38 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



to display the strong appetite for animal food which is so characteristic 

 of the small American monkeys. 



It is a sociable creature, and usually found in large troops, sometimes 

 numbering as many as a hundred. This is about the largest of the 

 American monkeys as far as dimensions go, being two feet long in the 

 body, with the tail six inches more, though some other species con- 

 siderably exceed it in weight. The black coat is common to both sexes, 

 and is constant in colour, but there is a certain amount of variation in 

 the hands, which sometimes have a tiny rudimentary thumb ; this may 

 be present on one of them and not the other. 



Like other Spider Monkeys this species is esteemed as human food, 

 being eaten not only by the Indians, but also by Europeans, though 

 naturally, in the case of the latter, with reluctance, owing to the human 

 aspect of the animal. The meat itself would appear to be good enough, 

 as Bates says of an allied species, the White-whiskered Spider Monkey 

 {A teles marginatus), that it was the best-flavoured he ever tasted, being 

 like beef, but with a richer and sweeter taste. It is very lean and dry, 

 and will keep well for a long time if smoke-dried. This Spider Monkey 

 probably often finds an enemy also in the great Harpy Eagle {Thrasaetus 

 harpyid), which is known to prey on monkeys of this kind. 



Many of these Red-faced Spider Monkeys are captured as pets, in 

 which capacity none of their kind are superior. The creature's face is 

 a singularly pleasing one for a monkey's, being very human and pathetic 

 in expression, and its disposition is remarkably gentle and affectionate, 

 so that it readily learns to accompany its owner. 



Bates gives an amusing account of an old female, which was very 

 sensitive to language ; its owner, a Portuguese, would sometimes roundly 

 abuse the poor monkey, which would thereupon exhibit all the symptoms 

 of extreme sorrow, rocking itself to and fro and wailing pitifully, while 

 it rubbed its long arms backwards and forwards over its head. When, 

 however, its owner changed his abusive expressions for terms of 

 endearment, its grief was soon appeased, and it came and sat beside 

 him. 



Although not a common monkey in Europe, the species is still no 



