White Faced Capuchin Monkey



Table of Content

Habitat                                 pg 3

What they look like            pg 4

Food                                    pg 5

Babies/Young                     pg 6

Survival/Adaptations          pg 7



Habitat

 

The capuchin monkey is commonly seen in Costa Rica. They are known as the white-faced monkey.  These monkeys can be found in Central and South America. The capuchin live in troops of 10-30 monkeys. Capuchins spend most of their time in the treetops, peeling off bark in search of insects and other prey .



What They Look Like

Capuchin monkeys have small skinny bodies covered in brown and black fur. Their faces, necks and chests are a white or cream color. This is why they are called the white-faced monkey.

Their tails help them grab on to trees. These monkey spend most of their time high up in the trees swinging from branch to branch. Their tails help them climb and grab on to things.

These monkeys have sharp teeth to help them chew their food. If you make a capuchin angry it will bite you!



                                             Food

Capuchin monkeys are omnivores  and eat everything from insects to flowers and fruit.  They perfer their fruit ripenedand will smell, squeeze or bite before they eat it.

Capuchins have often been known to eat bird eggs, crabs, and small lizards. They also like to drink water from tree holes. 

These monkeys have been known to beg for food from humans. In Costa Rica, there are signs everywhere telling people to NOT feed the monkeys. This is because they do not want the monkeys to become dependent on humans to feed them.



Babies/Young

Females can only have one baby at a time every two years. Baby capuchins cling  to their mothers' backs for the first three months while they are still nursing .



Survival/Adaptation

In the wild, the capuchin are preyed  on by boa constrictors and jaguars . If they are quick enough they can escape to the treetops These monkeys are not currently endangered  of being extinct . The biggest threat to these monkeys is habitat destruction  done by humans  in the rainforest.