Dublin Zoo has welcomed two Venezuelan red howler monkeys.
The two males, both aged five, arrived from Tierpark Berlin and are settling into their new habitat very well.
The species typically live in the rainforests of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, and have a unique black coloured face and a thick red coat.
They get the name ‘howler monkey’ from their roaring and howling calls, which can be heard up to 5 kilometres away.
They are the loudest of all monkey species and use their calls to warn other howler monkeys to stay away from their territory.
They also have a long prehensile tail which acts as a fifth hand to help them grip onto branches when climbing through trees.
Eddie O’Brien, team leader at Dublin Zoo said: "We are really pleased to welcome these howler monkeys to the South American House at Dublin Zoo. We can’t wait for visitors to see them and learn more about this incredibly interesting species."
Venezuelan red howler monkeys live in a group called a troop and spend most of their time high up in trees. They are mainly leaf-eaters and have developed special teeth that help them to chew tough leaves. The species is only seen at eight other European zoos.
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