08/04/2025
In 1917, Swiss geologist, Francois de Loys, along with a small crew explored the wilds west of Lake Maracaibo, not far from the Colombian-Venezuelan border, hoping to find signs of oil. They had been gone for three years and on their last year of the expedition, after many had died from disease and hostile tribes, the expedition had set camp on the banks of the Tara River.
While resting at this camp, two monkey-like creatures stormed out of the undergrowth waving branches and screaming at the camped crew. De Loys and his crew looked on in shock as the ape men began throwing sticks, rocks and even their own excrement at the crew. At this point De Loys and a few other shot their rifles at the ape men, killing a female and wounding the male, which limped off into the brush and disappeared.
Surprised at the size of this strange monkey, De Loys hoped to preserve the creatures carcass but ended up settling for a picture of the propped up monkey thing, which he placed in his journal and forgot about.
The photo was eventually found and after it had made its rounds, the consensus was, these ape-like creatures were just excessively large spider monkeys.
So the wooly spider monkey is south America’s largest known primate, but much like the rest of the Americas, stories of giant, ape-like beings have been talked about for hundreds and hundreds of years. More interestingly, in the region where De Loys was exploring, stories of a hairy, human-like, creature called the Salvaje are talked about. These creature are rumored to kidnap human women; build primitive huts and eat human flesh. So, is the De Loys ape just an abnormally large spider monkey? Or could it be one of these Salvaje? (And no that isnt a d!ck that is an extended cl!t, as seen in certain New World Monkeys….)