Lazy monkey hitches rides on parrots

[el-parrot]

What's a monkey to do when he can’t face the 8m (26ft) climb to the top of a tree? Simple – just hitch a ride on a parrot friend.



This squirrel monkey is enjoying the benefits of befriending the blue and gold macaw by hopping on its back for rides.The bone idle animal lives with a male and female parrot at a countryside hotel, and the trio have become inseparable.‘Its favourite activity is to climb on the back of the parrot and ride it around,’ said photographer Alejandro Jaramillo, 23, who spotted the unlikely pals in San Agustin, Colombia.



‘Amazingly, the monkey never fell off. It holds on by putting its arms around the parrot’s neck.‘Every once in a while the owners of the hotel have to throw water on the monkey to separate it from the parrots – it just loves to be with them.’



Bron: Metro, Engeland

[zazanomore]

That is just too funny.

I know you should never mix other pets with parrots, but come on. That is just too cute.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Mature spider monkeys weigh 12-20 pounds. As cute as it is, I suspect Photoshop, a lightweight stuffed specimen or some other kind of setup... Can a macaw carry that kind of weight? A blue and gold weighs only about 2 pounds.

Sorry, my sniff meter went off...

[Shani]

According to the article, that's a squirrel monkey, not a spider monkey link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_monkey different species altogether, and squirrel monkeys typically weigh 700 - 1100g apparently, so.. 1.5 - 2lbs? That kind of weight range makes it plausible, I think.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

According to the article, that's a squirrel monkey, not a spider monkey link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_monkey different species altogether, and squirrel monkeys typically weigh 700 - 1100g apparently, so.. 1.5 - 2lbs? That kind of weight range makes it plausible, I think.

You are right, I misread and mistyped when I looked up the weight. You are correct, they are very removed taxonomically from spider monkeys -- that's what I get for typing too fast. They are in the 1-3 lb range as you state. Still, it's the same weight as the macaw... Maybe the bird can walk around a bit that way, but it sort of implies it hauls the monkey up a tree with it... and something about the photos looks wrong to me, but I'm a born skeptic. Can't find anything but copies of the exact article on the web, so no way to tell if it's real or not! Can parrots carry weights equivalent to themselves routinely? I guess birds of prey drag off fairly heavy prey...

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Hubby says he thinks weight ratio could work, so perhaps I'll have to believe...

[el-parrot]

Hubby says he thinks weight ratio could work, so perhaps I'll have to believe...

ha ha... I too was doubting.. but I think it is real. Oh well. LOL