If water is not available they will repeatedly defecate on the same site on dry land, as has been observed in National Parks. Tapir feces look like horse dung but contain much larger chips of woody twigs. Juveniles show to accompany mothers for as much as a year after birth, until they reach what appears to be almost two-thirds of mother s weight. Costa Rican howler weighs 6 to 7 kg. Adult female howlers weigh 4 to 5 kg.
Adults are black with brown or blond saddles long guard hairs on their flanks.
These protector hairs give them their common name, mantled howling monkeys. At birth infants weight about 0.4 kg and are silver to golden brown. They get the grown pelage by 12 weeks of age and begin to move away from their mothers about the corresponding time. Alimentary analyses indicate that mature leaves that were eaten contained significantly more protein, more calcium, and lower fiber than those that were not eaten. Further, grown leaves that were eaten did not differ significantly from fresh leaves that were ingested.