Monkey Tree Top Trail

27september2012
Source: apenheul.nl, photo by Petra Karstedt
At the Netherlands' Apenheul park, visitors can see the monkeys up close. The Monkey Tree Top Trail ('Apenboompad') there is a route amongst the treetops and amongst the monkeys. Visitors find themselves at monkey-level and can observe these primates close by, in the animals' own environment.
Last winter, Apenheul staff worked hard to make the Monkey Tree Top Trail even more interesting for visitors. Now there is also a new species of monkey to learn about on the Trail: the red howler. These monkeys have joined the others roaming free in the animal park. Red howlers have a stunning appearance, with their deep reddish-brown fur and dark beard. Their name refers to their loud roar that carries up to three kilometres. Measuring nearly 50 centimetres, the red howler monkey is one of the largest free-roaming species at Apenheul. The red howler monkey diet consists mainly of leaves, but also includes fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers and small animals. In the wild, they are found in and around Venezuela.

From the Monkey Tree Top Trail, visitors can see not only red howlers, but also white-faced sakis, emperor tamarins and Goeldi’s marmosets.
Photo license: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0