In the photo — a white-shouldered capuchin. Took this pic in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica a week ago. At that moment, a troop of at least 40-50 monkeys stormed the beach: they were everywhere. Scrambling through bags, one started to pull out a towel but couldn’t manage it. They’ve already figured out how zippers work. Capuchins have rather scary sharp teeth, but it seems they don’t use them on people without reason.
While preparing this post, I decided to read up a bit about them. Turns out, they practice so-called “self-anointment” — they rub their fur with crushed ants or centipedes. The chemicals (like formic acid) released by these insects act as a potent insecticide, deterring parasites. Also, if a capuchin finds a lemon or wild onion, it will crush them into a pulp and thoroughly “perfume” itself with the juice.
Capuchins have very complex social bonds, which they maintain in very specific ways. They have “trust testing” rituals that might seem odd to a human. Two monkeys can sit and alternately stick their fingers deep under each other’s eyelids. This is the supreme form of trust — “I allow you to hurt me because I trust you.” Also, they can insert their fingers into each other’s nostrils and sit like that for a long time, entering a sort of trance. I’ll put links in the comments.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 