canopy that adults can manage. To help them, an adult will stretch across the gap, forming a bridge over which the young can cross. Females become sexually mature at about four years, and males at about five years. Upon reaching sexual maturity, females leave their natal group, but males do not. As a result, the males in the groups are typically related, while the females are not. This may help explain why male Geoffroy's spider monkeys form strong bonds. Maximum life span in the wild is unknown. In captivity, Geoffroy's spider monkey can live at least 33 years. Conservation status Geoffroy's spider monkey is listed as endangered by the IUCN, mostly due to habitat loss and capture for the pet trade. It requires large tracts of primary forest to survive, so it is vulnerable to deforestation and is sometimes hunted by humans and captured for the pet trade. Because of its low reproductive turnover, it cannot quickly replenish its numbers when affected by these events. As a result, Geoffroy's spider monkey has disappeared from some areas where it was once common. Three subspecies are critically endangered. Geoffroy's spider monkey was extirpated on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. Hunting had eliminated the native population there by 1912. However, between 1959 and 1966, an effort was made to reintroduce the species to Barro Colorado. At least 18 monkeys were reintroduced, but only five, one male and four females, survived the reintroduction. This small group has thrived, and the island population had grown to 28 monkeys by 2003. In culture The Mexican painter Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait with Monkey 1938 portrays this species; the artist kept several of them as pets. In the Cartoon Network series Camp Lazlo, the title character is an orange Geoffrey's Spider Monkey with a really long tail. References External links ARKive – images and movies of the black-handed spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) Geoffroy's spider monkey Mammals of Mexico Primates of Central America Mammals of Colombia Endangered fauna of North America Endangered fauna of South America Endangered biota of Mexico Geoffroy's spider monkey Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Heinrich Kuhl