The Panamanian Spider Monkeys
Final Paper: Endangered Species Paper
The Panamanian Spider Monkey
I have always been extremely interested in and moved by the scores of endangered species out there. Whether they are plants or animals, I have always been an advocate for the wild life in need. It took hours to pick which specific species I wanted to focus on for this particular project, but after much research and a personal connection, I chose the Panamanian Spider Monkey. Ever since I was a little girl I have had a special spot for monkeys. Before I understood that it was illegal to own one I begged my parents daily to get me one as a pet. Though they could not grant that particular wish of mine, they did get me a substitute. One day at the F.A.O. Schwartz in San Francisco, my mother …show more content…
Aside from the fact that they are beautiful and lovable animals, they are first and foremost important to the health and natural structure of the rainforest. Because of their diet consisting of those wonderful ripe fruits, these monkeys are seed dispersers. This means that they aid in the distribution of seeds of the fruit trees that they feed from. A seed can pass through the digestive system of a monkey completely unharmed. It takes about three hours for the seed to go all the way through the digestive tract. This ample time allows the monkey to carry the seed far away from the original tree. This in the end means that the seed the monkey eventually disperses back into nature is able to grow into another fruit tree that the Panamanian Spider Monkey and the other fruit-eating animals are able to subsist on. Without this monkey’s special ability of transporting whole and unharmed seeds to other areas of the rainforest, those fruit trees would not continue to thrive in the areas where those seeds may not have reached before. This would mean less new trees growing which would be stunting the conservation and flourishing of the rainforest
The Panamanian Spider Monkey
I have always been extremely interested in and moved by the scores of endangered species out there. Whether they are plants or animals, I have always been an advocate for the wild life in need. It took hours to pick which specific species I wanted to focus on for this particular project, but after much research and a personal connection, I chose the Panamanian Spider Monkey. Ever since I was a little girl I have had a special spot for monkeys. Before I understood that it was illegal to own one I begged my parents daily to get me one as a pet. Though they could not grant that particular wish of mine, they did get me a substitute. One day at the F.A.O. Schwartz in San Francisco, my mother …show more content…
Aside from the fact that they are beautiful and lovable animals, they are first and foremost important to the health and natural structure of the rainforest. Because of their diet consisting of those wonderful ripe fruits, these monkeys are seed dispersers. This means that they aid in the distribution of seeds of the fruit trees that they feed from. A seed can pass through the digestive system of a monkey completely unharmed. It takes about three hours for the seed to go all the way through the digestive tract. This ample time allows the monkey to carry the seed far away from the original tree. This in the end means that the seed the monkey eventually disperses back into nature is able to grow into another fruit tree that the Panamanian Spider Monkey and the other fruit-eating animals are able to subsist on. Without this monkey’s special ability of transporting whole and unharmed seeds to other areas of the rainforest, those fruit trees would not continue to thrive in the areas where those seeds may not have reached before. This would mean less new trees growing which would be stunting the conservation and flourishing of the rainforest