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Begging and transfer of coati meat by white-faced capuchin monkeys,Cebus capucinus

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Abstract

White-faced capuchin monkeys were frequently observed to raid the nests and predate the pups of coatis at two study sites (Santa Rosa National Park and Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve) in northwestern Costa Rica. Adult monkeys of both sexes were the primary participants in nest-raiding. At Santa Rosa, the original captor of the pup tended to eat the entire carcass, whereas at Lomas Barbudal, the monkeys rapidly became satiated and allowed another monkey to have the carcass. At Lomas Barbudal, there was a tendency for adult females to share preferentially with their own offspring, but only if the offspring were less than 1 year old. Dominance rank of the owner of the carcass relative to the rank of the beggar did not significantly affect the probability of willingly transferring meat to the beggar. In one of two years, carcass theft was more likely to occur when the thief was higher ranking than the carcass owner.

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Author notes

  1. Susan Perry

    Present address: Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, 90024-1553, Los Angeles, California, U. S. A.

  2. Lisa Rose

    Present address: Department of Anthropology, Washington University, 63130, St. Louis, Missouri, U. S. A.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Michigan, USA

    Susan Perry

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  1. Susan Perry
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  2. Lisa Rose
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Perry, S., Rose, L. Begging and transfer of coati meat by white-faced capuchin monkeys,Cebus capucinus . Primates 35, 409–415 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381950

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381950

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