Mammals
Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey
Lagothrix flavicauda · also called Peruvian woolly monkey
In the mist of a Peruvian cloud forest, a yellow-tailed woolly monkey hangs by its strong tail from a branch, its shaggy fur beaded with moisture, in a place found nowhere else on Earth.
Overview
The yellow-tailed woolly monkey, Lagothrix flavicauda, is a Critically Endangered monkey found only in the cloud forests of the Peruvian Andes. Its shaggy reddish coat, yellow tail patch, and rediscovery in the 1970s make it one of the most remarkable and rarest monkeys of the Andes.
A monkey of the mist
Because it lives only on steep, forested Andean slopes, the yellow-tailed woolly monkey is especially vulnerable to the clearing of cloud forest.
Status
Critically Endangered, with a decreasing population.
Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey: common questions
Why is it called the yellow-tailed woolly monkey?
It has a yellowish patch of fur under the base of its tail.
Where does the yellow-tailed woolly monkey live?
It lives only in the cloud forests of the Peruvian Andes, on steep mountain slopes.
Why is the yellow-tailed woolly monkey critically endangered?
It has lost much of its cloud forest to clearing and is also hunted for meat.
When was it rediscovered?
Scientists rediscovered the species in the 1970s after it had been thought lost for decades.