A daily ration of fruit for two woolly monkeys in Peru

Peru is one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world. At least 36 species of monkey live here, including the rare Andean titi monkey and the equally rare yellow-tailed woolly monkey. The yellow-tailed woolly monkey belongs to the spider-tailed monkey family. Yellow-tailed woolly monkeys are only found in a small area in the north of Peru between the upper reaches of the Río Marañón and Río Huallaga. The greatest threat to the monkeys is deforestation: with each passing day, the monkeys' habitat shrinks as agriculture, mining and the timber industry encroach into the rainforest. Poachers follow in the loggers' footsteps. As in the rest of the Amazon region, monkeys are hunted intensively in Peru. Larger monkey species in particular have no chance against the modern weapons of the hunters, who are now advancing into the last refuges of the primates. The young animals are often left helpless or are kept as pets. While monkey meat used to be used only for subsistence, monkey hunting has now become commercial - with correspondingly high kill rates. Monkeys have already completely disappeared from many forest areas.