brown spider monkey travels in small groups, and instead of walking or running on all fours, it travels mostly by swinging and climbing between trees. The brown spider monkey mainly forages in the forest canopy and relies mostly on its senses of sight, smell, taste, and touch to find food. It is mainly herbivorous and frugivorous. A main component of the brown spider monkey's diet is ripe fruit. Over three quarters of its diet is lipid-rich fruits. However, in drier seasons where fruit is less abundant, it feeds on leaves, seeds, flowers, bark, honey, decaying wood, and occasionally insects such as termites and caterpillars. The brown spider monkey feeds on different species of figs year around. Scientists have observed it eating soil and clay, and hypothesized that the reasons for this behavior could be to obtain minerals from the soil, for example phosphorus, or in order to maintain a pH-balance in its digestive system. The brown spider monkey finds water to drink on the forest floor at "salado sites." Competition for food occurs between spider monkeys and other frugivorous primates. Average lifespan of a spider monkey is 27 years, however, in captivity it can reach 40 years old. Natural predators include jaguars (Panthera onca), mountain lions (Puma concolor), harpy eagles (Harpia harpyja), and crested eagles (Morphnus guianensis). The brown spider monkey is known to shake branches in order to ward off potential predators. Conservation The brown spider monkey is one of the most threatened primates in the Neotropics. The population is estimated to have decreased by at least 80% and some populations have already been extirpated. Few remaining populations are of adequate size to be viable long-term. Almost 60 brown spider monkeys were recorded at various zoo (mostly European) that participated in the International Species Information System in 2010, but breeding is slow. Habitat loss is ongoing within its wild range, and an estimated 98% of its habitat already is gone. Habitat loss is driven both by logging, and land clearance for agriculture and cattle ranches. It is also threatened by hunting (in some regions it is the favorite game) and the wild animals trade. One study did not show a significant difference between population densities inside versus outside forest areas disturbed by loggers. It has been hypothesized that this anomaly is due to the sample being taken from El Paujil reserve, which is a protected area and may serve