| During
our trip to Costa Rica we (well, actually, I) saw 3 of the 4 species of
monkeys found there. Dr. David Brown was there for a few more weeks
and was able to see all 4 species. This page will tell you a little bit more about
each of the monkeys of Costa Rica.
The 4 species of monkeys in Costa Rica are the
Mantled Howler (Allouata palliata) (right), the Capuchin
Monkey (Cebus capucinus) (below left), the Spider Monkey (Ateles
geoffreyi) (below right) and the Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri oerstedii)
(below). |
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Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP
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Squirrel
Monkey, Manuel Antonio NP
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Spider
Monkey - La Selva
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| The first monkeys we encountered in Costa
Rica were capuchins on the way down to Playa Nancite. Eladio spotted
them and we stopped to watch a troop of them work the canopy of the dry
forest. It was a lot easier to spot them in the dry forest at the
end of the dry season as many of the leaves were off the trees; still, as
far as photography was concerned the monkeys' quick movements and
the tangle of branches made getting a good shot very difficult. |
Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP
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Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP
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Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP
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| According to John Kricher in "A
Neotropical Companion", (page 296), capuchins travel in troops of
up to 30. CH Freese (writing in Costa Rican Natural History,
edited by Daniel Janzen) (page 246) says that of the 4 species in the
genus Cebus the white-faced capuchin is the only species in Central
America. These are small monkeys, maybe about a meter long including
the tail. They made quite a racket while we were watching them, with
individuals of the troop scattered on both sides of the road.
According to Freese, they eat a lot of fruits and insects, although they
eat other things as well, including bird eggs, some agricultural crops,
and, most interestingly, Freese reports that one individual was observed
to grab, break off and eat the end of a large iguana's tail! |
Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP |
Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP |
Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP |
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We also saw capuchins at Manuel
Antonio, where they proved adept at begging from the tourists along
the beach. Craig Merideth extended his hand to one, which
reached back tentatively. All agreed that the scene was
reminiscent of the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,
but there was much disagreement as to who was God and who was
Adam...
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Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP |
|
Capuchin
Monkey, Manuel Antonio NP |
Capuchin
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP |
| Capuchins also showed up at Caño Negro; one
came to the river to drink (below).
Capuchins should have at most of the places we
visited, but we simply didn't see them. Of course, in many places (Rincón
de la Vieja, Arenal) we simply weren't there very long. Also, the
heavy canopy in the rainforest at La Selva made wildlife of all types
harder to see. |
Capuchin
Monkey, Manuel Antonio NP |
|
Capuchin
Monkey, Caño Negro |
Capuchin
Monkey, Manuel Antonio NP |
| Next up were the Howler Monkeys. We
saw these at Santa Rosa and Caño Negro; we heard them at La Selva but
never saw them there.
Howler
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP
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Howler
Monkey, Caño Negro
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Howler
Monkey, Caño Negro
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Howler
Monkey, female and baby, Santa Rosa NP
Howler
Monkey, Santa Rosa NP |
| The troop at Santa Rosa was particularly
interesting. They set up camp in a large tree outside the dining
hall at the biological station about the same time we arrived, and stayed
there the whole time we were there. There were several troops within
earshot and every morning they let each other know where they were by way
of their ear-splitting screams. One member of the group likened it
to the growling of a "dog from hell". They would also
sound off in response to various things such as diesel trucks, a
description which applies to 75% of the vehicles in Guanacaste. The
group camped out at the dining hall had several males and at least one
female with a baby. |
Howler
Monkey male, Santa Rosa NP
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Howler
Monkey, female and baby, Santa Rosa NP
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Howler
Monkey, female and baby, Santa Rosa NP
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KE Glander, (writing in Costa Rican Natural History,
edited by Daniel Janzen) (page 448), points out a surprising aspect of the
howlers' social structure - it is the youngest adults that are the
dominant members of the group, which can include several males and
females, along with the young. According to Glander they are mostly
herbivorous, feeding on leaves, particularly new ones.
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| Of our group, only
David Brown and I saw a Spider Monkey (Ateles
geoffreyi). In my case, it was by chance on one of my solo trips through La
Selva. Walking along one trail, I came upon a group with a guide who
were watching a small group of these monkeys. I was not able to get
much of a photo, however, as they were high up in the canopy. Later,
after an unsuccessful search for the Helicopter Damselfly, I returned to
the vicinity of the swamp near the River Station, and I came across what I
think was the same group, only closer to the forest floor. I was
able to get a few pictures in the dim understory light. The monkeys
were aware of my presence and seemed to take offense; one individual
seemed particularly bold and scolded me from about 10 feet off the ground
about 30 feet away. David Brown saw Spider Monkeys in the same area
a day later; presumably it was the same group. |
Spider
Monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, La Selva
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Spider
Monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, La Selva
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Spider
Monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, La Selva
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| Like all the Costa Rican
monkeys, the tail of the Spider Monkey is prehensile, which means it can
be used as a fifth limb, holding onto a branch for instance. They also
move extensively by brachiation, a form of locomotion in which the animal
swings from the front limbs. In Costa Rican Natural History,
(edited by Daniel Janzen) (page 451), JF Eisenberg comments on the slow
natural reproduction of these monkeys, perhaps one reason why they are
slow to come back from land clearing and hunting. Apparently, a
troop of Spider Monkeys split up during the day to feed then congregate at
night to sleep. |
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| As I mentioned
above, as a group we never saw the 4th species of Tican Monkey, the
Squirrell Monkey. Dr. David Brown stayed on in Costa Rica for a few
weeks after the rest of us came home, and he saw a troop of Squirrel
Monkeys when he returned to Manuel Antonio. That was probably our only
real chance to see them, according to Janzen and Wilson (In Costa Rican Natural History,
(edited by Daniel Janzen), page 427) in Costa Rica the Squirrel Monkey is
restricted to the southern Pacific lowlands. Walker's Mammals of
the World (5th edition) lists the species as restricted to Costa Rica
and Panama; this small distribution is one reason the species is endangered.
According to Walker's Mammals of the World, squirrel monkeys have
the largest troops of new world monkeys, with reports of over 550
individuals per troop, but more commonly 10-30 individuals in a troop. |
Squirrel
Monkey, Manuel Antonio NP
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Squirrel
Monkey, Manuel Antonio NP
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Squirrel
Monkey, Manuel Antonio NP
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