Behavior The red howlers live in groups with one to three males, and two to seven females. Males living in bachelor groups attempt to gain control of the female group by fighting the lead male. The male red howler wakes up early in the morning and wakes the forest up with their loud howls that can be heard up to 2 miles. They howl again at night, before they go to sleep, and the calls are answered by males from other red howler groups, to let them know their location so that their territories do not overlap. Red howlers do not like rain, so they howl in protest to the rain while hunched over in the trees. They stay high up in the trees away from jaguars and throw sticks and branches at them. When a troop is invading, males come to take over the female group from the current male or males; they kill all the infants and mate with the females to produce their own offspring. The females try to protect their infants, but being smaller, they usually fail to do so. Additional information The Red Howler lifespan is 20 years, and their predator is jaguars. They have about six species of red howler in Central and South America, and they sleep for 15 hours per day. They have the loudest call of any new world animal. They are proficient swimmers even though they spend most of their time in the tree. Baby howlers nurse for 18 to 24 months. References External links Primate Info Net Red Howler Factsheet Bolivian red howler Mammals of Bolivia Endemic fauna of Bolivia Bolivian red howler Taxa named by Daniel Giraud Elliot