Yesterday, we suddenly heard a lot of howling from a bunch of howler monkeys behind our house. We had heard them before but not this close. When we went to look, it turned out that there was a showdown going on between three males. One big one from one group and two slightly smaller ones from another – at least that is how we interpreted it. Cristina saw two of them fight. They fell to the floor and both climbed up a tree again. After that the howling contest continued, which we recorded. Below is a fragment of those sounds.
After a while, the two smaller ones moved away, and the biggest one went back to a tree right next to our house, where a group of four monkeys was waiting for him in the trees.
Below is a longer version of recording, where one can hear three monkeys.
Or … ?
Although I was sure this is what happened when I watched it happen, I am now thinking, maybe the big one was chasing away the two smaller ones from his own group because they were getting too big and started challenging him?
In any case, it feels like National Geographic “live” just behind our house. And that is reaaaally nice!
THE FLIP FLOP LIFE 
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