Spider monkeys are highly intelligent, arboreal primates that are among the most threatened primate groups in the Americas due to deforestation and hunting.
Spider monkey welfare in the wild is threatened by habitat fragmentation that forces these wide-ranging primates into increasingly small forest patches where food and social partners are insufficient for their behavioral needs. Hunting for bushmeat causes traumatic deaths and orphaning of infants. Orphaned spider monkey infants require years of specialized rehabilitation care before they can be considered for release. Their fission-fusion social system means they need to encounter many individuals across large areas — habitat fragmentation prevents this and may cause reproductive and social welfare problems for isolated groups. In sanctuaries, providing appropriate social complexity for these intelligent, highly social primates is extremely challenging.