Observations of daytime births in two groups of red-handed howlers (Alouatta belzebul) on an island in the Tucuruí reservoir in eastern Brazilian Amazonia.

Births were observed in two free-ranging groups of red-handed howlers (Alouatta belzebul) in eastern Brazilian Amazonia. Both events occurred in the early afternoon, and were relatively rapid and discrete. No other group members approached the females during parturition, nor attempted to interfere with the neonate in any way. Only one of the mothers ingested the placenta. This same female carried the neonate ventrally during the first month of life and then it was carried dorsally. The other infant was carried by its mother in a dorsal position from birth onward. Both infants survived their first month, but subsequently disappeared, in the second and fourth months of life. The precise causes of their death are unknown. In one case, we speculate that the infant's death was due to infestation by botfly larvae. Copyright 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.