This little guy climbed on board our boat headed to visit the Lamanai Maya Ruins site last month when I was down in Belize. Our guide said normally they are even more approachable, and interact with the guests, but he didn’t seem to be hungry. I was lucky to snap a couple shots of him before he scurried back into the trees along the river.
Spider Monkeys are quite common in Belize as they are typically found in tropical forests of Central and South America. There are seven species, several of which are under great threat and critically endangered.
It’s hard to see in this photo, but spider monkeys get their name from their long limbs that are quite disproportionate to the rest of their body. These particular ones are obviously not shy as they are used to human interaction and was quick to hop on our boat. He walked the entire length checking us all out, but I had a large telephoto lens on with zero time to change out (oh what I wouldn’t give for a second DSLR body) so I was only able to get a couple close ups like this.
