Capuchin monkey

It can only be found in South America, where it is distributed across several countries, including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.  The Capuchin Monkey may be the most widely distributed primate species in the neotropics.

It adapts to different habitats and ecosystems, and has distinct characteristics from its African relatives, including its nose and very open nostrils. Its long prehensile tail allows it to feed, move and swing in the trees, where it spends most of its life. Although it usually walks on all fours, this monkey can also walk upright using only its hind legs.

The Capuchin Monkey lives in groups organized and led by one or more males. Their communities consist of a variable number of individuals, from three to thirty, including adult males and females, juveniles and infants. They are very close-knit and cooperate with each other, under a hierarchy that governs their behavior: thus, while the dominant males feed, for example, the lower-ranking ones are in charge of keeping lookout.

They are extremely skilled and intelligent primates. Females reach sexual maturity at four and a half years of age and give birth at seven years of age. They usually have only one offspring, after a gestation period of 149 to 158 days. At one and a half years, infants are self-sufficient, although they don’t leave the group until after five to nine years.

Their diet is based on fruits, seeds, nectar, insects, crustaceans, reptiles, birds' eggs and small mammals.