INTO THE JUNGLE

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about

CAPUCHIN MONKEY

File:Capuchin Costa Rica.jpg

The capuchin monkeys are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the "organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical forests in Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina. In Central America, where they are called white-faced monkeys ("carablanca,") they usually occupy the wet lowland forests on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Panama and deciduous dry forest on the Pacific coast.

Diet

The capuchin monkey feeds on a vast range of food types, and is more varied than other monkeys in the family Cebidae. They are omnivores, and consume a variety of plant parts such as leaves, flower and fruit, seeds, pith, woody tissue, sugarcane, bulb, and exudates, as well as arthropods, molluscs, a variety of vertebrates, and even primates.

Recent findings of old stone tools in Capuchin habitats have suggested that recently the Capuchins have switched from small nuts, such as cashews, to larger and harder nuts. Capuchins have been observed to also be particularly good at catching frogs.They are characterized as innovative and extreme foragers because of their ability to acquire sustenance from a wide collection of unlikely food, which may assure them survival in habitats with extreme food limitation. Capuchins living near water will also eat crabs and shellfish by cracking their shells with stones.

Social and cultural structure

Capuchin monkeys often live in large groups of 10 to 35 individuals within the forest, although they can easily adapt to places colonized by humans. The Capuchins have discreet hierarchies that are distinguished by age and sex. Usually, a single male will dominate the group, and they have primary rights to mate with the females of their group. However, the white-headed capuchin groups are led by both an alpha male and an alpha female.

Each group will cover a large territory, since members must search for the best areas to feed. These primates are territorial animals, distinctly marking a central area of their territory with urine and defending it against intruders, though outer areas may overlap. The stabilization of group dynamics is served through mutual grooming, and communication occurs between the monkeys through various calls. Their vocal communications have various meanings such as creating contact with one another, warning about a predator, and forming new groups. 

The social experience of the Capuchins directly influences the development of attention in society. They create new social behaviors within multiple groups that signify different types of interactions. These include; tests of friendship, displays against enemies, infant and sexual intimacy. This creates social rituals that are designed to test the strength of social bonds and a reliance on social learning.

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