara is quite fussy with around 75% of their diet involving between three and six different species of plant. Like all other species of rodent, their two front teeth grow continuously throughout their life meaning that they must gnaw and chew their food to grind them down which they do in a back and forth motion rather than from side to side. They are also known to both regurgitate their food in order to chew it again (much like a Cow) and also eat their own droppings which help to break down the cellulose in the grass, along with aiding their digestive system in general.

Capybara Predators and Threats
Despite the large size and secretive aquatic nature of this large rodent, their slow and gentle disposition makes them a rewarding meal for numerous hungry predators throughout their natural range. Wildcats including Jaguars, Pumas and Ocelots are the primary predators of the Capybara along with Caimans and Eagles that can hunt the younger ones from the sky above. The Capybara is also one of the best sources of food for the world's heaviest snake, the Anaconda, along with other species of large snake. The Capybara is also hunted by Humans in parts of its natural range for both its meat and the hide which is prized amongst some. Although the global Capybara population is not considered to be under threat, numbers in these areas have declined. Habitat loss also affects Capybara populations through Central and South America as they are specifically adapted to life in their unique watery wilderness.

Capybara Interesting Facts and Features
Capybara never stray far from water as when one senses danger it gives a short bark that encourages the herd to quickly scuttle into the water to hide. They are so well adapted to going unseen in the water that the Capybara is actually able to hold its breath for up to five minutes after diving in. Although Capybara herds tend to average between 10 and 30 individuals, larger groups are not uncommon with some numbering up to 100 members in home ranges generally larger than those of smaller groups. Capybara are known to communicate between one another using both scent (which is secreted by their glands) and sound, and have a number of different vocalisations including whistles, barks, grunts and squeals.

Capybara Relationship with Humans
Due to their slow and generally gentle nature, Humans have lived alongside Capybara for hundreds of years peacefully. However, they may not be aggressive animals but are often killed in certain areas for their meat and skin which has led to population declines in these regions. The Capybara has also been affected by Human activity in their native regions in general including both growing Human settlements and land clearance for agriculture. It is in these areas particularly that when there is not an adequate supply of food available, some Capybara have been known to enter crop fields where they can cause a great deal of damage and can be seen as pests.

Capybara Conservation Status and Life Today
Today, the Capybara population throughout Central and South America remains fairly stable and it is because they are still common in much of their natural range, that the Capybara is listed as being of Least Concern from becoming extinct in their natural environments in the near future by the IUCN Red List. Population numbers in certain areas however, have declined due to hunting and others are affected by loss of their natural habitat both from deforestation and increasing pollution levels in the water.

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The Capybara is a large, semi-aquatic rodent that is found inhabiting the water-logged regions of Central and South America. Closely related to other South American rodents such as Chinchillas and Guinea Pigs, the Capybara is the largest rodent in the world...

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Toucan Pictures

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"A toucan's frog-like squawk can be heard a mile away"
A toucan bird's curved, colorful beak makes it hard to overlook. They are omnivores eating insects, eggs, and fruit. These birds can live up to 20 years in the wild. They live in the tropical forests of South America as well as in Central America.

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4 Amazing Toucan Facts!

Toucan birds are poor fliers

A toucan's beak is hollow

A toucan's tongue is similar to a feather that pushes food down its throat

Five or six toucans can huddle together in one hollow tree

Where to Find the Toucan

Toucan birds are found in tropical forests in South America and Central America. Specifically, they live in Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, French Guiana, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, and Suriname. The channel-billed toucan lives in Trinidad. These birds live in warm climates with a high amount of rainfall. Normally, they remain in the highest parts of the trees called the canopy. They can live in mountainous areas as well.

Costa Rica is a popular place for bird lovers to observe these birds. The keel-billed toucan, scientific name Ramphastos sulfuratus, can be seen in the Cartago, Turrialba, and Monteverde mountains. They are usually found at an elevation of 1600 to 5000 feet.

Carara National Park, Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge, and Tortuguero National Park are other places to see keel-billed toucans and other species of this colorful bird at any time of the year.

Having an experienced, local guide along can help you tour spots that are most likely to have gatherings of toucans.

Health and Entertainment for your Toucan

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Nests

Toucan birds make nests in small holes high up in hollow trees. They sometimes put a thin layer of grass or regurgitated seeds inside the hole as a lining for the nest. Toucans don't make holes in trees. Instead, they make their nests in holes created by woodpeckers or other animals.

Scientific Name

One of the 35 species of toucan is the keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus).
©.supernova. / Creative Commons

The common name of this bird is toco toucan. Its scientific name is Ramphastos toco. When divided up the Greek word Ramphastos means curved beak (ramphos), citizen (astos). This bird usually goes by the simple name toucan.

It belongs to the Ramphastidae family and the class of Aves.

Evolution

Interestingly, there are no known fossils of toucans (Ramphastidae) except for some remains found of a toco toucan which date to the Pleistocene Era, about 20 million years ago. Toucans are believed to share an ancient ancestor with barbets.

Species of toucans developed during times when dry forests and topical forests expanded. As these habitats grew, some animals formed rapidly while others disappeared.

Toucans are believed to have practiced social mimicry, where two or more distantly related species share more similarities with one another than they do with more closely related species.

Types of Toucans

There are over 40 species of toucan, with 22 of them appearing below:

Yellow-throated toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus) - This toucan bird calls the Andes' eastern slopes home, and can be found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. It is rather adaptable and at home in tropical and subtropical forests. It has glossy black abdominal, head, and lower chest feathers, bright yellow on its throat feathers (which extend to the front of its face), and the diagonally slashed beak in the same brilliant yellow above black. This lends to an especially striking appearance (which is further enhanced by the bright green mask around its eyes). The yellow-throated toucan is very fond of fruit, although it will not turn its beak up at small reptiles, rodents, or insects.

Channel-billed toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus) - Found in Bolivia, Brazil, and even the Caribbean (Trinidad) this toucan bird, can be recognized by the splash of rich yellow on its chest with a paler halo around it which extends up to its face. There the paleness morphs into a brilliant blue that extends to the base of its beak. In addition to a fondness for warm, wet environments, it is also rather partial to fruit despite being an omnivore - just like its yellow-throated cousin.

Chestnut-mandibled toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus swainsonii) - This colorful bird happens to call Colombia, Ecuador, and Honduras home. It is rather similar to the yellow-throated toucan, albeit with less vivid coloring. However, it has the same yellow chest, although its feathers tend to be the color of egg yolk, with swirls of paler coloring. The yellow of its upper beak is richer yet, while its lower beak is chestnut rather than a gleaming black. Considered to be especially talkative, the chestnut-mandibled toucan is mostly frugivorous, although it also enjoys sampling eggs, frogs, and lizards.

Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco albogularis) - Native to Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.

Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco toco) - Native to Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina.

Red-billed toucan (Ramphastos tucanus tucanus) - Native to Venezuela, Guyana, Bolivia and Brazil.

Cuvier's toucan (Ramphastos tucanus cuvieri) - Native to Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Bolivia.

Black-mandibled toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus abbreviatus) - Native to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela.

Black-mandibled toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus ambiguus) - Native to Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru.

Keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus sulfuratus) - Native to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala.

Keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus brevicarinatus) - Native to Central America, Colombia and Venezuela.

Channel-billed toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus vitellinus) - Native to Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, and Trinidad. Its upperparts, belly, tail and most of the bill are black, with the uppertail and undertail coverts red. The bare eye-patch and bill base are blue, and the throat is white.

Yellow-ridged toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus culminatus) - Native to Brazil and Bolivia. The base of its bill is yellow, the skin around the pale blue eye is red and the entire throat and chest are orange.

Ariel toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus ariel) - Native to Brazil and Bolivia. It has a yellow base of the upper mandible and culmen, orange-yellow uppertail coverts and the throat and breast are white.

Citron-throated toucan (Ramphastos vitellinus citreolaemus) - Native to Colombia and Venezuela. It has a clear yellow tinge to the throat, a green tinge to the otherwise blue culmen that's yellow at the tip, and a blue base to both the upper and lower mandible.

Choco toucan (Ramphastos brevis) - Native to Ecuador and Colombia. It has a long yellow and black beak, a yellow bib, white uppertail coverts, red undertail coverts and green ocular skin.

Green-billed toucan (Ramphastos dicolorus) - One of the smallest species of toucan. Its breast is orange with yellow at the sides. The beak is pale greenish-horn.

Grey-breasted mountain toucan

Plate-billed mountain toucan

Hooded mountain toucan

Black-billed mountain toucan

White-throated toucan

Size, Appearance & Behavior

The pointy edges of the toucan's beak allow it to bite into tough fruit and other items of food.
©David Havel/Shutterstock.com

The most notable feature of the bird is its beak. One look at this bird's skeleton reveals a hollow beak with thin bones supporting it. Furthermore, it has pointy edges like a serrated kitchen knife. This allows toucans to bite into tough fruit and other items of food. In terms of color, this bird's beak can be a mixture of yellow, orange, green, blue, red, and black depending on its species. A smaller predator seeing this bird's large and colorful beak may not want to approach it.

The feathers on this bird's body are mostly black with splashes of blue, yellow, and red in different areas. As an example, a keel-billed toucan has black feathers on most of its body, a yellow chest, and red tail feathers. Plus, their feet are blue! As a note, the bird has two toes pointing forward and two facing backward. This design helps them to hang onto branches. Plus, their unique feet allow them to easily jump from one branch to the next.

These birds can measure up to 25 inches long with a beak that can be 7.5 inches in length. Study the skeleton of the average-sized toucan and you'll see its beak is equal to about one-third of the size of its body. Some species of this bird weigh up to 9 pounds. Their wingspan runs from 43 to 60 inches.

It may seem like its brightly colored beak and feathers would make this bird vulnerable to predators in a forest habitat. However, tropical vegetation can be colorful as well. Consequently, these birds can blend into their habitat and avoid predators.

Migration Pattern and Timing

These birds don't migrate. They are called resident breeders meaning their breeding season takes place in the same region where they live year-round. Breeding for these birds takes place in the spring.

Diet

The diet of the bird is classified as omnivorous. But some scientists refer to them as frugivores because their main diet is fruit.

The diet of the toucan consists of fruits and berries, small birds, rodents, and lizards.
©A-Z-Animals.com

What do toucans eat?

Along with fruit, they eat insects, amphibians, and small reptiles. Also, toucans are known to eat eggs and hatchlings stolen from the nests of other birds. This stealing behavior classifies them as opportunistic feeders. When they see the opportunity to take food, they do!

Due to their diet of fruit, these birds play an important role in the ecosystem. After eating fruit, they leave behind seeds in their waste causing more vegetation to grow.

Predators and Threats

The Jaguar is one of the main predators of toucans.
©George Arenas/Shutterstock.com

Though its beak is large, this is a relatively small bird which means it has a collection of predators in its habitat.

What eats toucans?

Jaguars, coatis, snakes, and eagles are predators of the bird. Not coincidentally, all of these animals have access to the treetops where toucans live.

Another threat faced by these birds is habitat loss due to deforestation. Plus, they are sometimes captured as pets. These animals usually die when kept in households as pets. They need special care and were never meant to be pets.

The conservation status of the toco toucan is Least Concern with a decreasing population.

Reproduction, Babies and Lifespan

The breeding season of these birds takes place in the springtime. One of the most interesting facts about this bird is its mating ritual. This ritual involves a male and a female tossing a piece of fruit to each other.

The birds lay from 2 to 4 eggs per year. The mother and the father take turns sitting on the nest. The incubation period of the eggs ranges from 15 to 18 days. The babies, also called chicks, are born without feathers and are unable to see. Their eyes open at about 3 weeks old. The chicks stay with their parents for 6 to 8 weeks.

These birds are sexually mature at 3 to 4 years old and can live up to 20 years.

Habitat

Toucans inhabit tropical rainforests and woodlands, savannas, and semi-open habitats.
©iStock.com/Ondrej Prosicky

Toucans are native birds to the Neotropics in Southern Mexico through Central America. They can also be found in South America and south to northern Argentina. They mostly live in the lower tropics, but the mountain species from the genus Andiegena can sometimes reach higher altitudes in the Andes and can be found in taller trees.

For the most part, toucans are a species of bird found in the forest and are usually restricted to primary forests. They will sometimes enter secondary forests to forage and find food but are limited due to their breeding grounds being inside of those large forest trees with holes big enough to breed in.

The only non-forest living toucan is the toco toucan which can be found in the savannah in patches of forests and woodlands.

Population

The population of these birds is unknown. However, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, this bird is described as 'fairly common' in its environment.

The conservation status of the toco toucan is Least Concern with a decreasing population.

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Are Toucans herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores?
Toucans are Omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and other animals.
What Kingdom do Toucans belong to?
Toucans belong to the Kingdom Animalia.
What class do Toucans belong to?
Toucans belong to the class Aves.
What phylum to Toucans belong to?
Toucans belong to the phylum Chordata.
Do toucans migrate?
No. Toucans are known as resident breeders. This means they breed in the same area where they live year-round.
How many eggs does a toucan lay?
A toucan lays 2 to 4 eggs. They have young once per year.
How fast does a toucan fly?
This is a tricky question! One of the most important facts to remember regarding toucans is they are not known for their long-distance flying skills. When they do fly, they only travel short distances. These birds prefer to hop from branch to branch.
What is a toucan's wingspan?
The wingspan of a toucan is 43 to 60 inches.
When do toucans leave the nest?
Toucans stay with their parents in the nest until they're 6 to 8 weeks old.
What eats toucans?
Toucans have a few predators including jaguars, coatis, snakes, and eagles.
What does a toucan eat?
Toucans are omnivores eating fruit, insects, amphibians, and small reptiles. They are also known to steal eggs and hatchlings out of the nests of other birds.
Can toucans fly?
They can fly very short distances. But they prefer to hop to other branches.
Where do toucans live?
These birds live in South America and Central America. Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, French Guiana, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, and Surinam are all places where you'll find toucans. They live in a tropical forest habitat.

Costa Rica is home to six species of toucan including the keel-billed toucan.

The channel-billed toucan lives in Trinidad.
Why is a toucan's beak so big?
A toucan's large beak can discourage some predators from attacking. In addition, it uses its large, strong beak to break up tough pieces of fruit. Study the skeleton of a toucan and you'll see its beak has serrated edges making it a convenient tool when eating.

The length of this bird's beak allows it to reach up into trees to grab fruit growing from high branches.
What family do Toucans belong to?
Toucans belong to the family Ramphastidae.
What order do Toucans belong to?
Toucans belong to the order Piciformes.
What type of covering do Toucans have?
Toucans are covered in Feathers.
What genus do Toucans belong to?
Toucans belong to the genus Ramphastos.
What are some distinguishing features of Toucans?
Toucans have small bodies and enormous, colorful beaks.
What is an interesting fact about Toucans?
There are more than 40 different species of Toucan!
What is the lifespan of a Toucan?
Toucans can live for 12 to 20 years.
How do Toucans have babies?
Toucans lay eggs.

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This post may contain affiliate links to our partners like Chewy, Amazon, and others. Purchasing through these helps us further the A-Z Animals mission to educate about the world's species. View all of our Toucan pictures in the gallery.

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Map of South America

Ocelot

Ocelot Classification and Evolution
The Ocelot is a medium-sized small cat that is native to the jungles of South America. The Ocelot is also known as the Painted Leopard due to the beautifully distinctive markings on its fur as it displays dark rosettes, along with spots and stripes. Similar in colouration to the much smaller but closely related Margay, the Ocelot was nearly driven to extinction in the 20th century as they were commonly hunted for their fur. Today however, national protection throughout much of their natural range has meant that the Ocelot population has been able to recover somewhat. The Ocelot is a strong and agile cat that can not only climb and run well but they are also good swimmers as they are not afraid of water like numerous other cat species.

Ocelot Anatomy and Appearance
The Ocelot has short and thick, velvety fur that is usually tawny-yellow to reddish-grey in colour and marked with black chain-like rosettes on its back and sides. There are dark spots on their legs and stripes on their head and face which are distinctive to the individual. They have a long tail that is generally marked with dark rings and large paws in relation to their body size. Like all feline species (with the exception of Cheetahs) the Ocelot can retract its claws into protective pockets that prevent them from becoming blunt whilst the Ocelot is walking about. Males tend to be substantially larger than females and can grow up to a meter in length with a tail half their body size on top of that. The Ocelot has sharply pointed front teeth which are used for biting down on its prey and blade-like teeth in each cheek that are used for tearing up food.

Ocelot Distribution and Habitat
The Ocelot is found throughout the South American tropics but is most common in the dense jungles of the Amazon Basin. They are however, fairly widespread and inhabit a variety of different habitats from southern Texas to northern Argentina. The Ocelot is an incredibly adaptable animal that can be found in variety of habitats including tropical forests, grasslands, mangrove forests and marshes providing that there is plenty of dense vegetation. Although the Ocelot is usually found below 1,200 meters above sea-level, they are also known to inhabit the high slopes of the Andes Mountains and have been found at heights up to 3,800 meters. As strong swimmers, they are also sometimes found in seasonally flooded forests and have been reported as living close to Human settlements.

Ocelot Behaviour and Lifestyle
The Ocelot is a solitary animal that occupies a home range that can be up to 30 square kilometres depending on the surrounding environment. Males tend to patrol territories that are often double the size of the females', and one which overlaps the home ranges of a number of females (with which the male has breeding rights). The Ocelot is a nocturnal animal that spends the days sleeping either in thick vegetation or on a high and leafy branch. They have excellent sight, touch and hearing which all help them when hunting at night, and they communicate between one another using soft meows which turn into loud yowls when looking for a mate. The Ocelot is an incredibly secretive animal that is very rare in some parts of its natural range and one that relies heavily on dense vegetation, only venturing into open areas during the night.

Ocelot Reproduction and Life Cycles
In the heart of the tropics, Ocelots are known to breed all year round but at the most northern and southern ends of its natural range, the breeding season tends to occur towards the end of the summer. After mating, the female Ocelot will find a crevice in the rocks, a hollow tree or will nest in a dense and thorny thicket in order for her to have some privacy and protection whilst she is preparing to give birth. Following a gestation period of up to 85 days the female Ocelot will give birth to 2 or 3 kittens, which are born blind and have a thin coat of dark fur. Within a month, the Ocelot kittens can view their surroundings and their fur will have become much denser and more colourful. Although Ocelot kittens are fully grown by the time they are a year old and are capable of becoming independent, they will often be tolerated in their mother's home range for a couple of years before they leave to establish a territory of their own.

The Ocelot is a carnivorous animal that hunts for food under the cover of night and does so by stalking its prey primarily on the ground. Although small mammals such as rodents make up the majority of its diet, they are known to hunt a variety of small animals including rabbits, birds, fish, crabs, lizards and snakes and will even hunt small deer on occasion. The Ocelot is also known to eat monkeys, turtles, armadillos and anteaters but have been known to cause problems by killing domestic birds when there is not enough food available. As the Ocelot happily preys upon numerous different animal species, they are a vital part of their local ecosystems and their vast menu also helps them to more easily adapt to varying habitats.

Ocelot Predators and Threats
Not only is the Ocelot an important predator in its environment but they are also preyed upon by a number of large carnivores. Other felines including Jaguars and Pumas prey on the smaller Ocelot, along with Birds of Prey such as the Harpy Eagle and the world's biggest snake, the Anaconda. The unique and distinctive fur of the Ocelot though actually provides it with some camouflage in the dense vegetation surrounding it but it is also this fur that has led to enormous population declines throughout much of its historical range. Hunted for their fur (known as pelts) particularly from the 1960s to the 1980s, the Ocelot nearly became extinct in the wild along with the fact that they were also captured and kept as exotic pets. Since the Ocelot became a protected species though in many countries, numbers have risen but they are now threatened by deforestation of their habitats.

Ocelot Interesting Facts and Features
In a similar way to many other species of smaller wildcat, the Ocelot has been kept as a pet by many people throughout history. The most famous of these was the abstract artist Salvador Dali who was known to travel frequently with his domesticated Ocelot. It was even thought that Mr Dali actually took his pet Ocelot on an ocean liner! The Ocelot is also thought to have been worshipped by ancient Peruvian cultures (in a similar way to the Ancient Egyptians worshipping cats), and these cultures would often depict the beautiful Ocelot in their art work. The Ocelot is thought to be active for at least 12 hours a day and can travel distances of up to seven miles in that time, with males generally covering twice the distance of their female counterparts.

Ocelot Relationship with Humans
The Ocelot was seen as a sacred animal by ancient cultures but its beautifully patterned and soft fur quickly attracted the attention of hunters. Ocelot population numbers were severely depleted throughout their natural range particularly during the 1960s and 1970s when they were thought to be so extensively hunted, that up to 200,000 skins were being traded each year and were selling for around 40,000 US dollars. Despite being wild and dominant predators, the Ocelot has also been captured to sell into the exotic pet trade which fortunately ceased after the Ocelot was listed on the Endangered Species List. Despite the fact that the Ocelot is now protected in most of the countries throughout its natural range and numbers have increased, populations particularly in certain areas are being severely affected by growing Human activity, primarily from deforestation and growing settlements.

Ocelot Conservation Status and Life Today
Today, the Ocelot is listed by the IUCN as being a species that is of Least Concern of becoming extinct in their natural environment in the near future. Although some populations are small and unstable, the Ocelot is widespread but the general population trend is now decreasing. This is mainly due to habitat loss as vast areas particularity in the Amazon, are subject to drastic deforestation and no longer provide the dense cover and adequate food supply that the Ocelot needs to survive.

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The Ocelot is a medium-sized small cat that is native to the jungles of South America. The Ocelot is also known as the Painted Leopard due to the beautifully distinctive markings on its fur as it displays dark rosettes, along with spots and stripes. Similar...

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Caiman

The caiman is a large aquatic reptile found in the swamps and tropical rivers that cover Central and South America. Although the caimans have much narrower bodies, they are most closely related to alligators and crocodiles.

Caimans are found in a variety of habitats throughout Central and South America from marshes and swamps to mangrove rivers and lakes. As with other reptiles, caimans have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence.

Caimans range in size from the dwarf caiman which measures just over a meter in length, to the black caiman which can to grow to be nearly 5 meters long. The black caiman is the largest caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and lakes that surround the Amazon basin.

There are six different species of caiman found throughout the watery, jungle habitats of Central and Southern America. The average length for most of the other caiman species if about 2.5 meters long.

The caiman is a carnivorous predators and, like the alligator and the crocodile, the caiman has a diet that consists of a great deal of fish. The caiman also hunts insects, birds and small mammals and reptiles.

Due to the large size and ferocious nature of the caiman, it has few natural predators within its environment. Humans are the main predators of the caiman as they have been hunted for their meat and skin. Jaguars are the only other predator of the caiman.

Female caimans build a large nest in which to lay their eggs, which can be more than 1.5 meters wide. Female caimans lay between 10 and 50 eggs which hatch within about 6 weeks. Once they have hatched, the mother caiman takes her young to a shallow pool of water where they can learn how to hunt and swim.

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The caiman is a large aquatic reptile found in the swamps and tropical rivers that cover Central and South America. Although the caimans have much narrower bodies, they are most closely related to alligators and crocodiles.Caimans are found in a variety of...

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The Vampire Bat is a small species of Bat, native to the tropics of Central and South America. There are three recognised sub-species of Vampire Bat, all of which are in a genus of their own despite their obvious similarities. The Common Vampire Bat, the Hairy-Legged...

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River Dolphin

There are only four species of river dolphin still existing in river, lakes and estuaries in certain parts of the tropical Southern Hemisphere. River dolphins are also known as freshwater dolphins with one species however inhabiting saltwater estuaries known as the La Plata dolphin.

The Amazon river dolphin (Boto or Pink river dolphin) is found in the Amazon river and the joining rivers, with the Amazon river dolphin being the largest species of freshwater dolphin. The Amazon river dolphin feeds on crabs, fish and catfish and is rarely hunted by animals other than humans.

The Ganges river dolphin (Indus River Dolphin) is found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The Ganges river dolphin is primarily found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their joining rivers in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The Ganges river dolphin has long teeth that can be seen even when the dolphins mouth is closed.

The Chinese river dolphin (Baiji) was once found only in the Yangtze River in China but sadly said to have become extinct in 2006.

Some river dolphins are thought to be blind, but other river dolphins still possess incredibly poor eye sight and many are therefore killed when accidentally coming into content with fishing boats and nets. Like other species of dolphin, the river dolphins hunt and communicate using echolocation, a process which involves the detection of low frequency waves that are emitted by all the living things.

River dolphins are mainly found in darker, slow-moving waters but are known to venture into grasslands and underwater forests during the flood seasons. It is now, when the water is at the highest level that the baby river dolphins are born underwater.

River dolphins have a long, narrow beak and flexible neck which helps them to catch prey quickly and enables the river dolphins to turn quickly and more easily in the water. River dolphins are normally found on their own or in pairs but large groups of river dolphins will often come together to feed.

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There are only four species of river dolphin still existing in river, lakes and estuaries in certain parts of the tropical Southern Hemisphere. River dolphins are also known as freshwater dolphins with one species however inhabiting saltwater estuaries known as the La Plata dolphin.

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Map of South America

Spider Monkey

The spider monkey is found in the tropical jungles of South America, from Southern Mexico to Brazil. The spider monkey generally dos not enter the further southern regions of South America as the terrain becomes mountainous and not to the spider monkey's taste.

There are four different types of spider monkey, all of which are fairly large in size and get to around 50cm tall, plus the spider monkey's tail which can often grow longer than the spider monkey's body.

The spider monkey is thought to get its name from the way the spider monkeys can be seen hanging in the trees. The spider monkey can often be seen with all four hands on separate branches, so the spider monkey looks like a spider's web. The spider monkey can also hang from branches by its strong tail, which gives the spider monkey spider-like attributes.

The spider monkey mainly eats fruits and berries and spider monkeys are a thought to play a vital part in spreading the seeds of many plants throughout the South American rainforests. The spider monkey also eats insects and small reptiles for protein and also honey which the spider monkey finds it.

Due to the extensive hunting of the spider monkey from both humans and bigger jungle animals such as the jaguar and the crocodile, all four species of spider monkey are now considered to be endangered or critically endangered.

The spider monkey is often kept as an exotic pet worldwide and is one of the most popular species of pet monkey due to the spider monkey's looks and the spider monkey's character. Please don't keep spider monkeys as pets. Spider monkeys belong in the jungles where they come from and are on the verge of extinction, this process should not be helped.

Spider monkeys form groups of between 10 and 30 individuals which splits up during the day so that there is less competition for food. Unlike many other primates, it is the female spider monkeys that leave their original group to join new groups, rather than the male spider monkeys. Male spider monkeys are known to stay together throughout their lives.

Female spider monkeys breed every three to four years and when she is ready to, the female spider monkey chooses a male spider monkey from her group in which to mate with. After a gestation period of around 7 months, the female spider monkey will give birth to one baby spider monkey.

Baby spider monkeys completely rely on their mother until they are between 6 to 10 months old and are big enough and strong enough to make it on their own. Until then, the mother spider monkey carries her young on her tummy and then on her back in order to keep them safe. Female spider monkeys are known to help their young when jumping in the trees and groom them too.

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The spider monkey is found in the tropical jungles of South America, from Southern Mexico to Brazil. The spider monkey generally dos not enter the further southern regions of South America as the terrain becomes mountainous and not to the spider monkey's...

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Map of South America

Howler Monkey

There are 9 different species of howler monkey, found dispersed throughout the tropical jungles of South America. The howler monkey is one of the largest species of monkey found in South America with some howler monkeys growing to nearly a meter long.

Despite their large size, howler monkeys weigh less than 10 kg which allows them to move with more agility through the high trees and lets the howler monkeys hang from branches by their tails when picking fruit.

The howler monkey is thought to have to loudest call of all the primates in the world with some howler monkeys being able to project their howling voices for up to a few miles! Howler monkeys move in troops of around 18 howler monkeys and spend most of their time sleeping and grooming each other.

The howler monkey is said to be one of the least active monkeys as the howler monkeys spends 80% of its time resting! The howler monkey generally lives to around 20 years old however, due to loss of habitat, the howler monkeys are finding it more difficult to find the food that they need.

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There are 9 different species of howler monkey, found dispersed throughout the tropical jungles of South America. The howler monkey is one of the largest species of monkey found in South America with some howler monkeys growing to nearly a meter long.Despite...

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Map of Africa

Indri

Indri Classification and Evolution
The Indri is a large species of Lemur found only on the secluded island of Madagascar. The Indri evolved in the same way as every other Lemur, from smaller individuals that came to the island from Africa around 50 million years ago. Due to the fact that there were no other primates to compete with, Lemurs soon adapted to live in a variety of habitats, producing a diverse range of different species. Locally, the Indri is known as the babakoto which means little father or ancestor of man. As the native people believe that the Indri (with its lack of visible tail) resembles their ancestors, their is a certain taboo over consuming it, meaning that the Indri does receive some protection in parts of their native environments.

Indri Anatomy and Appearance
Indris are the largest of all living Lemur species today. with some individuals reaching nearly a meter in height. The average Indri however, tends to be between 60 and 80 cm tall with a tail of just 5cm (all other Lemurs have tails that are around the same length as their bodies). The Indri has a dense coat of black silky fur with a varying number of white patches depending on the geographic region. Their toes and fingers are very dexterous and are good for grasping and their long hind legs aid them in leaping up to 10 meters between vertical branches in the forest. The yellow eyes of the Indri face forwards to help them to judge the distance before making a jump.

Indri Distribution and Habitat
Like all Lemurs, the Indri is found only on the island of Madagascar in lowland jungle and tropical forests. Lemurs are arboreal animals meaning that they spend the majority of their lives, eating, sleeping and mating high up in the trees. Today, the Indri however is only found in small pockets of protected forest in Eastern Madagascar, due to increased levels of logging and the clearing of land for agriculture across the island. Although actual figures are unknown there are thought to be less than 10,000 Indri left in Madagascar, meaning that the species is under severe threat in its natural environment.

Indri Behaviour and Lifestyle
The Indri is a sociable animal, living in small family units of between 2 - 6 individuals, that consist of a male and female pair with their young. Lemurs are unique among primates as it is the females who are the dominant ones, meaning that they get to feed first while the males defend their territory. Indris communicate through a series of eerie wailing calls both to unite families and also to mark their territory, that can be heard up to 2km away. They also urinate along borders to mark out their patch. One of the most noticeable differences between Lemurs and Monkeys is their Dog-like snout which gives all Lemurs an excellent sense of smell so they are able to sniff out these markings with ease and avoid confrontation.

Indri Reproduction and Life Cycles
Females Indris don't tend to reach sexual maturity until they are 8 or 9 years old, when they are able to have one infant every two or three years. The babies are usually born in May or June after a gestation period of between 4 and 5 months. The Indri infant clings onto the belly of its mother for the first few months of life, when it then moves round onto her back. By the time Indri babies are around 8 months old, they are independent of their mother but generally remain with her until the age of 2 or 3. Sadly, half of all Indri babies are thought to die before the age of 2, usually due to sickness or injury. Although adult Indris have been known to get well into their twenties, most live for between 15 and 18 years.

The Indri is a herbivorous animal, unlike many other primates that will munch on almost everything in sight. Indris are diurnal animals meaning that they are most active during the day and this is when they hunt for food, both in the trees and on the ground. Females get first pickings and are often found foraging for very new leaves. Young leaves make up the majority of the Indri's diet along with fruits, seeds and flowers, which are easily picked up with their nimble fingers. Indris are known to eat a wide variety of plant matter although it is thought that they predominantly eat vegetation that comes from the trees.

Indri Predators and Threats
Living high up in the trees means that the Indri is safe from many ground-dwelling predators, however, there are a number of animals that have no problem getting up to the Indri's height. The native Cat-like Fossa is the main predator of the Indri and is an incredibly agile and primarily tree-dwelling mammal that has evolved to catch one thing, Lemurs. Other predators of the Indri include large Birds Of Prey such as Hawks, and reptiles including Snakes, all of which the Indri are thought have to have different danger signals for. One of the largest threats to Madagascar's Indri populations however is habitat loss, as hundreds acres of natural jungle are being cleared every day.

Indri Interesting Facts and Features
The Indri is the largest existent Lemur today and, like other Lemurs, is most closely related to more primitive primates including Bushbabies, Pottos and Lorises. Despite the fact that there are nearly 100 species of Lemur and their sub-species found today, the Indri is the only remaining species in its genus. Before the island was ravaged by deforestation, it is thought that a different population of Indri occupied nearly every ridge in the eastern forests of Madagascar. The colour of the Indri differs between populations, with individuals further south thought to have more patches of white, while those in the more northern areas tend to be darker.

Indri Relationship with Humans
Until industry started to take an interest in Madagascar's natural resources, the Indri seemed to have a relatively peaceful relationship with the native people and were not eaten by them. Today however, reports of non-locals hunting the Indri are of great concern to conservationists particularly at a time when populations are being so devastatingly affected by the destruction of their natural environments. Indri populations are now thought to be drastically low, as the Indri can only be found in protected forest regions (where logging and land devastation still occurs).

Indri Conservation Status and Life Today
Although the exact number of Indri inhabiting Madagascar today is unknown, there are thought to only be up to 10,000 individuals left in the wild. Other estimates are more concerning claiming that there may be as few as 1,000 Indri remaining, but they are now protected with the listing as an endangered species. One of the biggest worries to science is that the Indri does not do well in captivity meaning that captive breeding programs to try and rehabilitate the dying populations are likely to be unsuccessful.

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The Indri is a large species of Lemur found only on the secluded island of Madagascar. The Indri evolved in the same way as every other Lemur, from smaller individuals that came to the island from Africa around 50 million years ago. Due to the fact that there...

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Map of South America

Macaw

The macaw is a colourful tropical parrot native to Central and Southern America. There are 17 different species of macaw found in the rainforests of South America. Many of the different macaw species are today considered to be endangered animals.

The macaw is an omnivorous animal and feeds on nuts and fruit in the trees along with insects, eggs and small mammals and reptiles. The macaw is known to sleep during the night meaning that the macaw is a diurnal animal, and in the morning the macaw will often fly long distances in order to find food.

The macaw is one of the largest species of parrot in the world, with the average adult macaw growing to more than a meter in height. The macaw is well known for its array of brightly coloured feathers which are often many different colours including blue, red, yellow and green.

Macaws have recently become very popular as pets, and there is a flourishing black market for some of the rarer breeds of macaw. This only contributes to their endangered status. Please, do not buy imported macaws. The declining macaw populations is also due to the fact that the macaw's natural rainforest habitat is being destroyed due to deforestation, which is happening all over Central and South America at an alarming rate.

The macaw has a large and powerful beak which means that the macaw can break the shells of nuts and seeds more easily. Like other species of parrot, macaws have four toes on each foot, with two toes facing forward and two toes facing backward. This foot adaptation helps the macaw to grip onto prey and tree branches more easily and allows the macaw to perch in the trees without slipping off.

Macaws are known to be intelligent and very sociable birds and macaws can often be seen together in large flocks of up to 30 macaw individuals. Macaws communicate between one another using loud vocal calls such as squawking and screaming. Some species of macaw are even known to be able to mimic (copy) human sounds.

The macaw is one of the world's animals that is known to have the same breeding partner for their whole lives. Macaw couples do not only breed together but they also share their food and help to groom one another. When the female macaw has laid her eggs (typically 2 but more are common), the female macaw sits on her eggs to incubate them while the male macaw hunts and collects food for them both. The macaw chicks hatch after about a month.

Macaws are well known to humans in the areas in which they inhabit and have been known to be hunted by local tribesmen for their brightly coloured feathers. The macaw however, is also widely respected and even appears on one of the Brazilian bank notes.

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The macaw is a colourful tropical parrot native to Central and Southern America. There are 17 different species of macaw found in the rainforests of South America. Many of the different macaw species are today considered to be endangered animals.The macaw...

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Macaws are perhaps the most easily recognizable birds in the parrot family. Colorful and entertaining, these birds have been kept as pets for hundreds of years.

These birds are characters, each having different personalities, likes, and dislikes. Due to their size, macaws can be challenging to care for, but are loyal companions who are worth the time commitment. Here are a few fun facts about these playful members of the parrot family.

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Macaws are perhaps the most easily recognizable birds in the parrot family. Colorful and entertaining, these birds have been kept as pets for hundreds of years. These birds are characters, each having different personalities, likes, and dislikes. Due to their size, macaws can be challenging to care for, but are loyal companions who are worth the time commitment.

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About Macaws

Macaws are beautiful, brilliantly colored members of the parrot family.

Adaptations for the Rain Forest

Many macaws have vibrant plumage. The coloring is suited to life in Central and South American rain forests, with their green canopies and colorful fruits and flowers. The birds boast large, powerful beaks that easily crack nuts and seeds, while their dry, scaly tongues have a bone inside them that makes them an effective tool for tapping into fruits.

Macaws also have gripping toes that they use to latch onto branches and to grab, hold, and examine items. The birds sport graceful tails that are typically very long.

Macaws are intelligent, social birds that often gather in flocks of 10 to 30 individuals. Their loud calls, squawks, and screams echo through the forest canopy. Macaws vocalize to communicate within the flock, mark territory, and identify one another. Some species can even mimic human speech.

Flocks sleep in the trees at night, and in the morning they may fly long distances to feed on fruit, nuts, insects, and snails. Some species also eat damp soil, which may help to neutralize chemicals in their fruity diet and ease their stomachs.

Macaws typically mate for life. They not only breed with, but also share food with their mates and enjoy mutual grooming. In breeding season, mothers incubate eggs while fathers hunt and bring food back to the nest.

There are at least 17 species of macaws, and several are endangered. These playful birds are popular pets, and many are illegally trapped for that trade. The rain forest homes of many species are also disappearing at an alarming rate.

Red-fronted and blue-throated macaws are seriously at-risk. The glaucous macaw and Spix's macaw may already be extinct in the wild.

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About Macaws Macaws are beautiful, brilliantly colored members of the parrot family. Adaptations for the Rain Forest Many macaws have vibrant plumage. The coloring is suited to life in Central and South American rain forests, with their green canopies and colorful fruits and flowers.

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The sugar glider is a marsupial that lives in Australia and New Guinea. This much-loved animal is famous for being able to glide from tree to tree, using 'wings' that stretch between its legs. This article contains sugar glider facts, and is part of the Active Wild Australian Animals series.

Sugar Glider Facts: Introduction

Sugar gliders are members of the Petauridae family, which consists of 11 species of possums. The sugar glider, and five other members of this family, are 'wrist-winged gliders'. These gliding possums have a membrane between their fore and hind legs that stretches out when the animal leaps from a tree, allowing them to glide for considerable distances.

Petauridae are members of the large order Diprotodontia, which includes other marsupials such as kangaroos, koalas and wombats.

The sugar glider's scientific name is Petaurus breviceps, which means 'short-headed rope dancer'.

There are currently 7 recognised sugar glider subspecies, 3 of which live in Australia (the other 4 live in New Guinea). However, there is some debate as to whether all of these should be regarded as subspecies.

Sugar gliders are relatively small animals, growing to around 24 - 30 cm (12-13 inches) in length, including their long tails.

They weigh between 85 and 142 grams (3 and 5 ounces).

Males are larger than females.

What Do Sugar Gliders Look Like?

The sugar glider looks like a small squirrel. It has short grey fur, not unlike that of a koala. Its soft underside fur is a creamy-white.

The sugar glider has black rings around its big, black eyes, and a black stripe running down the centre of its face and ending just above its nose.

This black stripe continues down the back of the sugar glider and ends before its wide, rather bushy grey tail.

The sugar glider has 5 digits on each foot. Its hind feet each have an opposable toe, allowing the sugar glider to grip onto branches.

The sugar glider's tail is long and flat and helps the animal to balance and steer while it is gliding. The tail is also partially prehensile (able to grip) and is used to carry leaves into its nest.

The video below shows this prehensile tail in use.

What separates the gliders from the other possums in the Petauridae family is the soft, furry membrane, known as a patagium, which extends from either side of the animal's body to its ankles and wrists.

Sugar Gliders Flying

The membrane allows sugar gliders to glide from tree to tree. This they do both to find food and to avoid predators. It has even been known for sugar gliders to leap out to catch flying insects.

Sugar gliders use their limbs, tail and torsos to control their flight, and land with all four feet held out to grab the tree.

Sugar gliders can glide for considerable distances. Their flights have been measured at over 45 metres (around 150 feet).

The video below shows how a sugar glider uses its wing-like membranes to glide:

Where Do Sugar Gliders Live In The Wild?

Sugar gliders are found in the forests of Australia and New Guinea. In fact, they're the only species endemic to both countries.

('Endemic' means they are only found in a particular region.)

Sugar gliders are found all along the eastern side of Australia, from Tasmania up to northern Queensland, also in parts of the Northern Territory, several islands, and throughout New Guinea.

What Do Sugar Gliders Eat In The Wild?

Sugar gliders are omnivores, which means that their diet consists of plants and animals. They have a varied diet, which changes according to the season.

Known (and named) for their liking of sweet foods, sugar gliders eat gum, sap and nectar from trees and plants. In the summer, insects form the main part of their diet.

Sugar gliders are opportunistic feeders, and will also eat lizards and small birds. Their predation of the endangered swift parrot's nestlings is a threat to the bird's survival.

Colonies

Sugar gliders are usually social animals, living in small colonies or family groups, which can number up to seven adults and their young.

The group's territory can cover up to 2.5 acres, and is scent marked by the dominant males of the group, of which there are usually two.

Sugar gliders use a wide range of squeaks, hisses and barks - as well as scent markings - to communicate with each other.

Reproduction

Sugar gliders breed throughout the year. The gestation period is between 2 and 3 weeks, and they have litters of 1 to 3 young.

At birth, the 'joeys' (baby sugar gliders) are extremely undeveloped. The tiny, hairless joeys crawl through the mother's fur and into her forward-opening pouch. Here they will stay, feeding on the mother's milk, for another 2 months.

Male sugar gliders help to look after their young, who will leave the nest around 110 days after being born.

Do Sugar Gliders Have Any Predators?

The nocturnal sugar glider is a natural prey item for owls. Other animals which have been known to take sugar gliders are monitor lizards, quolls, and several bird and snake species

Feral cats will also prey on sugar gliders.

Sugar Gliders As Pets

Due to its endearing looks, the sugar glider is sought-after as a pet.

They are popular in the USA, and are permitted in all states other than California, Hawaii and Alaska.

In Australia, they can only be kept as pets in in Victoria, South Australia, and the Northern Territory

Are Sugar Gliders Endangered?

Sugar gliders are not endangered, and are ranked by the IUCN as being of 'Least Concern'.

Sugar Glider Facts

1. Sugar gliders are found in the wild in forests in Australia and New Guinea.

2. Sugar gliders are marsupials (pouched mammals).

3. The sugar glider's scientific name is Petaurus breviceps, which means 'short-headed rope dancer'.

4. Sugar gliders are members of the Petauridae family, which consists of 10 other species of possum.

5. Sugar gliders can glide up to 45 metres (150 feet).

6. Sugar gliders can use their tails to carry leaves when they are making a nest.

7. Sugar gliders are highly sociable, and live in colonies which often have two dominant males.

8. Sugar gliders rarely fight with other members of their colony, but will fight other groups in territorial disputes.

9. Sugar gliders eat nectar, sap and gum from plants, as well as various insects and small animals.

10. Sugar gliders pose a threat to the endangered swift parrot, as they prey on its nestlings.

Sugar Glider Facts Conclusion

We hope that you have enjoyed finding our about this remarkable (and very cute) marsupial. You can learn about many more amazing Australian animals here.

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Sugar Glider Facts For Kids: Information With Pictures & Video

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The sugar glider is a marsupial that lives in Australia and New Guinea. This much-loved animal is famous for being able to glide from tree to tree, using 'wings' that stretch between its legs. This article contains sugar glider facts, and is part of the Active Wild Australian Animals series.

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Squirrel monkey - fun facts and information for kids

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Find out more about the squirrel monkey, including where do they live? What do they eat? Lots of fun facts for kids!

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At about 50 cm (1.5 ft.) tall at the shoulder, 130 cm (4 ft.) in length, and 35-70 kg (75-150 lb.), the capybara takes the title of world's largest rodent.

Capybaras are semi-aquatic, spending a lot of time in the water. They inhabit southern Central America and northern South America in both savannas and rain forests near ponds, rivers, or lakes.

A constant source of water is important to capybaras, who retreat into murky waters to escape from predators like jaguars, anacondas, caimans, pumas, ocelots, and harpy eagles.

Capybaras are physically well-adapted to a semi-aquatic lifestyle. Their webbed feet help them maneuver in water and traverse soft, muddy ground. Their facial features are located towards the top of their large heads, allowing them see and breathe while swimming. Capable of staying submerged for up to 5 minutes, capybaras can press their ears against their heads to keep water out. Once they exit the water, their thin coat of coarse hair dries quickly.

Spending the hottest portions of the day in water or wallowing in the shade, capybaras graze in the morning and evening when it's cooler. They feed on grasses and aquatic plants, consuming 3-3.5 kg (6-8 lb.) a day.

Capybaras have special digestive adaptations that allow them to absorb enough nutrients from their highly fibrous diet. A large fermentation chamber, or cecum, in their intestines stores and churns the fibrous materials while mixing in bacteria, enzymes, and gases that aid in digestion. Capybaras also eat their own droppings - an activity called coprophagy. Coprophagy allows them to ingest a higher percentage of proteins and other nutrients.

Very social animals, capybaras live in small family groups of about 10-20. A typical group includes one dominant male, several females, their offspring, and a few subordinate males. The dominant male, usually the heaviest, stares down the other males in the group, driving them to the outer edges of the group. Here, the subordinate males act as sentinels (or lookouts), performing warning barks when a predator is near.

In some cases, a subordinate male will challenge the leader. The two capybaras will charge each other, rear up onto their hind legs, and engage in a scuffle until one flees the scene.

Usually, a group of capybaras has a ratio of one male to two females. The ratio is preserved because the subordinate males in the periphery of the group are more susceptible to predation. Also, juvenile males are sometimes forced out of the group once they reach sexual maturity, leaving them to fend for themselves. Without the protection of the group dynamic, these bachelors become easy targets.

Being the dominant male has several advantages. Not only does he enjoy a position toward the center of the group, safer from predators, he also mates with all the females in the group.

Capybaras mate in the water. After a 5-month gestation period, the female capybara will give birth to four to five babies. After a few days, when the babies join the rest of the group, they are communally nursed by all the females. In this way, all the offspring in the group stay together.

Baby capybaras are not effective swimmers at first, so they stay on land, hiding under brushy cover. Their smaller stature and inability to swim well make them susceptible to predators like foxes, vultures, feral dogs, and piranhas.

Capybaras can live 8-10 years in the wild, and around 12 years in captivity.

Conservation Status

Although capybaras are currently considered by the IUCN Red List to be of least concern of becoming extinct, their populations have been largely affected by hunting in the past. People eat capybara meat and produce leather from their skin. In the countries where capybara populations started to dwindle, hunting restrictions were enacted, and capybara numbers stabilized.

Capybara Distribution

Capybara Resources

Blog Posts about the Capybara

About the Author

Abi Cushman is a lifelong animal lover and the editor-in-chief of Animal Fact Guide. She not only writes and edits articles, she also creates animal illustrations for the site.

Follow her on Twitter:@abicushman and Instagram: @abi.cushman

Last updated on August 24, 2014.

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Capybara Facts for Kids | Animal Fact Guide

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At about 50 cm (1.5 ft.) tall at the shoulder, 130 cm (4 ft.) in length, and 35-70 kg (75-150 lb.), the capybara takes the title of world's largest rodent. Capybaras are semi-aquatic, spending a lot of time in the water.

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Just how many ants can an anteater eat? Find out, and learn how they use their enormous tongues to retrieve their favorite meal.

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The jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas.

As a top-level carnivore, the big cat helps maintain a diversity of species by regulating prey numbers and competing with other, smaller carnivores. Jaguars are also important in human culture, frequently playing a central role in stories, songs and prayers of indigenous people.

Yet today, jaguars have been almost eliminated from the United States and populations in Central and South America are falling because of habitat destruction, trophy hunting and conflict with humans. For jaguars to make a comeback in the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must revise its recovery plan to support the restoration of jaguars to the full array of ecological settings that they occupied before they were eradicated.

Defenders played a key role in helping establish the Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sonora, Mexico, to protect the northernmost remaining jaguar population.

Defenders is advocating that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopt more meaningful recovery criteria to help the jaguars recover in a greater portion of their range in the American Southwest. That includes evaluating all potential jaguar habitat in its historic range, including north of Interstate 10.

Defenders is advancing innovative, community-based non-lethal methods for lessening human-carnivore conflict, such as the use of range riders and fladry, some of which techniques may work for jaguars.

We are also vigorously fighting the construction of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico that would block jaguar migration between the two counties and viable habitat.

At the international level, Defenders is advocating for international policy measures that will enforce the international ban on the trade of jaguars and jaguar parts and products. Defenders provides ongoing support for Latin American countries to fight the illegal trade and is a sponsor of the first range states jaguar workshop in Bolivia in 2019.

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The jaguar is the largest cat in the Americas. As a top-level carnivore, the big cat helps maintain a diversity of species by regulating prey numbers and competing with other, smaller carnivores. Jaguars are also important in human culture, frequently playing a central role in stories, songs and prayers of indigenous people.