Activity budget, food preference and habitat use of a troop of ex-pet Yucatan black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) following release

Abstract

Rehabilitation and reintroduction of endangered species have numerous conservation benefits, including assisting in repopulating local areas depleted of such wild species and encouraging the preservation of the habitat for other species. Recovery and release of ex-pet howler monkeys have the added incentive of increasing public interest and awareness in mammal rehabilitation in a Neotropical context. The activity budget, food preference and spatial movements of a troop of three ex-pet Yucatan black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) were studied during the six weeks immediately following their release at Fireburn Reserve in northeast Belize. The ex-pet howler monkeys seemed to be more active than wild howler monkeys, with leaves comprising a relatively high proportion of their diet. The troop used a very small number of individual fruiting trees to maintain their frugivorous needs. Fruiting trees seemed to exert a decisive influence on the troop’s distribution, resulting in non-random use of habitats. Similar detailed data from other reintroduced ex-pet monkeys are needed to confirm the results. Nevertheless, our data support the preservation of multiple habitat types in a forest environment to benefit howler monkeys’ survival and suggest that ex-pet animals can adapt successfully following release.