Playa Caletas, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
White-throated capuchin monkeys are the most active, noisy and fearless of the three species of monkeys we saw today. They rarely travel alone, living usually in female-centered groups of ten or more individuals, though young all-male groups can also be found. They look for food in all the three layers of the forest and will not hesitate to come down to the ground to forage for insects, insect larvae and fruits, and have been known to eat newborn squirrels and coatimundis. Everybody got a good look at the mother capuchin carrying her young infant on her back; the young adults jumping from one branch to the other. Some of us had a close, A VERY CLOSE look – six feet away - at some of the most daring individuals to the distress of our Natural History staff!
We also got a good look at several groups of spider monkeys, and one lucky group got to see howler monkeys doing what they do best… sleep!
White-throated capuchin monkeys are the most active, noisy and fearless of the three species of monkeys we saw today. They rarely travel alone, living usually in female-centered groups of ten or more individuals, though young all-male groups can also be found. They look for food in all the three layers of the forest and will not hesitate to come down to the ground to forage for insects, insect larvae and fruits, and have been known to eat newborn squirrels and coatimundis. Everybody got a good look at the mother capuchin carrying her young infant on her back; the young adults jumping from one branch to the other. Some of us had a close, A VERY CLOSE look – six feet away - at some of the most daring individuals to the distress of our Natural History staff!
We also got a good look at several groups of spider monkeys, and one lucky group got to see howler monkeys doing what they do best… sleep!
