Connecting Corridors for Colombia's Brown Spider Monkeys
From How to Save It by Whitley Fund for Nature
January 14, 2026 · 12 min · Season 2 · Episode 7
About this episode
Dr Andrés Link discusses his work on reconnecting habitats for Colombia's brown spider monkeys and the importance of community involvement in conservation efforts.
The brown spider monkey and its "orchestral" Magdalena River Valley habitat in Colombia have been the focus of Dr Andrés Link's work for 20+ years. Birds, not monkeys were his original plan, he tells Kate and Edward, but the monkey's graceful movement and complex social behaviour drew him to the species whose forest habitat had become fragmented, cleared for ranching and palm oil. Reconnecting it is crucial for survival and Andrés and his team at the NGO he founded Fundación Proyecto Primates are not only winning support from local landowners, they're helping them to plant trees. It’s a project Andrés says has the potential to be replicated across Colombia, home to almost 10 percent of the world's biodiversity. How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup Find out more and watch Andrés film here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Link Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/whitleyawards/ and https://uk.linkedin.com/company/whitley-fund-for-nature For more on reconnecting habitat for tree-dwelling mammals…
People in this episode
Hosts: Kate, Edward
Guest: Dr Andrés Link
Topics covered
- conservation
- biodiversity
- habitat restoration
- animal behavior
- community engagement
Keywords
- brown spider monkey
- Colombia
- habitat fragmentation
- conservation
- tree planting
- biodiversity
- NGO
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Fundación Proyecto Primates, Whitley Fund for Nature
Places: Colombia, Magdalena River Valley
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