The northern muriqui spider monkey is born, lives, and dies in trees. Abundant in the dwindling Atlantic forest of eastern Brazil, these muriquis eat in the trees and drink water trapped in their cavities. They socialize, play, and reproduce without ever coming down to the ground. In the past, they only left the safety of the trees in emergency situations, such as when a baby fell to the ground or when a jaguar was chased. But in the Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Feliciano Miguel Abdala (in the state of Minas Gerais), there have long been no jaguars, pumas, or other predators that pose a real danger to the largest primate in the Americas. Perhaps that's why, for at least four decades, they have been seen increasingly coming down from the trees. At first, it was to feed and little else, but now they spend almost half of their time on the ground resting and frolicking. This descent of monkeys from the trees is not an isolated case and is occurring in America, Africa and Asia.
