Description
Scientific name: Cebus capucinus
Life span: Up to 55 years in captivity
The Colombian white-faced capuchin is a very intelligent, medium-sized, and active new world monkey. They have a dark black colored body, while their face, forearms, chests, and throats have a white color coat. Their facial skin is pale in color. They have prehensile tails that help them to grab food and tree branches. Colombian white-faced capuchins have body lengths of 35-55 cm. Males are larger in size as compared to females. Males have a body weight of about 3- 4 kg while females have a body weight of 2- 3 kg. They have sexual dimorphism. They are also called quadrupedals. They are very active in climbing and leaping. They feed on a large variety of food that includes small insects, larvae, caterpillars, seeds, leaves, fruits, beetles, wasps, bromeliads, flowers, birds, and mollusks.
Native Region/Habitat
The Colombian white-faced capuchin is endemic to Ecuador, Columbia, Central America, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Argentina. They inhabit secondary woods, tropical evergreen forests, close-canopied woods, dry deciduous forests, lowland and humid areas, slopes of volcanoes, and coastal plains.
As Pet
Behavior/Temperament
The Colombian white-faced capuchin is a very social animal. They are arboreal and diurnal. They are very curious, enthusiastic, lively species and have a specific interest in disassembling objects. This behavior is more typically seen in captivity. Capuchins with white faces are enthusiastic and lively. All members of the group engage in playing, although young children spend the most time playing and engaging in physical combat. Juveniles also place a lot of emphasis on social learning, watching adults pick up on crucial mannerisms and abilities.
Care/Grooming
The Colombian white-faced capuchin needs plenty of space to hang itself on trees and ropes. The enclosure must contain artificial trees or branches, toys, shady places, and ropes on which they can jump, play, and swing. In Captivity, they sometimes become aggressive, angry, and bored. The enclosure must be safe, clean and hygienic because these monkeys are more prone to infections. Monkeys are curious and intelligent, thus an escape is probable despite the strongest security measures. To avoid this inconvenience strong enclosures must be made for them.
Table
