cheeky monkeys

So I have spent the last 2 days learning IDs for a new monkey group. The group's name is Guanacaste and most of the monkeys are named after the Harry Potter books. This group is awesome!! For one thing, it is the biggest group so there is always something going on. Also, this group has been studied a lot. So they monkeys are very used to people and are not shy at all. That means they spend lots of time close to the ground where it is easy for us to see them. They are also kind of cheeky. In fact, ONE OF THE MONKEYS TOUCHED ME TODAY!!!! This isn't really a good thing - because it could cause problems when this monkey is big... but thankfully this group only has contact with the researchers that study them and don't ever see tourists. Hopefully things will turn out ok.

Anyway, here's what happened. I was standing beside a small tree, and a juvenile male named Pigwidgeon (I think) came up behind me. When I realized he was there, I turned around and he was right in front of my face. He looked at me closely, and then touched the blue glass plug in my ear. Then he touched the top of my glasses, and then my labret on my bottom lip. Then i laughed and he ran away. It was crazy to have the little guy so close - apparently he likes my sparkly jewelry. I won't encourage this kind of behaviour or anything, but it totally made my day today that a monkey came so close to me.

Here is a photo of the little stinker. He's cute huh? He was close enough for me to reach out and touch when I took this photo today.



Here are some interesting and fun facts about capuchin monkeys that i'll bet you didn't know!

1. Up close, capuchins sometimes smell a little bit like B.O. !


2. Capuchin penises are flared at the end. Like the bell of a trumpet.


3. Capuchins regularly do this thing called urine washing. It's when they pee on their hands and then rub the pee all over their hands and feet. We aren't sure what function this serves yet. And yes, I am aware that Pigwidgeon may have touched me with pee-hands. I don't care.


4. When capuchins are friends, they engage in "hand sniffing". It's when one capuchin takes the hand of his/her friend and sniffs it deeply for two or three minutes. Sometimes they will even put the fingers right up their nostrils and sniff them!


5. Capuchins regularly throw-up for no reason! They make the funniest little puking noises. They are cute and disgusting at the same time!

Ok. Im going to go watch Archer now. Its the best cartoon since Frisky Dingo. Download it and laugh your sack off.
<3 <3 <3
Dayna