Notes on births in wild Black and Gold howler monkeys in Northern Argentina

PEKER, S.; KOWALEWSKI, M. M.; PAVE, R.; OKLANDER, L. I.; ZUNINO, G.E.

Bello Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Congreso; XII Congresso Brasileiro de Primatologia; 2007

Associação Brasileira de Primatologia

Previous studies on births in non-human primates indicated that births are expected to occur at night and at a considerable height above ground to avoid diurnal terrestrial predators. During the study we have registered 2 births at daylight (sunset) and 4 during the night. We report two live births in two groups of wild Alouatta caraya inhabiting at two different kinds of forests: continuous forest (CF) and fragmented forest (FF) located 40km from each other. The first birth took place in a group of 4 individuals (1 male, 2 adult females and 1 juvenile male) living in the CF (27° 20´ S; 58° 40´ W). The second birth was observed in a group of 3 individuals (1 male, 1 adult female and 1 juvenile male) living the FF (27°30’S; 58°41’W). Both births occurred in daylight. Both females were multiparous. Prepartum behaviors included squatting and anogenital self-examination. During the birth, the first female was situated approximately 17m from the rest of her group on a Cecropia pachystachya branch 4m above ground. The second female was situated 6m from the adult male on a Ficus monckii branch 9m above ground. Both mothers took a squatting posture during parturition and assisted the delivery with her hands. Both mothers completely ingested the placenta. Inspection of the infant by other members of the group took place the day after parturition. The first female had a permissive behavior whereas the second female did not. Although we registered the presence of domestic dogs, the distance from the ground and the occurrence of births both during day and night suggests that the timing of births may be not related to predator avoidance.