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| Common Name: | Brown Capuchin | Family: | Primate |
| Latin Name: | Cebus apella | Diet: | Omnivore |
| Type: | Mammal | Habitat: | Tropical Rainforests |
| Native To: | South American | Social Unit: | Group |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Least Concern |
Brown capuchins at Edinburgh Zoo
There are two groups of brown capuchins at Edinburgh Zoo’s Living Links Centre. Capuchins are very intelligent and inquisitive monkeys. They are also very sociable, and each capuchin has a quite distinct personality. They like to investigate everything in their environment, often by taking it apart. This can make working with capuchins a little challenging!
In the wild, brown capuchins live in groups of up to 15 individuals. In one of The Edinburgh Zoo’s groups, you can find a female called Junon, her son Carlos, and another young male called Kato, among others.
Kato came to us at a very young age, and he has settled down well with Junon and her son. In fact, Junon treats Kato very much like her own son, and we are very happy that she has taken him under her wing.
Our second group includes the females named Lana and Sylvie. Both females gave birth in 2008, and it will be interesting to watch their babies grow up and really become an active part of the group they live in. Sylvie is Lana’s daughter, so her youngster is Lana’s granddaughter.
Find out more about the fascinating brown capuchins living at Edinburgh Zoo’s Living Links Centre!
Where can it be found at Edinburgh Zoo
Living Links
Brown capuchins in the wild
Brown capuchins (Cebus apella), also known as tufted capuchins, are South American monkeys. They are mostly found in the Amazon Basin and nearby regions. They are omnivorous, eating mostly fruits, seeds, and insects, and sometimes small lizards, frogs, or bird chicks. They supplement their varied diet with flowers, stems, and leaves.
Brown capuchins are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day, and spend most of their time in the understory and mid-canopy of the forest. They often come down to the ground to forage. Brown capuchins typically weigh between 2 – 5 kg, with males usually being larger than females. These monkeys have a prehensile tail, and are the only species of capuchin monkey that carries its tail in a tight coil.
Because they are widespread, brown capuchins are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being of Least Concern of extinction in the wild. However, they are hunted for food by humans, and are often illegally captured to be sold as pets. They are also threatened by habitat destruction. Population decline has been noted in some parts of the brown capuchins’ range.
IUCN Red List category: Least Concern
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