To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (122743 ) 1/4/2004 8:32:01 PM From: Hawkmoon Read Replies (2) | Respond to Males throw things a lot more than females. But, since they have a horror of touching feces, they won't fling excrement, although it probably would be an effective missile. calacademy.org A chattering and crashing of Guenon monkeys in branches directly overhead--a sudden swish--and a near-miss! I was almost hit by a most unpleasant "bomb." It was a monkey dropping. The fecal "attack" might well have been deliberate--perhaps a normal defensive tactic in the world of primates. Adrian Forsyth in his book, Portraits of the Rainforest, notes that howler monkeys have a "bombs-away" attitude toward intrusion, and are not averse to anointing naturalists and other interlopers. Primatologist Frank Carpenter saw the howlers' careful marksmanship as a sign of intelligence, remarking that "an individual would slowly approach to a place directly above me, or as nearly as possible, and then would release.... "
