The black spider monkey moves through the canopy with its long arms and tail. Fruit is its main food, with other plant foods added when fruit is scarce.
It has long, glossy black hair. Adults have bare red or pink faces, while infants have dark faces that lighten as they grow.
At a zoo in Salvador, Brazil, researchers observed one captive male and one female black spider monkey. They used five phases: a control, sensory, social and food-enrichment phases, and a post-enrichment phase. Behavior was recorded every 30 seconds, with 360 observations per sex in each phase.
The female’s behavior frequency did not differ significantly among phases. For the male, only the food-enrichment phase differed from the control. The animals did not differ in how often they used sensory and food items. The sensory phase used scented bamboo objects, while two additional females entered the enclosure during the social phase. Researchers recorded actions such as feeding, movement and rest.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
For the two captive black spider monkeys, the male’s behavior frequency differed between the food-enrichment and control phases. The authors discuss enclosure space and visitors, and recommend changes to the physical space and food presentation.