The Loudest Animal in the New World



Panama is noted for Howler monkeys and I was on alert for sightings during my entire time there.  I was excited about hearing the distinctive screeching that they make, although locals warned me that it can be very disorienting. They hang out in the rain forest, munching young leaves in treetops. I rode a canoe deep into the Panamanian rain forest and spotted a few monkeys, like the critter above, perched on a branch. We were apparently too late to see Howlers, who pump out their screams at the beginning and end of the day.Their powerful vocal cords have earned them the title of "loudest animal in the New World."  I'd still like to experience their unusual screams, although not unexpectedly. What animals are you looking forward to spotting on your travels?

Comments

Andrew Graeme Gould said…
Too bad you missed them, Rosalind. One thing I've never seen, but would like to, is a sloth. I bet they aren't noisy...
May 11, 2013 at 6:30 AM
Fly Girl said…
Andrew, sloths were actually something else that hang out in Panama's rain forests. Didn't see one though.
May 12, 2013 at 6:24 PM
A Cuban In London said…
ANother fine post. Never heard of this monkey before. It sounds like fun, as long as you're not too close! :-)

Greetings from London.
May 16, 2013 at 2:01 PM
Fly Girl said…
Cubano, the sound is supposed to be really disconcerting. I guess I'm lucky I never saw them.
May 16, 2013 at 2:12 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Puerto Rico's Taino Culture

Image
The original inhabitants of the Caribbean region of North America were the Arawak, Taino and Carib  native peoples.  The Tainos are a subgroup of the Arawaks and are recognized as the founders of the island of Boriken or Puerto Rico.  These were the people who offered a peaceful welcome to Columbus in 1493.  They didn't know the cruelty and violence that would follow his so-called "discovery" of the land that they had cultivated for centuries. Despite official government pronouncements that the Taino have been killed off by the massacres and slavery that followed in Columbus' wake, they live on.  As demonstrated in the photo above by  members of  the Puerto Rico Folklorico Dance & Culture Cultural Cente r, Taino traditions, food and names remain strong. Throughout Puerto Rico, town names like Mayaquez, Utuado and Caquas echo the Taino language as do the musical instrument maracas and hamaca or hammock. Legends of Taino warriors, like Hatuey, who organized the ba
Read more

Traveling Through A Liberian Childhood

Image
I like to explore the world with books as much as I like to actually travel. A well-written narrative can transport you to places that you'd never experience with just superficial details like photos and descriptions. I've been interviewing writers about the criteria they use to select books for Summer reading and it made me think about my own general reading criteria. As a journalist, I'm really drawn to biographies, autobiographies and memoirs more than fiction. There's something about using the facts to entice readers into your world that gets me. It's no coincidence that some of my favorite writers--Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Zora Neale Hurston, Hemingway, started out as journalists. So when I glimpsed The House at Sugar Beach , at my local bookstore and saw it was a memoir written by a journalist, it was pretty much a done deal that I would buy it. Now it wasn't only that the author Helene Cooper was a journalist, it was that she was a Liberian journalist chro
Read more

Switzerland's Fete Des Vignerons

Image
                                               Once every generation, the centuries-old viticultural festival, Fete des Vignerons, unfolds in Vevey, Switzerland. Watching this spectacle of music, dancing, wine and fanciful costumes, felt like I had been transported to something out of a Dr. Seuss story. With a law that prohibits the fest from taking place more than five times in a century, I felt incredibly lucky to witness this celebration of Swiss wine traditions dating back to the 17th century.  Some of the fetes 5,500 performers in costumes strolled the narrow streets of Vevey after a show that featured fairies, bees, royal courts, playing cards and 17th-century wine growers. The performance was in French but the drama transcended language barriers. It's a difficult experience to describe but if I had to sum it up, I would explain it as the magic of Cirque Du Soleil combined with the pageantry of the Olympics, topped with the history of folk celebrations.  Take a peek at my v
Read more