Introduction
Capuchins are a New World species of primate native to areas in Central and South America. Though there are several different species of capuchin monkey, the one most widely studied in captivity, including at Living Links, is the brown, or tufted, capuchin (Cebus apella).
The majority of primate research is conducted with apes, specifically chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) or with Old World monkeys, generally rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Incorporating information from a greater variety of primate species helps to identify which processes are similar as well as aid in determining where along the evolutionary split particular abilities originated. For comparison, New World monkeys diverged from the other primates approximately 35 million years ago, while the hominoids (apes and humans) split off 23 million years ago. Within the hominoids, the great apes diverged from what would become humans between 5 and 10 million years ago. Finding a similar behavior in capuchins, macaques, chimpanzees and humans would suggest that the behavior is common to most primates, though there are always exceptions.
There are several reasons why capuchins are a good study species. For one, capuchins live in complex social groups, which necessitates being able to recognize and remember those in which one has had contact with in the past. During fights, males may recruit other males to form an alliance against an aggressor. This is similar to male chimpanzees who also form coalitions and alliances with one another. Capuchins also demonstrate other socially complex behaviors such as food sharing and cooperating with another individual to receive a food reward. Capuchins are omnivorous and are described as destructive foragers, typically exploiting food resources that are ignored by other species living in the same area. It is this curiosity and exploitation, along with having the greatest degree of manual dexterity of all New World monkeys, that has allowed capuchins to develop a variety of foraging techniques, including using tools. Cracking nuts is one of their tool-use behaviors and is seen both in the wild and in captive groups. Some have referred to capuchins as the New World Chimpanzee given the similarity the two species in their social complexity, tool-use, performance on cognitive tasks and their large brain-to-body ratios. Although capuchins and chimpanzees are quite distant in terms of geography and phylogeny, the similarities may have developed independently by way of convergent evolution.
For more information about capuchins, see Primate Info Net's factsheet.
The members of the Living Links Center love working with these animals and are extremely lucky to be able to do so on a daily basis. The maintenance of these animals requires a full time care staff, a significant financial obligation and a commitment of up to 50 years of care during the animals lifetime. As such, the Living Links Center does not condone the private ownership of any primates. To learn why primates do not make good pets, click here. Additionally, the exotic pet trade harms the wild populations of the often endangered primates. To learn more about how devastating the exotic pet trade is on wild animals, click here.
