Thursday, October 25, 2007

Howler monkeys in Ipê tree

Summer time and the ipê trees (Tabebuia serratifolia) are in their glory. An explosion of yellow from the large trumpet-shaped flowers provide a show for everyone, whether you are in a plane, vehicle or on the ground. The ipê in the attached image is an old tree located only a few meters from the Poço Branco spring, a rare source of water in this region of the Planalto. I've been seeing this show of nature since 1981, the year we bought the property that is today Bosque Santa Lúcia. Howler monkeys, without fail, come to feed on the blossoms of the tree every year. I took this picture yesterday, but when I returned today, the howlers were still high up there in the tree tops. I assume they were the same ones. There appeared to be four or five howlers present when I took the picture, but some were together and they may have been resting. There are a number of other ipê trees around but the howler monkeys seem to have a preference for this one. Why? Probably because of the safety factor; they're up there in the sky.

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