Monkey Island Tour

Contact: pttstaff@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.panamatourismtravel.com

Monkey Island is located at Gatun Lake in the valley of the Chagres river between Panama and Colon Provinces in the Republic of Panama.  Its surface area is 164 square miles. Gatun lake is the second largest artificial man-made lake in the world. This lake was created in 1907 and took 6 years to flood. It was created to help the transit of ships across the isthmus. This lake is the reservoir of water needed for the operation of the Panama Canal. It is surrounded by nature and history everywhere – the flora and fauna makes this place a must-see while visiting Panama.

The Monkey Island Day Tour is boat exploration of Lake Gatun and a great opportunity to see 4 different species of monkey, all within 40 minutes of Panama’s capital city. You will also see many other animal species such as Crocks, Toucans, Sloths and many exotic birds. The tour also gives you the chance to bathe in spring fed natural pools and kayak in the lake.

What is included with the Monkey Island Day Tour?

• Encounter Capuchin, Howler, Tamarin and a fourth surprise specie of Monkey.
• See Crocks, exotic birds, Sloths, Turtles, Iguanas and Many other jungle animals
• A water level look at Panama Canal ships as they pass through Gatun Lake.

What to bring ? : Bring Bathing clothes, water shoes, bug repellent and sun block.

Gray-Bellied Night Monkey

Lemurine Owl Monkey is another name known for this night monkey. The gray-bellied night monkey is a small monkey native of Panama and possibly some forests of south america. It is an arboreal and nocturnal specie with a vulnerability to extinction. Their fur goes from gray-brown to reddish-brown, short tail and large brown eyes.

The gray-bellied night monkey likes to sleep at daytime and eats at night. It looks for fruit, insects, nectar, leaves and sometimes small birds or mammals.

This is a monogamous monkey. Most of the times the couple has only one infant per year, twins are rare. The mother is in charge of the nursing only but the father takes care of baby.

Geoffroy’s Tamarin Monkey

Geoffroy’s tamarin monkey is a small monkey found in Panama and Colombia. It is black and white with a red-brownish nape and a white triangle-shaped patch in the front of his head. The geoffroy’s tamarin monkey that you will see during your Monkey Island Panama tour is the smallest one in Central America. They like to live in dry and moist tropical forests specially in the Panama Canal zone.

The geoffroy’s tamarin monkey likes to eat fruits, plants, insects and exudates. Most of the tamarin females give birth between april to june. The newborns look different than their parents, they have a beige color blaze, white face and black fur all over their bodies including the tail. All the family helps with the baby care including siblings. Mother and father carry them and groom them too. They start to be independent when they are about 15 weeks old.  The geoffroy’s tamarin monkey has a lifespan of 13 years.

The white-faced capuchin monkey

The white-faced capuchin monkey is also known as White-throated Capuchin or White-Headed Capuchin is native of Central America and northern South America. They live in groups of 20 males and females. This is a very intelligent and versatile monkey who can adapt to live in different types of jungle. Most of them have black fur with white or yellow face and neck.

The capuchin monkey eats fruit, plants, invertebrate animals and small vertebrate ones. They use some plants and branches as a tool to get food when its out of reach. The capuchin monkey living in the Gatun area of the Panama Canal use to rub their fur against some plants as a treatment for fungus, bacteries, ticks, etc. Their lifespan is about 50 years.

The mantled howler monkey you will see in the Monkey Island Panama tour likes to live in groups of females with a few males. It is native of the area of Central America

The mantled howler monkey communicates with other members of their group doing a very loud sound that can be heard for 5 Kms and is considered as the loudest animal of the panamanian fauna.  Their diet consists mostly of leaves from the top of trees, fruits, nuts and flowers. Their lifespan is between 15 to 20 years