Squirrel Monkeys of the Future

As of today, the squirrel monkey is arboreal (adapted to trees). In the future, deforestation will cause trees to become scarce in the tropical regions of South America, where squirrel monkeys live! Because of this, squirrel monkeys will need to adapt to living on the rainforest floor. Some visual traits squirrel monkeys have right now are being gray to olive colored to blend in with trees. They are also an average of 33 inches tall with a slender build. Instead of being gray to olive colored, squirrel monkeys will be brownish-orange to match the rainforest floor for camouflage. They will be about 50 inches tall and their tails will be shorter to make it easier to walk on land. Their diet will be primarily insects because they will not be able to eat fruit from trees. Their face’s color will also be lighter.