Measuring Success of 12 years of primate reintroduction
We are pleased to be able to share "12 Years On, An assessment of the success of the Release Rehabilitation Program of Yucatán Black Howler Monkeys, Alouatta pigra, in the Northeastern Biological Corridor of Belize".
Primate rehabilitation does not finish with the release of our primates back into the wild - the post release monitoring and periodic assessment is also an important part of the rehabilitation process. This 12 year assessment measures the long term success of rehabilitation and rewilding, to inform future rehabilitation care and releases so that they can be tailored to ensure continued high outcome success.
Living wild - Yucatan black howler monkey in the Northeast Biological Corridor (Photo: Alisha Huotari)
The starting point: 78 rehabilitated / translocated Yucatan black howler monkeys reintroduced into the wild, between 2012 and 2023, repopulating Belize's Northeastern Biological Corridor.
What did the team, led by Alisha Huotari, find out during the year of field work?
> 23 howler monkey troops in the study area, with a total of 118 individuals located.
> 51 were male, 65 were female (the gender of two individuals was unidentified).
> 58% of the population were mature individuals. 42% were immature (24% juveniles and 18% infants).
> Information on population growth, troop size and composition, ranging, activity budgets and feeding behaviour.
It was also noted that primates had also established territories outside the study area, in the Corridor, but there was insufficient time to include them in the survey. The survey area will be extended in 2025 to fill some of our knowledge gaps.
The conclusion?
> The released, rehabilitated howler monkeys collectively contribute to a healthy and established population in the Northeastern Biological Corridor
> The reintroduction is considered successful as the population has remained in the area where the rehabilitated animals were released; the released animals have maintained individual territories.
> The successful growth of the population and the high percentage of immature individuals further indicate successful reproduction within the released population.
> The reintroduction of howler monkeys in the Fireburn forest and the Northeastern Biological Corridor will help restore the ecological links in the area, further increasing the forest’s resilience.
Alisha Huotari in the field
Many thanks go to Alisha Huotari, Rudy Castellanos Delmar Gongora, the Belize Forest Department, Corozal Sustainable Future Initiative and the Fireburn Community for all their support
Interested in reading a copy of the thesis? Download a copy here.
This research was completed with permission from the Belize Forest Department. (Permit Ref. No.: FD/WL/1/22(50), and supported with funding from Twycross Zoo