Inquisitive monkeys and the easiest to observe
The White-faced Capuchin Monkeys (mono cara blanca; Cebus capucinus) are small and inquisitive monkeys are the easiest to observe in the wild. Like the squirrel monkeys, capuchins travel through the forest in groups searching for fruits and insects; they are sometimes seen with squirrel monkeys.
Unlike squirrel monkeys, however, they have prehensile tails and foraga at all forest levels, occasionally descending to the ground where crops such as corn and even oysters are part of their diet. Their thorough foraging, carefully searching through leaves and litter, peeling off bark, and generally prying into everything, makes them enjoyable to watch.
These capuchins are black with a whitish face, throat and chest. The tail is ttypically carried with the tip coiled, a feature seen when viewed in silhouette. Ranging in lenth from 70cm to 1m, of which just over half is tail, they weigh between 1.5 and 3.9kg, with males larger than females.
They are widespread in both wet and tropical dry forests on both sides of the country. The dry forests of the Santa Rosa National Park and the Cabo Blanco Reserve are two excellent places to view them during the dry season, when few leaves obscure the view. They are seen in most national parks with lowland and mid-elevation forests.
Pictures by Angela and Jörn Malek. The team of 1-CostaRicaLink wishes you the best of times in our little paradise called Costa Rica.
Text by Lonely Planet. To buy the complete book
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