The sighting should not have been completely unexpected. When we rented this house, the owners told us that previous renters in the cabina that shares the property with us claimed to have seen two of them. And toucans, too! Only the promise of a visit from a resident lapis (parrot) could have made the prospects more exciting.
As the months rolled by with no monkey or toucan visits, we concluded that the reports were either ancient history or cases of mistaken identity. Maybe even wishful thinking.
Then a few months ago a chestnut mandibled toucan paid us his first visit. He comes by now and then, stays long enough to send us scurrying for cameras, though never long enough for a photo shoot.
But, alas, no monkeys.
Until yesterday when this handsome guy decided to show his face and... well, the other end, too.
(Now, in case you're tempted to think I have needlessly compromised this fella's modesty, it's worth noting that, according to Wikipedia, the color of his ... private parts ... is actually a point of identification because the scrotum of a male howler monkey turns white when he reaches maturity. Consequently, if all one glimpses is the south end of a north-bound adult male monkey, there should be no question as to whether or not it's a howler.)
When morning came and our monkey did not return, we decided to take a walk down the nature trail in the hope that he might have simply moved to a different tree and that we might be lucky enough to get another glimpse of him.
No luck. The forest was full of birds and squirrels and ants and flying, biting insects, but not a monkey -- or toucan, for that matter -- to be seen.
Then at about noon, we looked up and discovered that he was back. Taking a nap. In the same spot. So we had to name him. After all, he just might be our new neighbor!
We decided on Howie. Howie the Howler.
Eventually naptime was over and Howie was on the move again, climbing to the very top of the tree and disappearing into a thin layer of leaves.
No way! Surely, the leaves weren't dense enough to conceal a 3-foot long monkey with a tail just about that long trailing behind him!
About the time we had convinced ourselves that he had pulled a fast one on us - that we must have looked away for a moment, giving him the briefest opportunity to climbed down and make an escape - Howie popped his head out above the canopy, reached for a twig of tender, young leaves and vanished again. Yes, way!
A few minutes later he climbed back down and returned to his perch, where we continued to watch him and he continued to watch us until he tired of the game or grew hungry again, descended into the forest and disappeared once more.
Although we don't know exactly where Howie is tonight, we know that he is a master at disappearing into the forest, so he might not be far away at all. Maybe he'll return to his perch tomorrow. Maybe he won't. But his visit has been an important reminder of how foolish it is to think we know what is out there in the forest based solely on what we see and what we hear.
Pura Vida
