White-Throated Capuchin (The Most Intelligent Monkey)

White-throated capuchins also known as Colombian white-throated capuchins, white-faced capuchins, and white-headed capuchins, are New World monkeys native to the rainforests of western Colombia, western Ecuador, and Panama. Capuchins, considered among the most intelligent of the New World monkeys.

They are highly social and live in groups of 15 individuals on average with one adult male leading the troop. The group spends most of their time traveling and foraging; they will try to eat almost anything once and learn through trial and error.

White-throated capuchins live in mature (primary) and secondary forests that include evergreen, deciduous, mangrove, and montane. The monkeys inhabit home ranges between 79 and 213 acres. They forage between 0.62 and 1.86 miles a day, averaging 1.2 miles. Swamp forests may be important refuges for primates where are threatened with habitat loss. Mangrove and peat swam p forests, impenetrable, wet habitats, inaccessible and uninhabitable for humans. But these species occupy mangroves following their geographic distributions on terra firme forests. The presence of successful groups in the mangrove (resident groups) is possibly associated with historical changes in the terra firme forests and not with human factors such as habitat loss and illegal hunting.

White-throated capuchins are among the most intelligent of New World monkeys. In addition to their ability to fashion tools for foraging, they have been known to use sticks as weapons against snakes. Additionally, white-throated capuchins appear to have an innate understanding of herbal medicine. Wild white-throated capuchins will rub parts of certain plants into their hair. Scientific conjecture is that this self-care is a deliberate action to ward off ticks and other parasites.

White-throated capuchins eat mostly fruits and insects. Favorite fruits include figs and mangos. They prefer fruits that are ripe and test for ripeness by smelling, tasting, and poking each piece of fruit. But they eat only the pulp and juice and spit out the seeds and fibers. Insect prey includes beetle larvae, butterfly and moth caterpillars, ants, wasps, and ant and wasp larvae. However, white-throated capuchins also feast on larger prey, including birds, frogs, lizards, and squirrels. Bird eggs, crabs, clam, and mollusks are snack items.

They are a diurnal species; all that foraging is conducted during the daylight hours. At night, they sleep.

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