Information About the Brown Capuchin Monkey

The brown capuchin monkey is a medium-sized South American primate. It is closely related to squirrel monkeys, tamarins, and marmosets. The species is often hunted for meat by humans in its home range and is also used as a performing animal by organ grinders. The monkey has been trained in some instances to provide help for the physically handicapped.

  1. Description

    • Brown capuchins are medium-sized, well-built monkeys with distinctive fur coloration. It ranges from light brown to yellow or dark brown to black in color. The shoulders and stomach tend to be a lighter shade than the rest of the body. Tufts of darker fur are found on top of the head and on the cheeks, giving the appearance of sideburns. The monkey has a long prehensile tail, which is used to aid climbing and can be curled up when not in use, The brown is the only capuchin species to coil its tail in this way.

    Habitat and Range

    • The brown capuchin lives from Colombia and Venezuela eastward to Paraguay and northern Argentina. The monkeys prefer the moist, tropical forest habitats in these areas but can also be found in the drier woodlands and more mountainous forests found in Argentina. They live mainly in the mid-canopy of the forest, spending a lot of time in the trees, but they do come to the ground often to forage for food and to play.

    Diet and Predators

    • The large robust jaws of the brown capuchin help it eat the larger forest fruits that other capuchin species cannot handle. The monkeys eat mostly seasonal fruits but also eat seeds, insects, small reptiles, birds, eggs and mammals. In times when food is scarce, the capuchins also feed on the green fronds of some palm plants. The monkeys live in family groups, so usually a few members are watching for predators at all times, but hawks and eagles sometimes evade detection and catch them off guard.

    Life Cycle

    • Brown capuchin troops are made up of both males and females with dominant males earning the right to mate with the females. Less dominant males do sometimes mate when the main male is not watching. Breeding can take place year-round with females producing young once a year. Pregnancies last 150 to 160 days with one or sometimes two offspring being born. The young cling to the mother for the first few months and also are protected by the rest of the troop if separated from the parent. Life span in the wild is uncertain, but the oldest captive individuals reach around 45 years old.