Primates
Primates are an Order. I have only seen members of the Suborder Haplorhini, which includes Monkeys, Apes, and Tarsiers. Lemurs, part of the other Suborder Strepsirrhini, are high on my list of animals to see. Of course, we of the Homo Sapien species are part of the Great Apes Family along with Gorillas and Chimpanzees. I have seen two critically endangered primates, the Cotton-top Tamarin and the Western Lowland Gorilla.
Thirty-hour flight, twelve hours by car, six hours sitting on a plastic lawn chair in a narrow wooden boat, and finally, a two-hour hike through the Congolese Rainforest to see a western lowland gorilla (and a bongo antelope). It was worth it all—the experience of a lifetime. Warning: I am a very poor videographer.
While not as exhausting a trip, seeing cotton-top tamarins and howler monkeys in the forest of Northern Colombia was almost as thrilling. There is nothing like hearing howler monkeys in the forest - haunting.
Western Lowland Gorilla, Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo
Western Lowland Gorilla, Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo
Vervet Monkey, Lewa Conservancy, Kenya
Yellow Baboon, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
Yellow Baboon, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
Olive Baboon, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
Olive Baboon, Akagera National Park, Rwanda
Olive Baboon, Grumeti Reserve, Tanzania
Cotton-top Tamarin, Colombia
Cotton-top Tamarin, Colombia
Howler Monkey, Colombia