COSTA RICA: MONKEYS, ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE

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1 1 COSTA RICA: MONKEYS, ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE Dr. Karen Luedtke

2 2 COSTA RICA: MONKEYS, ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE Dr KO Luedtke Photographs by RF Luedtke The contents of this book are the sole rights of the author. No parts of this book may be published without explicit authorization of the author. December 2010 Dr KO Luedtke Published with e-pub ISBN Investigator University of Costa Rica Facultad de Ingenieria Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniera Programa de Investigación Cognición y Lenguaje (PICL) San José, Costa Rica

3 3 This book is dedicated to my mother Alice. She is the one person in this book who receives very Little attention, a magnificent person who may not have been center stage but who was the one who put it all together and held it all together through an amazing power of will, hard work, an even temper, and a beautiful and loving heart. There could be no greater influence on my love of animals and books than her. Her quiet demeanor made a great influence on me. What she did not convey in words she more tan quintupled in her treatment of our family and strangers alike. She stood behind us all and supported all our endeavors without complaints. She sacrificed her own desires and swallowed her own losses in silence yet held us all close during ours. She deserves more accolades than she receives and it is with my sincere hope that through this dedication she understands just how much of an influence she was.

4 4 Acknowledgements This book was made possible by the help of the organizations of ACOPAC, Minaet, and Carara Biological Reserve and to the officials Mr. Bustamante, Mr. Arce, and Mr. Soto, as well as to the team of investigators with the University of Costa Rica, Institute of Investigation in Engineering, Program of Investigation, Language and Cognition, and my good friend Ann Blatnik who helped in reviewing the content. I never could have continued these investigations without the devotion and support of my husband to whom I owe a great deal of gratitude for all of his patience.

5 5 Preamble This book was written with the intention to introduce people to the exciting and wonderful world of cognitive neuroscience in non-human primates especially New World Monkeys, cerebral growth, the importance of maternal care, animal behavior, nature, biology, and the importance of conservation in the sphere of human development. Hopefully through this book, nature lovers, conservationists and scientists alike will understand the true value of New World Monkeys, their habitat and the impact they have on our own development and understanding of ourselves.

6 6 Table of Contents Chapter 1: The Early Beginnings of Life with my Animal Friends p6 Chapter 2: A Husband and the Untamed....p20 Chapter 3: African Observations.. p26 Chapter 4: Columbus, Discovery and the Rich Coast..p36 Chapter 5: Pura Vida Arrival...p46 Chapter 6: Cognitive Behavior Research.p67 Chapter 7: The Brain and Primate Cognition p77 Chapter 8: What One Monkey has that the Other Doesn t..p84 Chapter 9: First Sightings of a Monkey God.p90 Chapter 10: The Devil, The Cricket, and The Angel. p97 Chapter 11: Hungry Monkeys..p109 Chapter 12: The Ties that Bind p127 Chapter 13: All Fun and Games..p140 Chapter 14: Communication, Warning, and Naptime..p147 Chapter 15: Swingers, Howlers, and Jumpers..p155 Chapter 16: The Social Creatures of the Pacific Coast p167 Chapter 17: Habitats and Parks..p186 Bibliographies and Recommended Readings Index

7 7 Chapter 6: Cognitive Behavior Research The road from caring for all those animals to cognitive behavior researcher to primate research would help me with these and many more questions that I had had. They would stay in my mind in the future when I began to investigate the cognitive behavior of White Faced Capuchins and the other new world monkeys. The same odd twists and turns of life that carried me around the world were now at work carving out my future in this jungle paradise. It never would have occurred to me that I would one day be working at the in the neuroscience lab with JC and Dr. J and the cognition lab with Dr. A. And that one day I would be on the team of cognitive science investigators, investigating the thing that I loved most, animals. The psychological behavior of rain soaked little monkeys in the tropical forests was initiated for the most part merely by the frustrations of a language barrier and the desire to be able to communicate with ease with the wonderfully passive Ticos (Costa Ricans) that brought about the major changes that would come. I was sure that if I could immerse myself in the language then I could become proficient. My simple little farm life on the slopes of the volcano was about to become as busy as spawning season for salmon. It appears as though each step throughout my life was directed at my destiny to be here in these rich forests with these complex creatures, the new world monkeys and most especially the capuchins. The husband of one of my good friends had just taken a position in the psychology department of a university, through him I was on my way to meeting a multitude of new scientific minds both younger and older. It was stressful to be immersed in a completely Spanish world. I struggled to understand what was being said and suffered through the different dialects that surrounded me. Through him I had met JC, a neuroscientist with whom I developed a good rapport. After some time I began to work with JC and formed a friendship with the Dr. in charge of the lab. In the lab we were studying the behavior of animals under various conditions and noting the different brain chemistries which were happening. JC s investigations were primarily dealing with the effects of stress and enrichment. These investigations intrigued me. How could simple things like stress take on

8 8 monumental proportions in brain chemistry and function? I could not resist the urge to read publications and understand more about the brain chemistry and it s workings and so I read and read and read. During that time I had also made friends with four wonderful people who made it all worth the effort of jumping out of bed at 4:00am listening to the impatient whistle of Voltaire, when I had turned on all the lights. I hurried to feed my horse, dogs, other farm animals and us so I could be ready for my husband to drive me the twenty minutes it took to get to the bus stop in town. The bus ride was a hot, crowded, smelly two hour trek on un-cushioned seats through the valley, potholes and across shaky old bridges. It was still better than driving though. The worst part of the ride was sucking in fumes of carbon monoxide and old diesels or worse still traveling behind a pig truck. Furthermore when it rained, as it does so often in the rain forest, the bus windows were closed suffocating us in the sultry, insufferable heat. Surprisingly enough for Latin American time schedules these buses were leaving on time and the only way to get home if you missed it that meant you had to take a taxi into San Jose and then catch the next bus out, which wasn t a desirable option especially on a rainy nights. Rainy season was the worst of all times for this travel on the highway. The potholes were big enough to put a car in, the motorcycles whipped in and out as though they had a death wish, people tailgated, bridges were narrow and in bad repair with restricted flow, and heaven forbid if there was a wreck, a landslide, or a protest, the two hour ride could easily turn into five, which it sometimes did. After 18 months of this grueling travel I needed a short reprieve and decided to return to the farm for a while. This return would bring on even newer events that would keep me occupied for another year and a half. My niece came to live with us, young and six months pregnant. To say the least this brought about new experiences for me since I had never had children of my own and it would be the first time to be taking care of a newborn. Two days before my own birthday I found myself in a hospital room holding one tiny, healthy, beautiful baby boy, whom we simply called Junior because he reminded us of her when

9 9 she was an infant, that is not his real name though. As the year went on taking care of my young niece, her education and my great nephew it seemed as though the scientific sojourns had been sadly squelched forever from my destiny. By the time I was ready to return to the lab JC was on his way to do a four year stint working with a university in Germany. As luck would have it, one of those old friends called me up out of the blue telling me that he and his wife and kids were moving back to Japan in a few months so that he could do some further cognitive work with a university there. He told me that I should come join him in the cognitive lab at the University and meet Dr. A. saying that it was an opportunity that I should not miss. I had already put in a great deal of work by this time on animal behavior, human behavior, neuroscience, and psychology. The head of the Program for Investigation of Cognition and Language at the University of Costa Rica, Dr. A, was doing an in-depth study on Theory of the Troop (human troops/groups). His theory was quite profound and he was trying to prove a number of important points about the behavior of common man and his place within groups and the importance of language in the development of modern humans. Although this was the principal theme, human cognition, I was blessed with the opportunity to work with the cognition of social animals as comparisons. Perhaps it would lead to some answers to my own questions about the animals and their behaviors. My work in the lab also gave me the opportunity to do more teaching, which is a passion of mine! I was so elated at the chance to do something besides clean house that he needn t have said more. I attended the meetings twice a week and delved into investigations on Cognitive Science. So you might be asking: what exactly is cognitive science other than the study of the brain and behavior? The definition is multifaceted in reality. There are so many points to cognitive science that it is a little overwhelming in its explanation. It is neither as exact as neuroscience nor as vague as psychology. It encompassed such fields as artificial

10 10 intelligence, computer science, ethology, primatology, psychology, anthropology, paleontology, biology, sociology, philosophy, neuroscience, education, and linguistics! To complicate the definition of cognitive science was the information that it would take into account in investigations. The gamut was vast and encompassed areas such as; attention, emotion, learning, memory, knowledge, language, perception, and actions. All of this was great for me, because well, I had worked in some of these, dabbled in others and been interested in all of these fields. Attention, emotion, learning, and memory were of paramount importance to me as a professor and this was what I wanted to convey to my postgraduate students. The links between these were astounding, even though I knew with myself that I had to feel good and comfortable in order to learn and remember quickly, I had also seen the enrichment benefits in the lab and had seen firsthand the benefits of positive reinforcement working with my nieces, when training animals and teaching my students. I had seen in nature the social group and the mothers teaching this way and the much greater power than reprimanding. I now read all the articles I could put my hands on about the memory, attention, learning, and emotion; how long the memory could store information; how the memory was affected by emotional states; and how one could have and maintain vigil attention. As I read I felt angry on behalf of my students and the frustrations many of them had. It seemed that even with this knowledge that their vigil attention (that means complete) only exists for 20 minutes with a maximum attention span of minutes before the brain begins to decrease in blood flow to areas such as thalamus and frontal cortex that professors were still determined to have them pay attention for three hours! Just consider for a moment how you meet other people and what you might remember about them. It requires a couple of brain activities such as attention and emotion, and the storage of information. If you were to meet several people at a party each one giving a brief introduction of; themselves, who they were, what they like to do for fun, and their job. Afterwards who s name would you remember and why? What things would you remember about the other people there? Most probably you would remember people who had something in common with you or had said something that you were interested

11 11 in. This not only heightens your attention, but also your emotional state, both of which make it easier to retain information. Communication within a group, either human or animal, relies on vocalization and symbolism and sometimes understanding their meanings in full or just the idea behind it. Take for example an airplane, even a toddler knows what it sounds like, that it moves across the sky, and might very likely be one of its first words, but does the toddler really understand what a plane is? Even as adults, do we know how many people a certain plane will carry, how far it can fly, or even where it might be flying too? So when we say plane to a toddler, it could mean to look up into the sky, it could mean a toy, it could mean to go somewhere, similar to asking Kanana if she wanted to go see Sophie. Consider for example this symbol +. Consider that it might be red, or black, or slightly altered in design on its tips. If it were as it is shown here, it could mean add. If the bottom line was a little longer it could resemble a religious cross. If it were red it could mean medical services, if it were angled it could be mistaken as an x. Moreover, a symbol may carry different connotations. Within the animal kingdom recognition of symbols is as important as the vocalizations which go along with them. Consider if the + marked a cup of food repeatedly followed by a word such as bone. The two forms of communication will rapidly be processed as meaning something good. The cooperation within a group means survival and amongst social animals it means learning those symbols and vocalizations. However, humans and animals teach and learn quite differently in some area than others. Humans have the advantage of the use of words to ask questions, offer encouragement to promote interest, or intimidate to discourage learning. The animals seem to take an altogether different approach as you will see in the behaviors of the capuchins. They learn by repetition, reinforcement, grooming and infrequently reprimand. They learn as small children do through a series of events such as being taught by vocalizations that something is dangerous or through trial and error. They cannot ask what their grandfather did when he was in a certain predicament, their grandfather cannot convey history to

12 12 them of where the fruits grew fifty years ago, nor can they learn about a fruit from a book nor can they take seeds mix them ground dried sugar cane and make cookies. Our minds offer us the rare opportunity to expand them simply by our ability at language in its oral and written form, it allows us to learn from those that are older and those that are younger. This is not to say that animals do not have memories, however their memories do not appear to stretch to the distant past. The honey bees are able to communicate certain routes to the other members of their hive but can they communicate inherent dangers that exist along the route or tell of an old route where there used to be lots of pollen? This doesn t necessarily reflect a lack of memory but perhaps a different use. Yet other histories seem to be innate such as a bird fearing a cat; why? How was this concept conveyed with their lack of language? Is it something they merely learn by paying attention to others in their group? Our attention seems to differ from theirs just as much as memory. We pass time doing the same sorts of activities without ever considering the items. For example it becomes common place for us to turn on the coffee pot, answer the phone, and even to hang up saying I love you to someone who you didn t mean to say it too. The majority of our memory is affected by the amount of attention we actually pay. There is a line between which we are fearful doing something for the first time and having done it so often that we simply repeat it without paying attention. Between these two extremes are comfort zones. When we have reached a reasonable comfort zone, our capacity at learning and memory become quite easy and we are able to relax enough that the amygdala is not in the flight or fight response and to permit the dopamine levels to elevate. The dopamine neurotransmitters stimulate the hippocampus and are necessary for memory and learning. When we are within a certain comfort zone the dopamine is elevated in the brain allowing us to move items into long term memory storage. When we have reached a high level of comfort we begin to diminish in the attention level. For example, imagine that you have just moved to a new city and you have an evening meeting in an old section of town. You called one of your colleagues that you get along with really well, which naturally makes you feel good. You let them know that you looked

13 13 at the map and would have no problem arriving and that you felt pretty good since it was still daylight. Unfortunately the meeting ran later than you expected and it is now dark. Now you have to cross the dark parking lot to your car, you get in thinking how well everything went at the meeting and that you would just take a look at the map. Then you realize you left it at home. So you start the engine thinking that it was not that difficult to get there, it shouldn t be bad getting back home. When you glance down you notice that you are out of gas and you have no idea where a gas station is at. You have to ask. It is dark, you are alone, in a new place, and need something. When you ask you are told the most confusing long winded explanation of where the nearest gas station is. You tried to pay attention, but you are already nervous, your amygdala is sending fear signals diminishing the attention and memory. You try to get to the gas station, but now you are truly lost, and also afraid to ask. At this point your comfort level has gone so far that you might not be able to think clearly enough to remember the phone number of your colleague. This is what happens often times with us and with students too. A little bit of stress is exciting and causes one to pay attention. When there is no stress the ability to pay attention to details is limited. When the stress level is suddenly too much it inhibits the ability to remember things that normally would not be a problem and the ability to think clearly. These very same behaviors are noted in the animal kingdom but on a food, predator, and prey basis which carry the extra burden of meaning life or death. One area of cognition that animals in the wild may just have one up on us is in vigil attention. Animals in the wild are continuously receiving auditory, visual, and olfactory stimulations and must stay alert to these stimuli and their meanings. In the early 90s a study was published on visual stimulation and attention. They found that in a dark room if a visual stimulus remained strong that attention would also stay strong. Multiple afferences from the sub cortical nuclei affect the encoding in memory by the attention given to the stimulus. If the stimulus is unknown it will provoke a greater amount of attention and therefore a longer memory. Consider an animal which is hunted by humans whose senses are alerted to his presence, the animal will flee. Yet it may return to the same spot later, as though nothing happened. It could be that they have become so used

14 14 to stimulus that it no longer triggers a response, that s to say that the animal and hunter are not actively involved. The gun did not fire, the animal did not flee, the vigilant attention to the stimulus is lost and the animal returns to its normal spot. It is the same for humans when driving on a new road if the light turns red, visual stimulus, the driver will most likely stop. If driving the same road there s never another stimulus to indicate the need to stop the driver may continue. However, if the driver hears a horn when he approaches the light, auditory stimulus, he will probably stop. If the next time down this road he hears sirens, auditory stimulus, he has another reason to pay attention. If the following time pedestrians cross, visual stimulus, the pattern will slowly be processed that caution should be taken at the intersection. If for some reason there s no stimulus for an extended period of time, the driver will revert to the original pattern. For those of us animals with hands and opposable thumbs, memory and attention become more important in the use of tools as extensions of the body and permit a creativity signaling yet more cerebral growth and possibilities. If you have ever watched a young child struggling to learn to write you can understand how memory and attention must play an important part in this learning and neuronal and cerebral growth. Should you doubt the mental requirements of such a task on the brain as simple as writing, try to write I am happy I have a thumb without using it and without moving your wrist. Now try the same thing using the opposite hand, but with the use of your thumb and wrist. We adult humans tend to take for granted the uses of the human hand and opposing thumb. Just try to pick up a piece of paper without use of your thumb. The thumb alone allows us to pick up a rock or a baseball and hurl it, but it s precision is such that we can pick up a tiny bird without crushing it. These acts require muscle control to be sure, and muscle control requires specialized nerve cells to operate them accurately. Each movement of the hand generates the action of neurons which trigger other neurons. Simply imagine the amount of coordination between the hand and the eye if you were to wad up a piece of paper and throw it. Not only must employ the use of your thumb, hand

15 15 and wrist but the occipital lobe of the brain must coordinate itself with the movement of that hand which is controlled by another part of the brain called the primary motor cortex. This is where there is a lot of research being done in robotics and artificial limb use. More than anything this requires attention through the attention one may be able to move a robotic arm via brain signals. As good as this gift of a hand seems to be we are in trouble for survival for getting meat. Our hands may be free and we can use them in many ways, our feet allow us to travel quickly across the ground, but how are we going to kill a prey without those canines? This is where language, cooperation and tools come on to the stage. It is thought that the our brains enlarged due to the growth of certain regions like the parietal lobe and the cerebellum which are necessary for balance and coordination which are important in this newly developed form of walking. It is also thought that the human brain has grown and developed due to our extremely social nature. Due to our highly social nature communication, just as with animals, is very important. As it developed, different muscles were needed to move the mouth, tongue, and vocal chords. In addition the neuronal structure of the brain also developed areas such as Broca for speech and Wernecke for language recognition, both of which are in the left temporal lobe. To complicate issues a bit further, this ability to speak has been linked to a specific gene that humans have which is called the Fox-P2. It appears that language came about with the development of tools, art, and culture. We are certainly aware of what tools are, and that man is not the only one capable of inventing or using them. However, it is more difficult to say that animals have art, and is still of some debate if they possess culture. Or at least culture in the sense that we consider it to be culture, such as music, art, our own history. The appearance of complex cultures came gradually as a means to conquer goals together. Goals such as food for example, ancient tribes learned to work together if they wished to bring down a big mammal for meat, equally a tribe whose sustenance was from the sea also developed ways of working together to bring in more fish. From these basic differences we encounter a series of challenges which are different from most animals.

16 16 These differences lead us to learn from those around us with whom we share communication and ways to achieve goals that will serve ourselves and the group. Slowly over time social behavior or cognition, comparative cognition, evolutionary cognition, cultural factors and animal cognition have come into the light with many well known scientific researchers in fields of psychology, anthropology, primatology and ethology. With the University interest on social behavior and culture and my animal background this was the beginning of a new wonderful world filled with questions, questions, and more questions about the differences between their attention, memory, hand eye coordination, communication, and social behavior. I felt certain that my investigation of the behavior of social animals was leading to something. Sure enough, one day my friend, who had introduced me to the program, who was now in Japan, told me that the scientists in the primate laboratory that he was working in were interested in the new world primates and wanted to know if I would do a presentation for them on their cognitive behaviors in the wild. These were world renowned scientists and primatologists that I would be speaking to and I was by no means a biologist and I was a very far cry from being a primatologist, etiologist or ethologist. My advantage was, like I said before, that I was an avid journal keeper and had kept logs of the behaviors of the monkeys I had seen on all our other forest forays throughout the previous years in various parts of the region as well as of my own animals. For me the thought of sitting in the jungle day after day in the midst of the animals I loved was enchanting. My husband was signed on as my chauffer and official camera man. Of course doing a presentation for experts in their fields meant I was off again into books attempting to find out exactly what primate cognition consisted of and how to make comparisons with the animals in the wild.

17 17 Chapter 7: The Brain and Primate Cognition What is primate cognition? It is very much the same as human cognition, only we aren t able to ask them questions and get verbal answers the same way. Basically we want to know what they know and are capable of knowing, what they do and are capable of doing. So just where did primate cognition actually begin? Wolfgang Köhler wrote about the primates abilities at problem solving in a book titled The Mentality of Apes. He found that they were inventive enough to use wood crates as ladders to reach what they wanted just like toddlers do. They would also use sticks as extensions to reach for items. Köhler was in contra to the ideas of Thorndike who was of the opinion that it was all a matter of trial and error. Although it may be the case in some instances, it appears that many animals can think about an item for its potential use. Even though it got its original start in 1913 from Wolfgang Köhler its first really important first steps were actually the recordings of tool use by the chimpanzees in Gombe Park in east Africa by Jane Goodall. Primates, including homo sapiens developed different ways of coping with both their complex social world as well as their physical world. Primates are divided into two sectors, hominoids and hominids. Hominoids are similar to man like orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and gibbons. Hominids, however, are Homo sapiens not monkeys nor apes. These changes are reflected by our structural, anatomical, and behavioral differences. Hominids, or humans, are bipedal, their teeth and jaws are different in arrangement and structure, there are differences in the vocal tract that permit language as we know it and the FoxP2 gene, the brain size to body ratio is larger, we are bipedal and therefore have our hands free to explore and developed new behaviors and the use of complex tools. Our spinal column and pelvis permit us to walk up right. The spinal column enters the cranium vertically through the foramen magnum (which simply means a big opening) which permitted the head to be carried up right. Our shorter and wider pelvis also makes walking upright an easier task. Our legs are also different from our quadrupedal friends. The femur is longer and does not have the outwards curve as though one was raised

18 18 straddling a barrel. The patella, or knee, stretches fully and is not as limited in its flexibility. Our feet are also positioned differently, directly beneath the body permitting us balance which is aided by our big toe allowing us this special means of movement. Our big toe is in alignment with our other toes and does not shoot off at an angle. The angle may be good for holding on to tree limbs, but not so good for balance on flat surfaces. Our ankle is also strong with articulations which permit far more movements which also aid in our terrestrial balance. If you have ever been in a cast you realize the importance of the flexibility of those ankles. In addition to bipedalism we hominids have that special gift a hand. Although the old and new world monkeys don t share completely our bipedal behavior, they do have hands and large brain to body ratios; and many of them are capable of making and implementing the use of tools making strong connections with the brain and its growth potential. In addition to these physical traits, We human-primates also share many behaviors with our non-human primate cousins and many other social animals as well. They use tools for many purposes as extensions of their bodies to assist in accomplishing certain tasks, they cooperate with each other in given tasks, they can be manipulative or altruistic, they are conscious of hierarchies, they can recognize family members and self, and in some cases they can use symbols and language. There those however who refute these findings as is the case with all scientific studies. In 1978 Premack and Woodruff wrote articles on chimpanzee behavior questioning the possibility of Theory of Mind. Theory of Mind appears to be one of the most important and pressing of the primate cognition aspects and has been expounded upon by renowned scientists (which are listed as resources at the back of this book and in the bibliography). What is it? Well, the whole Theory of Mind hypothesis is based upon if animals especially primates can recognize themselves and through that recognition expand it to empathy. Are they capable of recognizing themselves in a mirror like small children can? It appears that some species of non-human primates do have the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror

19 19 such as chimpanzees and orangutans. With Theory of Mind, or seeing ourselves we can adapt our behavior based on what we think the other might think, need or want. Theory of Mind also means one might be able to express empathy or be helpful. Can they for example see that you are trying to set the dining room table but have your hands full, drop something and they offer to help? According to some studies toddlers will perform this common courtesy which is relatively scarce now days, but appears to be innate at the early ages. Can they figure out what another s gaze is focused on and what it implies? How close do they come to understanding the way we do? Can they feel or empathize and understand? Can they understand what the other intends to do? What about the others perspective? Even for humans it is difficult to know what makes another feel pain, are non-human primates capable of understanding another s perspective? What about knowledge, do they have it? Do they know for example that the fig tree at the Sendero Laguna Meandríca will have fruit in December or is it accidental or by other sensory organs? What about other animals, do they have such ability? According to some articles, these things were purely human, especially when referring to social cognition. The most influential authors in this area are on different sides of the argument. One in his research feels that animals do have Theory of Mind while the other believes the opposite. One aspect of importance is that many studies of the Theory of Mind are carried out in laboratories. Behavior in the natural environment is very different than that of being cast in with those who are not from your own troop in an artificial environment. Just imagine the difference between your behavior at work, school, and with friends versus at home with family. Some believe that this is learned and it may very well be the case. So why is this all important? These monkeys like their old world cousins are used in research facilities and have a great impact on psychology and medical research in biomedical laboratories worldwide. They are also closely related on a molecular level and share both genetic similarities and a range of illness or diseases with humans in addition to their social behaviors. Currently the squirrel monkeys are used for research in spontaneous development of aortic and coronary atherosclerosis. In addition to those uses, their social behavior, so comparable to that of humans, allows another avenue for

20 20 investigation into human behavior, neuronal and cognitive development. Capuchins are used in the study of artificial robotic limbs and as service animals. New world primates have a complex social life, just as the old world primates, and require many social behaviors adapted to contend with the demands of large group interaction. If you can merely imagine the change that happens when one goes from their small primary school to a bustling middle or high school you can begin to get the feel for the changes the mind must make and the sensory overload of new faces, names, personalities and hierarchies. Primate brains have various parts which have adapted to contend with the social demands of perception, cognition, and decision making such as the cortex. There are two parts of the cortex or outer part of the brain, the neocortex and the limbic system. The limbic system is the more primitive brain which controls states of motivation in or basic urges. The neocortex however, only exists in mammals and helps them perceive the world around them. The primate brain has a large percentage devoted to the neocortex. In humans it composes 80% of the cranium with some 2500sq centimeters doubled and folded in what are known as surcos to fit inside the limited space, in other primates it is smaller. Rats and other animals do not have the expansive folded neocortex. The limbic system contains two key structures the amygdala and the hippocampus. The amygdala is for awareness to our surroundings allowing us to have necessary fears for survival and social skills. It works in association with the hypothalamus and the prefrontal cortex to control drive related behaviors. When the amygdala is stimulated the current action under way stops and attention increases dictating whether one should flee, fight, or relax. In addition to fear the amygdala keeps us in check for social norms of behavior. When the amygdala is damaged such as in the Klüver-Bucy Syndrome animals lose this respect for social norms. They become fearless not understanding social threats or gestures, placid, they exhibit excessive amounts of curiosity and sexual behavior. All and any stimulus receives attention, but not vigilantly so, they bounce from one curiosity to another ceaselessly. They are hypersexual mounting anything whether it be animate or inanimate. Take for example Pheneas Gage who had suffered a metal rod shooting

21 21 through the brain in the prefrontal cortex region. The prefrontal cortex is involved in self control and respecting the norms of our troop, society, or culture. It is like a check mechanism. Prior to Phineas Gage s accident he was known as a reliable, pleasant, respected, upstanding citizen always ready to help, however after the accident that part of his brain was damaged changing his behavior patterns. He became tactless, rude, and impulsive; he no longer observed the social norms and could no longer wait for rewards. His concentration and attention levels decreased, as did his initiative, intellect and abstract reasoning. Looking at some of our social dilemmas in society today causes one to wonder if it is our upbringing or if it may be some disruption in the amygdala due to genetics or environmental alterations which might be causing some of the social woes of today such as inordinate amounts of aggression, hyper sexuality, and lack of attention. Are there possibly links between pollution which may be invoking neuronal changes? The other part of the limbic system is the hippocampus which is the part of the brain in control of some memory and spatial orientation. For example it is a road map, somewhat like remembering your way through the city streets to work, school, home, grocery store and friends houses. It is also responsible for new memory formation. Disturbances in the hippocampal region can cause certain losses of memory while others remain intact. One may forget that they were at a party, but not forget how to write or to ride a bike. One important part of the hippocampus is its dependence on Theta waves. When there are disruptions in the Theta waves during sleep there may be severe disruptions in memory as well. The hypothalamus is a major pathway for autonomic, endocrine, emotion and somatic signals. It is in charge of vasodilation, rage and other emotions, eating behavior, body temperature regulation, sleep, certain movements and hormones such as oxytocin (which means rapid birth in Greek) and vasopressin. Oxytocin is a peptide which causes the uterus to contract and milk to flow and vasopressin also known as Anti-diuretic hormone is responsible for re-absorption of water in the kidneys. Some eating disorders are thought

22 22 to be due to problems in the hypothalamus. Vasodilation, rage, and eating behaviors all undergo changes during stress helping the animal into fight or flight. The amygdala and prefrontal cortex help rationalize the responses. Several areas of the brain which are triggered during automatic social behaviors, such as: thalamus, ventral striatum, somatosensory, amygdala, basal forebrain, hypothalamus, and periaqueductal gray matter. The thalamus is a large egg shaped mass near mid brain which is basically like an international post office. It takes in messages from all parts of the brain and sends them out to others. When the packages don t have the proper zip code or country problems develop and that is what happens in circumstances like that of Phineas Gage and people who have suffered cerebral damage. The thalamus is involved in motivation, memory, vision, hearing, and speech. The striatum is linked with the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex for higher cognitive functions such as control and reasoning. The striatum stays informed via the neurotransmitter dopamine about most of the aspects of cortical functions. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the ventral tegmental area (a neurotransmitter is like a radio sending and receiving signals) which is important in the function of the frontal lobes. In addition to being important in memory, attention, and problem solving; dopamine plays a role in reward, punishment and gratification. Additionally, the insular and somatosensory cortices are activated by feelings of sympathy, guilt, and empathy. Although there are many variations by species, in general they share patterns such as social hierarchy and interaction, inquisitiveness, learned behavior by observation of their biological progenitor and others in the troop. Other behaviors include grooming, foraging, and dominant/submissive behaviors. Communication behavior consists of vocalizations, postures, gestures, physical movements like jumping, facial expressions, object manipulation, all of which have different meanings ranging from an invitation to play or intent to attack. Even in infants there have been studies conducted on their abilities to choose between good and bad, and facial recognition.

23 23 These recognitions and our outer cortex provide us the opportunity to discover ourselves by looking at others. It is similar to looking at ourselves as adults and realizing just where we got certain physical and personality traits. As we mature we take on traits that we have learned from those around us, but we do not incorporate all of them. Some of the traits we want but do not have and others we simply want to get rid of. Being aware of these traits helps us to understand why we are the way we are what we can do to change, one of those special perks of being human. When we understand or can see how our parents or siblings treated us, we can take notice of how we treat our children and spouse, the similarities and the disparities. We can find out what provokes our anger and find ways to manage it. We can find what stimulates our interest and how to exploit it. We can discover our fears, from where they came, any value in them, and manners to release their control. This is the same in a social sense as well, as we discover how other social animals work within their groups we can discover how behaviors can be adapted, changed, or left intact to bring about a better ability to work together. We have the advantage of analysis and what is known as Theory of Mind on our side that our animal may not have, but which we are looking for in the wild. We can understand the others point of view from an early age, known in these studies as empathy, but can they? Humans can be altruistic, can other primates in their complex social worlds? Thus I arrived with my main job at the university doing primate cognition and comparative studies on new world monkeys, their social behavior and brain development; which over time led my husband and I to study many more of Costa Rica s rich social animals.

24 24 Chapter 8: What s one Monkey s got that the other doesn t? So you might be asking; just what exactly is the difference between old world monkeys and new world monkeys. Well I will tell you it has to do with a lot more than just their place of residence. Geological evidence indicates that in the cretaceous period about million years ago the Pangaea had its second separation breaking into several distinctive land masses two, of which, Central/South America and Africa, although not the only ones, would provide homes to very different species of non human primates. These two main continents would play home to these monkeys which have graced the Hollywood stages with their adaptability, charmed their way into people s hearts, and garnered the attention of the scientific community through their comparable behaviors. The two continents very similar in plant life and terrain but separated by several thousand miles of ocean have distinct species roaming the grounds. The primates that live in these diverse areas are different, not only because of their geographical locations, but also due to their body shapes and their habits, and of course their social brains. History of the primates dates back to approximately 65 million years ago with the oldest known primate being Plesiadapis. The new world monkeys are dated back to around 40 million years ago. The common thought is that there was a separation between the two branches of primates and that the new world monkeys arrived to the continent adrift vegetation rafts across the expansive Atlantic ocean. There are actually five families of New World Monkeys and Costa Rica proudly boasts four species from three different families in her tropical forests, the agile and elusive spider monkey, the slow but loud howler monkey, the active and diminutive squirrel monkey, and the inquisitive capuchin monkeys. For some people all this animal family naming that was initiated by Linnaeus in 1758 to make categorizing different species more simple actually makes us a little crazy. But let s break it down to some smaller sizes. The monkeys in Costa Rica are all in the Animal Kingdom (Kingdom: Animalia) just like we humans, they also have a spinal cord (Phylum: Chordata), well then they belong to

25 25 mammal class like we might belong to the middle class (Class: Mammalia). Now then since there might be a wide variety of races in the middle class like Asian, Caucasian, Latino, African, etc., we have to be a little more specific such as, the order of primates (Order: Primates). Not only do we have to get down to races in the class, but the differences between say a person from one country and one from another even though they may be on the same continent. That brings us to a suborder, these primates called Haplorrhini (Suborder: Haplorrhini), which means dry nosed primates; and now for the last descriptive name we have the infraorder (which in plain English means that they are inside the suborder) Simiiformes (Infraorder: Simiiformes). Simiiformes means higher primates such as monkeys and apes. And since we have two types of these that are very different we give them the names platyrrhini for the New World flat nosed Monkeys and catyrrhini for the Old World narrow nosed Monkeys. Just like there are a lot of dry nosed primates out there, there are also a lot of flat nosed ones in the new world, and of course the only catarrhinis in the new world are us humans. At this point we start to get far more specific just like in our families, with first and last names, although they are used in reverse. Think about one of those teachers who at one point called you by your last name and then your first. The capuchins and squirrel monkeys belong to the Cebidae family, it is a little bit like the last name Jones, meaning there can be more with the same first and last name. The howler belongs to the Alouatta and spider monkeys belong to the Atelidae family. So, if you were one of those types of teachers that called role by last name first, you would call Cebidae, Capuchin and Atelidae, Spider. As if that is not enough name calling for you, there are four cousins of Capuchin in Central and South America, named Cebidae; Apella, Capucinus, Nigrivittatus, and Albifrons. The new world monkey doesn t only have a platyrrhine nose with outward nostrils, but also often times has a prehensile tail, and lacks the prominent ischial callosities (that s the swollen lumps on the rump) of Old World Monkeys. They also have rounded heads and lack the flat skulls with prominent brow ridges that make the gorilla and chimpanzee look so contemplative and intense and they have the ability to bear twins. Their habitats and

26 26 behaviors also differ. Old world monkeys are typically ground dwellers, whereas new world monkeys are mostly arboreal spending as much as 80 to 90% of their time foraging in the canopies which requires a different types of anatomy such as dental, the digestive system, and the arms and legs. New world monkeys have a different number of teeth than their old world relatives. New world monkeys have 36 teeth while old world monkeys have only 32 and the new world monkeys also don t have check pouches. Because of their arboreal habitat, most New world monkeys have polymorphic color vision (which means light that exhibits more than one color) some like the howler monkeys have trichromatic color vision (which means three wave lengths of light allowing the maximum range of colors to be seen) like humans and Old World monkeys. Howlers which eat a diet primarily of leaves like the gorillas of Africa may have developed trichromatic color vision to aids them in leaf selection. Digestive systems vary from species to species too amongst the new world monkeys. Just like people from different regions are used to different fruits and vegetables, so are new world monkeys. Squirrel monkeys have no qualms about eating unripe fruits whereas Spider monkeys find them completely unpalatable. Spider monkeys are very, very picky eaters and only want the sweet tasting ripe fruits. Capuchins aren t quite as finicky as spider monkeys and are willing to beg or steal from tourists or trash cans; however they prefer a ripe fruit to a green one and a pejibaye or fruit from the Palma Real (Scheelea Rostrata) to that of a banana. The squirrel, spider, and capuchin will all eat bugs and meat, the howler however will not. The howler monkey is a vegetarian much like a pasture animal and has an intestinal tract designed with an especially large lower intestine to extract the most nutrients from its food source. Each species is equipped with anatomical/physiological differences related to their means of travel through the forest. The busy little Squirrel monkeys have legs which are built for leaping with short strong thighs allowing them to jump and stick a landing like a gymnast and therefore have no need for a prehensile tail. Spider monkeys, on the other hand, are equipped with long limbs and a prehensile tail allowing them to swing swiftly through the canopy like the flying trapeze artists in a circus. The large slow moving howlers have

27 27 neither need for long limbs nor strong muscled legs for leaping they move around nearly as slowly as a sloth just not with the same exaggerated movements. Howlers have another special feature which the others lack; a more efficient means of communication. They have a loud howl like a pack of basset hounds on a hunt which resonate through the forest. The main purpose for this loud howl is for the preservation of energy and to diminish the chances of inadvertently entering someone else s territory resulting in a fight. Walking quadrupedally and sometimes leaping the capuchins have well developed musculature like the beautiful physique of the chimpanzee only with a prehensile tail for balance and rapid escape. Just as with these other adaptations their breeding and reproductive behaviors are different. The males and females are usually easy to distinguish in most of the new world monkeys by their sexual dimorphism (difference in size by sex) and visible genitalia. Male capuchins are larger than their female counterparts. Females will get up to 40.5 cm (16 inches) tall excluding their tail and males can reach 46cm (18 in) tall. They won t really reach full adult size until about the age of eight and with a maximum lifespan of 55 years, they have plenty of time to grow and mature. Only the spider monkey is difficult to distinguish. Like old world monkeys, new world monkeys are also polyestrous (they can come into heat at various times), but that does not necessarily mean that they will conceive. Some new world primates exhibit an obvious menstrual cycle like that in humans, however they lack the turgescense (swelling) and red-purple color indicative of estrous. Gestation periods vary from 164 days to 230 days depending on the species, and some are capable of having twins even though this is rare. New world monkeys also suffer some of the same pregnancy complications as humans such as dystocia (difficult birth), endometriosis, and toxemia, making them invaluable to science as well as nature. The young are commonly weaned between the ages of 6 and 12 months depending on the species. The capuchins in Costa Rica are different from their South American cousins, Apella. First of all we see a difference in their appearance; Cebus Capucinus are black with white face and chest whereas the Apella are brown or red-brown. Secondly Cebus Capuchin behavior

28 28 appears to be less aggressive than that of the South American Apella, at least in our studies thus far. Other than that, their main behaviors are eating, sleeping, grooming and playing. Like teenagers these guys live to eat! As a matter of fact it is their great past time. They pass through their 80 hectare (1sq. Mile) territory of forest canopies with the incomparable hunger and nearly indiscriminate tastes of a growing adolescent. Anything in their path is a possible food source from banana flowers and palm nuts to bats, bark, and juvenile Coati. Their general sleep habits are also like school kids as well, they can sleep in all sorts of positions and in any place at any time, making it difficult to find them during nap time when they are quietly hidden behind the foliage. All in all they behave quite a lot like kids, they are filled with energy when they are young and tend to slow down when they reach maturity taking on a more relaxed attitude with food, sleep, and play. When they are juveniles you can easily hear them running and jumping through the canopy often tackling each other or free falling like bungee jumpers. They are very social as well; usually they form groups of up to 30, but are more likely to be found around in smaller units of In general, their groups are a mix of males, females, and juveniles all who give each other space. They don t have constant contact like the squirrel monkeys do. Most males leave the troop when they reach puberty. Like many young men they forge friendships with other bachelors while searching out their own territories and mates. Like any large group on the move most troops are fairly noisy, with the exception of bachelors. The bachelor groups must be quiet as they are usually sneaking along in someone else s territory. Adult males do not take kindly to trespassers. As with most forest animals fights over territory have severe consequences for all parties involved just as in many human territorial or mating rights. Therefore, animals, apparently unlike humans, avoid these conflicts as much as possible avoiding intruding into someone else s territory. It is still unsure exactly if they have the prefrontal cortex for controlling their basic urges to mate or eat or if it is fear induced by the function of the amygdala.

29 29 Unfortunately, as with anyplace, territories often overlap and conflict must be circumvented. They do this much like the wolves do, making vocalizations, which reverberate through the trees like the thunder of the Indian war drums on the plains, to announce their location and avoid crossing each others path. Aided with years of naturalistic observations and my husband s support I thus began in earnest my search for the telling signs of a socially developed brain in the wild forests of the central valley and the pacific coast of Costa Rica. It is quite a different thing to do observations from a detached spectator stand point versus being accepted by and in the midst of the creatures you love. Just as it is impossible to express in words the awe one feels when seeing the great migration in Africa with its infinite number of animals, it is equally difficult to convey the emotion of being in the forest with the monkeys. When you have passed day after day in the forest, stomping through the swamp and fighting off mosquitoes, viewing them as a spectator views a ball game, that moment in which the monkeys relax their guard and come down to inspect you is completely overwhelming and inexplicable. It is like catching a pop fly at a baseball game you just become part of it! I thought that Jane Goodall must have felt the very same over powering emotion when she was in Africa with her chimpanzees. And thus it was with my capuchins, Cebus that is, of whom we made the most recordings and notes on psychological and cognitive behavior. Although we have notes and observations from various parks in Costa Rica, our main troops reside in Carara National Park on the coastal highway to the surfers paradise of Jacó, and more specifically on Sendero Laguna Meandríca.

30 30 Chapter 9: First sightings of a Monkey God Our first days in Carara were blessed with reasonably nice weather, but very few sightings of the monkeys. We sat many a morning like any hunter or fisherman knows waiting for the signs of their presence. Often times, especially when the rains came we would trudge for hours through the swampy mosquito infested trails only to find not even one sign of the monkeys. It was at those times that we would find a myriad of other social animals lurking about to be photographed and recorded. While sitting one morning on a log alongside the steamy trail that ran parallel with the Tárcoles River, noting our whereabouts with the GPS and the amount of time we had been searching, the elusive yet beautiful green poison dart frog made an appearance. The amphibian life in the forest of Carara Park is vast and thanks goodness for that because they are certainly needed for bug control! It was very seldom that we did not see lizards, frogs, skinks and the like, but that was not what we were looking for. Many days we left with nothing more than mosquito bites and chigger infested clothes. Mosquito bites were tolerable, nothing a little bug repellent wouldn t take care of, and only if we were unlucky enough to get one which carried the bot worm larva on her stinger or dengue did we really have to be concerned. But, the month long itching, oozing, burning bites of the chiggers was intolerable. The ensuing blisters from the saliva they emitted and the trying to pull them out without detaching their heads was an extra job. Repellent was a must! And whoever invented it a saint! Over time we had learned more ways of keeping those nasty critters off of us, but it was difficult when you had to venture into the forest off the park trails. Stepping into the brush meant stirring up these nasty little boogers from their home in the carpet of leaves while ducking through spider webs, avoiding the

31 31 numerous trees that had inch long poisonous spikes and watching for deadly snakes hanging on the branches or slithering in front of your feet. We had hired a guide one day because it was becoming a daunting task of going but rarely seeing anything but lizards and frogs. The guide we had was a knowledgeable local named David who had his own nature tour company and came highly recommended. He knew the monkeys well, their calls and more or less their usual whereabouts and food sources. Best of all, David was not at all like the many campesinos and some other guides who told fables and stories of monkeys hanging themselves in branches for loss of their position or of them killing giant snakes and other such nonsense which had been passed down through generations and were very seldom true. He was a quiet sort who simply appreciated nature and took the time to show it. He led us to them. They were very high up in the fig tree when we finally spotted them and we could only see them through the binoculars and the high powered Swarovski scope. It was dry season and the fig trees had plenty of fruit and shade. Even though they were 150 feet up, we were elated to have found at least one of their usual feeding sites. On that early morning we had our first viewing of a troop which we would come to know as Apollo s troop. This was but one of our groups that we would come to know, and it would be the friendliest one. We named the alpha male Apollo for his beauty and behavior. Apollo was every bit the Greek god of monkeys. He had an excellent figure and a beautiful and powerful looking back. He had no difficulties to stand up erect or put on an aire of superiority. It is much more difficult to describe in an animal that one may have never seen and very difficult to compare to a human because we might confer the thought of arrogance to his natural beauty. However, if you have ever seen a horse that is walking with its head up high and tail slightly elevated in comparison to one who is walking with its head hung low you will have an idea of just what he exhibited. He reeked of pride, authority and power. If

32 32 he gave us this type of impression one must wonder if the females in group felt the same. Apparently they did since there didn t seem to be any threat to his position. Apollo was not particularly big, quite the contrary, he had the average stature and really didn t appear any different than his slightly smaller female counterpart. But it was his posture, his muscle tone, and his vocal call that all resonated his power. We don t know how long he has held his throne or how long he will continue to maintain his position as is the case with most primate species and many other animals, positions of rank and power change based on the others in the group. One day he will have to give up his position to yet another whom the females find more powerful, interesting, attractive and enticing. Right now though he reigned king, knight in shining armor, and prince all wrapped up in one for his females. From now on we would have a place to start! We knew the territory now and the way through the dense jungle. David had left to attend to his business with the tourists so we began to go on our own taking the hour to hour and a half drive through the winding two lane road with hairpin curves to arrive at the park. Many times we could find the monkeys by their loud rambunctious behavior as they traveled through the canopy leaping from branch to branch. Other times we would watch for signs of their location by the Scarlet Macaws; Agouti pacas; and Coatis which were like little stalkers both of us and of the monkeys. Scarlet Macaws frequent the park but appear in the largest groups in May making a ruckus while gorging on the Palma Real fruits. Coati s are raccoon like creatures that usually follow the monkeys through the forest in search of leftovers dropped from the fruit trees and palm nuts. The Agouti pacas are another source of information about the whereabouts of the capuchins. Agouti pacas are recognizable by their stench! They smell somewhere between male rabbit urine and a skunk and look like a brown cross between a rabbit and a rat without a tail. We very seldom see them as they are extremely shy and flee at the slightest sound, but the smell travels a good distance and causes the eyes to water like sniffing ammonia.

33 33 We went with the same clothes and the same gear each time hoping that they would somehow become more accustomed to us. That they would let down their guard and allow us to approach and be approached. Finally after many mornings spent stomping through the woods with cricked necks and chigger bites they came down for inspection. Knowing where to find them was nine-tenths of the job. Spotting a beauty like Apollo was like spotting a bright red ruby in sand. It was not only Apollos stature and physical beauty that made him special, but his strong character and behavior. There was no mistaking that he was boss the day his youngsters decided to investigate us. The youngsters, like most, had more curiosity than fear, but Apollo wanted us to understand that even if his troop was investigating us, that it was his territory! He made his way quadrupedally (on all fours) about 9 feet above my head. At first his posture seemed to be between curiosity and flight. After he had assured himself that I was not going to do him any harm he went over to the branch that was out to the left of me, still keeping his distance. It was interesting to see that throughout our investigations of the different troops, they normally positioned themselves no closer than 9 feet to us. I wondered if it could be that a predator at such a distance didn t or wouldn t have the opportunity to strike. Furthermore, it made me curious to if they had the possibility to judge distance, not only for leaping but for safety, and if so was this yet another indication to their cognitive ability on a time and space level? However, that was a question that I would not be able to answer anytime soon and without funding the lab couldn t help with it either. From his new vantage point Apollo stood upright on his hind legs, extending his sleek, toned torso to its fullest as if to show me how big and intimidating he was. He surveyed his surroundings and then reached out with his hands and shook a branch that was growing vertically in an intimidating fashion. Animals have their many ways of communicating to each other as well as to us, as any pet owner knows, and we were in for a variety of different communications over time with these monkeys. Apollo s branch pulling and erect posture was a definite technique used to show his position and power both within his group and directed at us interlopers. Just like

34 34 humans they are often seen carrying out the same sort of posturing behaviors when they first meet each other in an attempt to show their position and power in a more peaceable fashion, like a father meeting his daughters boyfriend. After Apollo had had his gaze fixed on me for a while he relaxed then laid down on the branch as though he had no concern for me any longer. I had been dismissed as worthy of his attention since I was neither a female monkey nor a threat. I was concerned that if I looked directly at him that I might cause anxiety, possibly like that which happens with the chimpanzees or gorillas where it could be taken as a threat. I wanted him to come closer not flee. Thankfully, I could let the camera capture him. Unfortunately that day our video camera had failed and we were only left with a small digital snapshot that had a video mode which I used in just such cases of emergency. I had to step through the entangled vines and beneath the leaves of the spiny waree palm (Acrocomia vinifera) but it was sufficient to capture him and not frighten him. It is difficult to not be taken in by the beauty that surrounds one in the forests especially when an animal in all its beauty begins to be as mesmerized by you as you are of him. Often times we are so captivated by one animal that we scarcely realize the presence of another. That was the case while I stood there enthralled with the beautiful Apollo draped over the low hanging branch of a tree. I heard rustling around my feet as I stood there like a statue hardly daring to breath, when I looked a young coati was gathering up scraps that the monkeys had dropped or caused to fall from their jumps through the trees. I stood as still as I could trying not to blink so as to not scare him away. His fur was blond brown and sleek as if he had used heavy conditioner. He made little grunts like a pig while he rooted around on the ground. I had wondered how close he would get when all of a sudden he noticed me and with a startle he fled at top speed. Apollo was still keeping an eye on me. He was apparently a very good alpha male and did the job well of protecting and looking out for his troop. His troop went about moving as normal while he stayed on guard watching me and his surroundings. His youngsters would drop in suddenly for a peak at me while their mothers were busy grooming or foraging. I thought it was quite funny the way they would be playing with each other and then

35 35 unexpectedly stop, drop down from their tail and just stare at me as if trying to figure out who I was and why Apollo let me be there, like kids who are curious about their parents visitor and are sneaking a peak and whispering. Apollo did not seem to have to react in an insecure aggressive manner with his troop. They all seemed to pay attention to him and respect his status. Although we cannot say that his troop actually followed him in the truest sense since they are usually so spread out in the canopy and moving in many directions at once, but it appears that when he decides to get up and move in a particular direction the entire troop goes too. In contrast to other observations of these monkeys in other areas we never saw Apollo or his troop, or any other troops, act out in an aggressive manner. I am not sure if it is due to the area, the species, or that some information had been taken as the gospel even if it had never been verified.

36 36 Sendero Laguna Meandrica in mid rainy season. Apollo

37 37 Chapter 10: The Devil, The Cricket, and The Angel It has been long considered that primates, including new world primates, share a larger brain to body ratio due to their social complexity. The Machiavellian Intelligence (aka Social brain) theory focuses on certain behaviors such as altruism and deception as a base of social behavior. In these investigations we watched for cues to altruism, deception, or aggression and really did not see any strong behaviors of this type. According to one study empathy induced altruism inhibits aggression and that may be what we are seeing here, but to truly know if new world monkeys, such as capuchins, had such a behavior would require seeing it in the lab and the wild both and making correlations based on both outcomes. If empathy is shown by day old human infants crying more when hearing others cry then when one monkey screeches out of predator fear and others join in the chorus, are they not showing empathy? In the 1964 study by Masserman et al, rhesus monkeys refused to send a shock to another monkey even though they would receive a food reward for the action, could this not be considered altruistic behavior? In an article by Byrne chimpanzees would not behave out of spite, like humans do, hurting both themselves and others if they did not get what they were expecting. For example, if a human does not get a certain desired object they may destroy it so that no one else can have it either and this doesn t seem to be the case with chimpanzees. It would be curious to know if it is the same with the capuchins. Would they destroy the figs out of anger if they were expecting pejibaye or Palma Real fruits? As for altruistic behavior we could signal to their alarm calls and food calls. They have an alarm call for all when there is a perceived threat, which by law of survival of the fittest should not take place considering that with less competition there s more food. Furthermore, capuchins loudly announce food supplies which is also in contrast to the more for me attitude. But the question is should we really call this altruistic behavior? Is it a sign of a more developed prefrontal cortex and amygdala or what used to be known as social intelligence?

38 38 Toddlers exhibit natural helpfulness as any mother can attest to when they had dropped something the child will most likely pick it up or if they have too much to carry offer to help. If Cebus Capucinus are used to aid disabled people, as are service dogs, then they might have a similar social cognition or empathy similar to that of toddlers. However the call for food or predator may be something natural and similar to the common courtesy or helpfulness of a toddler. Perhaps the natural behavior of food or predator call is what s being built upon for service animals which must anticipate what their owner needs. One day while Narcissus and Echo were foraging on Pentaclethra macroloba branches, which is similar to an acacia tree, Chronus kept watch. It appears that capuchins always seem to have someone on watch, as though they have their own gate guard. When on watch their body postures are attuned. Chronus sat ready to send an alarm call at any sign of danger as he scanned the thick forest canopy. It seems that they take turns as to who is on guard duty. Watching out for each other could be altruistic behavior. Apollo watched out for his troop, including young males which could one day usurp his position as leader. It could be considered altruistic behavior. Making the whereabouts of food known to the others may also be a sign of altruism. Would humans do this or would they keep it all for themselves? Would these monkeys deceive each other gorging themselves first? We hadn t seen any sort of deception such as this and the closest we had noted to deception was with Necia and Apollo one morning. Necia was intent to have a Palma Real fruit that Apollo had in his hand. It appeared as though Apollo was testing Necia. He squatted on the branch with his left hand outstretched with the nice yellow ripe tantalizing fruit just sitting there in his palm tempting her all the while that he gazed into the distance in the opposite direction. Necia hung on with her tail wrapped around a lower branch stretched out as far as she possibly could, as though to flee at a moment s notice. Apollo sat with his tail hanging straight down in a relaxed pose. Suddenly Necia could no longer take the temptation and quickly reached out to snatch the fruit out of Apollo s hand. Apparently Necia felt that her supplicating whimpers which she had been making all the while were enough to gain her

39 39 the fruit. Apollo however was not pleased. As soon as she had touched the fruit Apollo swung around chasing her off with a couple chastising chirps. She was reprimanded in this way and he had hardly chased her 3 feet before he let her be and walked off to laze in the sun. He did not show any of the tell tale signs of aggression such as grabbing or biting. It was as though he were teaching a child that he had told not to touch the cookies and then watched to see if she would follow his orders or disobey. From a psychological point was this trickery on behalf of Apollo? Was it an intentional test created to teach a younger member proper group behavior? Furthermore, it was done in a mature and controlled manner, not as a reaction. If they were so aggressive wouldn t the attempted theft by the insolent youngster engender a harsher reprimand? If it was intentional and created then this behavior could hold a great deal of information about these small arboreal primates and their mental capacities. In place of aggressive behavior they seem to employ an assertive control over their reactions implying reason. Perhaps one of the best examples of aggression we could give was of Sugar s offspring. Sibling rivalry is just one of those facts of life which apparently exist in the capuchin world as well. One muggy morning we watched while Sugar fed one of her female offspring Spicy Pepper while Little Salty Sally watched. Little Salty Sally awaited her turn for a little while until that childlike patience ran out and she too wanted to nurse. As soon as she tried Spicy Pepper lunged at her with ferocious chirp, almost like children would do when saying get away from that it s mine! Twice Little Sally stretched with her tailed looped around a branch behind her and both times she was rebuked. She sat there looking as though she were asking please. When nothing was permitted she curled herself into a fetal crouched position on the branch and began to shake her fluffy tail wildly. It appeared like a nervous reaction or a tantrum that a human might have. Sugar appeared to have favorites of these two offspring. It was hard to tell if they were twins or from different seasons, however Spicy Pepper was bigger and obviously more assertive. Spicy Pepper decided to walk down the branch just like a cat might do to the lower limbs joining another youngster named Peekers. Sugar followed Spicy Pepper down

40 40 to the fork in the branch that she had gone to, leaving Little Salty Sally alone. It was only a few seconds though before Little Salty Sally said wait for me. Peekers laid contently in the fork beneath Sugar and Spicy Pepper, peeking down at us uninterested in the grooming going on. At this point Spicy Pepper began to groom Sugar, while Peekers rolled over on her back ignoring us completely. Sugar seemed to ignore the arrival and petition from Little Salty Sally. It did not stop Sally though, she looked up at her mother with her lips in a supplicating type of purse, as though she were asking again for the right to suckle when suddenly she stopped and dropped her little chin on a branch with her mother s arm laying along the side of her face and took a quick glance at us. It was as if she had been told we were there, just like so frequently seen with Apollo s troop. Sally sat there as though she was unwanted all the while that Spicy Pepper groomed their mother. Peekers was busy grooming herself by this point, but Sally just sat with what looked like a dejected look. She finally went under her mother and up behind her and began to groom her back. She moved around to the front, it seemed as though she were going to try again to suckle, but then proceeded to groom her hands. She never did get to suckle like Sweetness was on the branch below with her mother. I wondered why Sally and her mother had this odd behavior. It could have been that it was time to be weaned, but Sugar had fed Spicy Pepper who was much larger and appeared older. Sugar behaved as though she hardly noticed the presence of Sally at all, unlike Sweetness and her mother. Sweetness s mother was peacefully curled in the fork and hardly visible while Sweetness suckled and smacked contentedly, only pulling away momentarily to look at us. For the most part it appears that capuchins seem to be assertive and in control of their reactions. Narcissus another male was not at all the beauty like we encountered with Apollo, but his behavior was fitting to a mature future troop leader. We witnessed Narcissus behaving with the same mature attitude as Apollo towards an eager youngster.

41 41 Chronus on lookout in a Pentaclethra macroloba Spicy Pepper, Salty Sally, And Sugar Spicy Pepper, Salty Sally, Sugar, and Peekers grooming.

42 42 Sweetness peeking out on left of branch after suckling Los Playeros rummaging through washed up items on the beach with a raccoon.

43 43

44 44 The youngster may have been a previous offspring of Echo, but that did not permit him the right to interrupt the pair. This juvenile was persistent in his request for attention until Narcissus had had enough. Narcissus and Echo ceased their caressing and in one quick movement Narcissus was on the other side of Echo lurching towards the impertinent youngster much as a human parent would tell their children that is enough now. Again we waited to witness one such event of the violent reactions so talked about. Even on this account though Narcissus only appeared to be mildly irritated and reacted much like a mature father figure would. As Narcissus had sprung towards the juvenile so swiftly chattering at him his discontent, the juvenile seemed to have gotten the message that they were not to be disturbed. It would be interesting to know which of their means of communication had more effect, if mostly by the vocalizations or more by body and eye movements. We will come to communication later. Through these visits with Apollo and his family, I never quite got the feel of an aggressive animal only an innately curious one. It s not to say that I never saw them be aggressive at all it was just that it was minimal. The most aggressive behavior seen was directed at another species. It was directed at a coati who had dared to climb the palm tree and eat from it; he was chased and barked at by the Cebus Capucinus. This was absolutely fabulous to me to have captured some of these behaviors on film of Necia, Spicy Pepper, and Narcissus. Was Apollo testing Necia? Why weren t they aggressive? Why were they only aggressive against the Coati? Would Spicy Pepper become more aggressive? Was it due that food was plentiful? All of these behaviors revolved around food. In my previous research with dogs, another very social and adaptable animal I had seen them have aggressive behaviors over food even when another food bowl was within reach and full. But even when it came to food the capuchins didn t appear to be aggressive. We did not see the food aggression that has been sighted in the brown capuchins. There were at any given time two to five animals on one stalk of palm nuts. Even in the larger fig trees

45 45 they did not show a food aggression, they sat in their own space and ate. At one point we filmed some youngsters which were interested in the food that another youngster had, again there was curiosity, and a refusal to give the food away, but no outright aggression as seen in other primates. Modern humans too will fight over something plentiful or reprimand a subordinate with violence if one is stealing or interrupting. It is difficult to know if it is the amygdala or the prefrontal cortex which control aggression or deception. Tests on aggression and deception are still being carried out in primate research facilities around the world. Some big questions come to mind with these small monkeys, the same that came to the minds of scientists studying the great apes such as the chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas: How much alike are we? Where along our paths, and why, did we change from peace loving to aggressive behavior? Does this require a greater mental capacity, a more primitive mind or simply a different geographic location? What is it that creates our helpful courteous behavior? What about theft? Are animals capable too, and does it fall under deception? Well, when worshipping the sun in Manuel Antonio you must watch out for the thieves, the platyrrhine ones. Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular places in the Pacific region of Costa Rica. It is known for its beautiful white sand beaches, luxurious hotels, and exotic tropical flora and fauna. Hotels and houses are nestled in its forested hillsides are hotels overlooking the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean. The tourists come in droves to soak up the sun that dazzles across the sandy shores. While they do this the tiny little squirrel monkeys and the white faced capuchins come in to investigate. It is one of the easiest places, even though unnatural, to see the monkeys short of going to the zoo. It is strange sometimes to think that they might just be as curious about us as we are about them. Their curiosity leads them to trouble though. They have a tendency to approach the happy beach going tourist with a sadistic eye. Quickly they scan all that the tourist has laying around and just when the tourist gets excited to see the cute little monkey, it makes off with cameras, food, wet wipes, and which ever other item captured its fancy. It seems as

46 46 though they know that we simple humans find them cute and are as easily distracted as a man is by an attractive woman. Any sort of human material is worth investigation and destruction. Although it is doubtful that the monkeys destroy anything with the intent to destroy, they do make a mess of whatever they find that intrigues them. In the wild they would have no qualms whatsoever about ripping the bark off a tree or throwing nuts on the ground. They take this inquisitive behavior with them to the human articles available for exploration. The sad thing is to see how they have changed from their natural behavior. However, we can also make comparisons based on this adaptability which may show a little bit more about their level of intelligence and capability to manipulate or plan. In Manuel Antonio National Park the monkeys behave quite differently. They like people! They can tell time, the time when tourists are coming for lunch. And furthermore they really know how to intimidate their larger primate cousin! The Playero group was probably the most notorious for their mischievous thievery and deception. Along the beautiful sandy beach at Manuel Antonio National Park we watch as they intimidated and stole straight from the hands of the unsuspecting tourist or had watched with eager anticipation for them to leave their things unattended. These capuchins are scavengers which are quite differently behaved from their relatives in the forests of Carara National Park; they have been acclimated to the bad habits of tourists. Their innate curiosity has been peeked, as well as their thievery. One might wonder if they learned these scavenging techniques through the raccoons that travel with them along the ocean shore, or through their own inquisitive nature. Either way, they are good at it. Three capuchins and one raccoon sit together in the garbage that the tourists have left on the beach and that which has washed ashore, rummaging through it for some tasty morsel. They have

47 47 left their trusted hideaway and refuge in the trees to be down low where the picking is easy. Their usual fears of humans are now far from their minds, even the shrieks of upset women when one of the capuchins makes a quick getaway with a pack of hand wipes. These two are joined by three friends and they all sit together beneath the swaying coco plum trees. They spend the majority of their time on the ground squatted on rocks or drift wood which is very different from their arboreal behavior. Only thievery forced them to seek their natural refuge. The hand wipes were obviously not good tasting and were cast down to the ground with one good fling of the wrist. Apparently something in the manner of casting down the hand wipes alerted the others that it was not any edible delicacy, for they did not even bother to investigate it. Investigation requires curiosity, and if curiosity is a special cognitive trait, then they have it for more than just investigating tourist stuff, they seemed to want to know about us too. Apollo in subsequent visits has begun to pay less direct attention to us, although he still keeps us in view from various trees as though he is stalking us. Similar to the experiences described from previous investigators. Apollo s youngsters became more and more curious about us. They dropped leaves down at us as though they were invitations for something similar to what dogs do with bones and toys when they want another to play. Some of the adults had participated in this too. We were never quite sure what this behavior meant. Many times we understood that they were searching for food, larvae, on the bottom side of the leaves and were only dropping them when they were finished, but other times they would drop them deliberately and peer at us as though waiting for us to pick it up or answer them in kind. So far I haven t seen them have a similar behavior to the pouncing action that dogs do for initiating play. In these crazy little critters one can see an array of personality behaviors. Some of them are so open to communication and investigation of us, while others view us with a wary surreptitious glance, as though we may change into a monster at any moment. Their fear in this case is well founded since one of their predators just happens to be human hunters. Unfortunately over the years education against this hunting has yet to be done.

48 48 That aside, two characters are at completely different ends of the spectrum, Mr. Shy and Mr. Friendly. I know, not too inventive but descriptive enough. They are both members of the small bachelor group that roams throughout the park. Their personalities are thus that one must laugh. Mr. Shy was so shy that he would not let us film him. If my husband walked around to a better vantage point, he would move behind a leaf. When my husband moved yet again, Mr. Shy would do the same thing. Mr. Shy went to such extremes as to hide behind trunks, leaves, vines, basically anything that would block our view of him. However, he made sure that he could keep an eye on us. He would peak out from behind the foliage and the moment we would look up at him he would dart back behind it. In contrast to Mr. Shy, we had Mr. Friendly. Mr. Friendly didn t have any problems at all to look down at us, parade back and forth to show us his style and uniqueness. Now one thing about Mr. Friendly is that he seemed to have arrogance. He swaggered when he walked across the branches in his cat type stroll. He held his shoulders and neck straight and rigid as though he were a male gymnast getting ready to take on the rings. To go along with his gregarious personality, he appeared to be the leader of this little group and there s no doubt that if a predator doesn t take him, when he is fully grown he will be the leader of his own troop. Mr. Friendly is pretty easy to pick out since he has a big injury over his left eye. Curiosity was not only directed at us though. Einstein carried it to new heights of feigned interest in a palm leaf. Einstein earned his name not only for his hairdo but for his behavior too. He investigated everything. He investigated leaves, fruits, bark, branches and even things on leaves. His curiosity and that of the others kept provoking a thought in my mind that if one is curious then one has the potential to be creative.

49 49 Through these observations of the Cebus Capucinus it appears that they may be at an evolutionary pivoting point for development of a more complex social brain such as that of the homo sapiens. It is possible that the homo sapiens social brain may be more developed due not merely to social interactions and of altruism and deception, but possibly based on the development of greed or decadence which initiates or drives other social behaviors that don t seem to exist in the Cebus Capucinus. Do multi-interactions like that of human beings that begin post preschool age require more cognitive skill or is it due to a more developed sense of self and seeing that the other has more which initiates an explosion in cognitive capacities in order to deceive for personal gain?

50 50 Chapter 11: Hungry Monkeys When monkeys are hungry, they go through the forest like a hungry teenager at a buffet, just about anything is considered possible food. Since their food source is different than the apellus, so too is their mandibula; it is smaller. Many of the trees in Carara Park come into fruit at different times of the year, however some such as the banana and palm tree fruit at the same time and the capuchins have preferences! The capuchins in Carara Park preferred the competition with scarlet macaws and coatis for palm fruits over the low easily accessible bananas. They even rummage through the dangling leaves for insects when there are nice ripe yellow bananas hanging just within reach. Furthermore, when presented the opportunity to have bananas or the new flower petals of the banana plant, they choose the flowers. Although they do eat bananas it seems that the flower petals and the insects which inhabit the cup of the tree are far more appetizing. Capuchin monkeys have a varied diet and a healthy appetite which includes more than just fruits. They search through dried leaves which are still attached to the tree. These dry leaves could house either insects, such as moths, or bats which have attached themselves to the undersides to roost. Bats roost in these leaves during the day often times they dig their claws in on the underside while hanging on causing the death of the leaf. Banana trees are also used as a source of water which accumulates in the cups and the monkeys uses leaves to soak it up and to suck on. In addition to these other delicacies, they have predilection for licking the bottom sides of leaves. They break off branches and extract insects by chewing. In some areas that have less food supply they rip a newly formed shoot off branches about 1 ½ foot long dropping the leafy part to the ground and chewing on the stem which remains on the branch. Capuchins chew or scratch the tree bark searching for insects or grubs too. Of course there s also the stealing of good munchies and snacks from the naïve tourists but all in all fruits may not be easier but they are still better.

51 51 Our usual routine was to be sure to be in the thick of the forest when the monkeys began their foraging so that we could observe their every move after waking and eating. On one of those hot, dry, dusty mornings we were searching through the treetops for the tell tale movements of Apollo and his troop. They had their favorite tree right near the Sendero Laguna Meandríca. During the dry season they usually stay very high up in the trees, at about 90 feet or more. If you can imagine trying to spot a black house cat that high up in a tree, basically a nine story building, you get the idea of the difficulty in finding them hidden amongst the leaves. They are mostly at this height because the fruit supply is plentiful and the light shade that they provide is a welcomed retreat from the summer sun and possibly for the safety of the offspring. However, we knew that our days would be limited in finding them so easily here for as soon as the seasons changed so would the foraging habits and we would begin our hunt again. Once one is familiar with their favorite fruiting trees or the leaves the leafy shoots that they rip off and drop down, and the sounds of their chirps finding them is not so difficult. But the changing seasons would bring with it new desires and new behaviors and for us new challenges. Considering that the rain clouds threaten on and off throughout the last days of dry season and would waft and wane giving us warning of their approaching dominion. We would sometimes be left wondering if perhaps they had already moved on. Although we looked forward to and were always happy to see the change from the hurricane force winds of dry season which ripped through the tree tops competing with the sound of leaping monkeys and blasting off any dry skin which we may have had; we knew that the daunting task of finding them would begin again. Once the rains had begun we had to search out where their new feeding spots were. This was not particularly a pleasurable task because when it rained it rained sapos and culebras as the saying goes here. And heaven forbid it be a year of El Niño o La Niña where it rained incessantly flooding everything where our rubber boots were barely sufficient. At those times we would trudge through with our rubber boot tops barely peeking above the water line. My imagination often gave way to thinking that the crocodiles or caimans may have come inland from the overflowing Tárcoles River and be

52 52 lurking about waiting for our feet to trod on them as we walked through the muddy water. On those days my heart would pound about what we could not see in the murky water. One time I even began to have dreams about stepping on them, and after having looked one right in the mouth at only four feet away in Africa one year, I had a very vivid if not overly imaginative memory of their teeth. The inundations sometimes caused days in which we could not get to the monkeys at all due to road blocks, mudslides, and bridge washouts. As though getting there was not difficult enough during those times, the park was nearly a swamp in itself and reminded me of days of duck hunting with my dad and mom when my waders would get a suction in the mud. At times my part of the park along the meandering trail was closed; it was impassible and dangerous due to flooding of the swamp and the crocodiles being more inland than normal. Sometimes two long months would sadly pass where I was not able to get to Apollo and would have to be happy investigating other troops. I would always wonder how he was doing during our separations. One day one of the park rangers had told me that a monkey had been hit by a car and taken into Universidad Nacional for care, my heart sunk thinking I have lost Apollo. It is one of the biggest dangers to the animals, the highway outside the park, especially on dark rainy nights. I could only hope it wasn t Apollo and wait for the dry season and the mating season to come. Things wear out here, and so did our old rubber boots, they were well used and had a habit of springing leaks just at the height of the heavy rains! But there was really no option but to continue plodding through the swamps leaks or no if we were ever going to find their new foraging spots. Sometimes quite a bit of time had passed since I had seen Apollo and his family or the other two troops. The bachelors which we were used to seeing skulking through other territories had not been spotted anywhere. However, with the deluges the palm trees known as Pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes) and Palma Real were replete with ripe yellow to red fruits and that meant animals and a variety of them. The Palma Real fruits are round and have a thick rind with a nut in the center like an avocado seed. Pejibaye (pronounced peh-he-bah-yeh) grow throughout the tropical forest of South and Central America and their fruit is popular

53 53 with locals and animals. The fruit resembles a pear in shape. The rind and pulps vary in color from red to yellow and orange. The local people boil them in salted water and sell them at road side stands. To me, even with a lot of mayonnaise, they still taste like flour and baking soda! However, the capuchins think very differently as do macaws, parrots, parakeets and coati, which all compete for this May thru July bumper crop of these and the palm nut fruits. Just how do you eat a palm nut fruit? Well first you have to find them and let all your friends know that you have. One day Einstein, with that wild hairdo, did just that. Once you let everyone know then you have to pick one out of the cluster that is just right, and that requires some acrobatic skills at just a mere feet off the ground depending on the tree. Then find a good spot to squat down and get to peeling off the rind to get to the nice juicy part, just like an orange. They drop the seeds with due satisfaction like kids spitting watermelon seeds. Sometimes there were so many seeds dropped that they reminded me of a comedy about detectives sitting in their car on a stake out who had been waiting so long eating pistachios that the pile reached the window. Unfortunately during the heavy rains of September and October getting to Apollo was usually impeded and so we had to look to the other accessible side of Carara Park. It was not our usual hunting ground but sometimes there was just no other option but to go to one of the accessible parts of the forest. It took a little bit more time in learning the trails, and the monkeys patterns, but it brought us to know the Samburu troop. I called them the Samburu troop because they reminded me of the differences between the well fed

54 54

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56 56 pride of lions in the Masai Mara where food was plentiful and the thin sad looking prides in the dry Samburu. There were two extra complications here, weekends meant hordes of tourists, and there was competition from Spiders Monkeys in addition to Howlers and Macaws. The Samburu troop did not have the plentiful food supply of Apollo and the bachelors. Apollo and the Bachelors inhabited the area which used to be an old orchard whereas the Samburu troop inhabited the natural area. The natural area meant limited food supplies and a need for constant moving. Their food supply mainly consisted of heliconias, new shoots, and figs. We came to know Heli-Chuper because of her taste for the Heliconia berries. Heli-Chuper was another capuchin who did not mind our presence her companions however tended to stay a little further away and just out of sight amongst the big leaves. Heli-Chuper was easily found in the semi-muddy swamp sections near the main trail where the bijaguas and the latispatha heliconias grew. She would walk over on all fours to a nicely blooming heliconia and pop the blooming stem off. Then she would look at us and hop up on some low hanging vines and start pulling the yellow berries off and avidly popping them into her mouth like candy. Some of the berries were hidden in the still unopened boat shaped flower and required Heli-Chuper to work just a little harder to get them. Some of them were opened enough where she could take a bite off the top and reach them, others were not so easy. The difficult ones were located at the bottom of the stock and there she had to rip the flowers red plastic type petals off leaving just the berries exposed for easy eating like clusters of ripe grapes. Heli-chuper was apparently enthralled with this delicacy of the forest of which there is no short supply, she doesn t leave not one ripe berry wasted, and very few of the unripe ones either. As long as we didn t have any noisy tourists around Heli-chuper would continue to gorge herself on these delicious berries. Scarface of the Samburu troop contented herself with nibbling on twigs. Scarface was aptly named for the deformed facial features she had. She had buck teeth and what appeared like a crooked mouth.

57 57 She too may have been hit by a car. It is too bad that there are no trees left making a crossovers for them like some boulevards. Luckily though she could still eat. As a matter of fact she had no problem ripping off little shoots with those teeth and chewing into them. The shoots are from a type of ficus as one of the park rangers had told me, but it still needs to be verified. However, the Samburu troop loves them and can be found by the amount of green leaved 1 foot twigs laying strewn about the ground. Scarface was not the only one who liked chewing on the shoots, the whole troop did really. Possibly because there is a lack of other food sources in the region. Satchmo likes it too. Satchmo was not going to let any part of its shoot go to waste. Satchmo began eating on the leafy end he had twisted off. Satchmo would twist off pieces about an inch long or so and chew them completely even going down to splitting and peeling the outer part off of the stem. Apparently Satchmo didn t particularly care for the leaves though because after demolishing the stem the leafy part was cast down and it went for the woody part still on the tree. Satchmo reached down and bent the young branch breaking it slightly then chewed through it bringing a nice long piece satisfyingly to its lips. Not only did Satchmo not care for the leaves, but apparently didn t care for the outer part either, ripping into it with its teeth and then peeling the shreds off like a banana peel. Satchmo continued to eat until there were only two tiny shards left and then discarded them and walked off.

58 Do monkeys like lollypops? 58

59 59 Well maybe not, but they certainly like to lick. Mostly they lick the insect larvae off the bottom side of leaves and sometimes they will lick what s left of a fruit. Even leaves take a great deal of decision making. Leaf choosing is a very important activity, not just any leaf will do; it depends on the food one is looking for and Apollo was diligent. Apollo would typically look around making sure everything was safe then begin the search for a leaf. Sometimes he would pull them close to look at and leave them, then other times he would just snap them off the vine or tree for further inspection. Any leaf that was unsuitable was cast aside without a second glance. Many times it looked as though he would drop the leaf intentionally down to us because he would look at us, grab a leaf, look at us again and drop it. On one occasion we had observed Miss Atty doing some very selective leaf hunting too. Miss Atty had at her hand some ten different dry leaves that she was rummaging through. She was presumably looking for bats. Yes bats. Bats will often roost on the underside of leaves and as their claws dig into the veins of the leaf while they snooze hanging upside down, the leaf loses its nutrients and begins to die. Bats will reuse the same leaves night after night and depending on the species, it may be one bat or it may be many. Miss Atty squatted happily on the branch pulling off one dry leaf unfolding it to investigate, and then drop it to the ground. She had gone through several leaves until she finally came across what she was looking for. She turned around, squatted down and took one long delightful bite chewing, and then another big bite. There was no mistaking when Miss Atty was done eating, she discarded the old dry leaf with an air of content! She continued sitting there licking and sucking her fingers clean after her meal.

60 60 Palma Real fruits weren t the only food on the list in the Sendero Laguna Meandríca. These monkeys were ravenous and would eat almost anything, with one small exception,...bananas. Yes, bananas. They simply didn t seem to have a taste for them. I wondered if my Samburu troop would be so finicky. Like Einstein, Tristan moved through the banana trees walking with ease across the leaves with only his silhouette showing through. It is quite amazing to find that they can be right over your head and you might not even know it if they do not move. They blend in so well with the banana leaf as to look like the center vein of the leaf. While we stood in knee high water in this particular part of the park which used to be a banana orchard we watched Tristan do just about everything imaginable while walking across the banana leaves. We thought for sure he and the rest of the troop would be happily eating all the ripe bananas, but they didn t, Tristan just played with them and moved on. He first stayed up on top of the leaves looking out into the canopy surveying for any signs of danger. He then waltzed across to some other banana trees not just any banana tree would do, Tristan was looking for something specific. He finally found the tree that held what he was looking for. It was one that had old dry leaves which he rummaged through with wild abandon ripping them off the stalk and tossing pieces out of the way. He and several others with the attitude they have when tossing out the leaves and left over s reminded me of my niece opening Christmas packages when she was little and tossing the paper aside. He found something delicious in the cup of the tree. He reached in and pulled out a handful and began chewing with wild abandon. Then he took a quick glance at us stood up and patted his chest with both palms with an expression similar to that of human when they will pat their stomach and say mmm... that was good! It was so cute a reaction to his little feast that I could not help chuckling. Tristan was again on the move. We followed him stomping through the mud and slipping on the fallen banana branches. He again was on the search for something in the cups of the trees. He looked quite funny

61 61 when he had all fours spread on branches to peek down in to the cup. He looked like a little kid when they try to peek through their own legs. This time Tristan was not looking for food but was taking a nibble from the outside of the cup. It was interesting to see that Tristan was actually looking for moisture rather than food now. With all the rains there was no shortage of water, but Tristan was not coming down to drink. It looked as though he were kissing the side of the tree. Again he was off to yet another banana tree. Then holding on with one arm he reached around and down into the cup as far as his arm would extend, like a child reaching into a cookie jar that is just above their reach. Finally he pulled out his hand filled with water soaked leaves and he began to squeeze the moisture from the leaves drinking each little drop. This was one behaviour which could be considered tool use. These capuchins along Sendero Laguna Meandríca in Carara park made no bones, or bananas, about not particularly caring to eat them. They would crawl right across the ripe ones headed for the leaves in the middle or the adjacent palm. Green bananas got a better response, but that is only because of the flowers. The flower petals were very attractive to the capuchins. Not only would they crawl across them and ignore them, they would chew on whichever other part of the banana tree. Einstein was busy not only eating petals, but ripping into the trunk of the banana trees and chewing on their sweet stalks. He would scratch up and down on the stalk until small stringy pieces had come lose and then begin to chew. Not only that, but the Einstein and his fellow capuchins would rummage through the dry leaves that lay in the cups of the banana trees searching for insects ignoring the ripe bananas on the stalk.

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63 63 How to get what you want.tool use has a special scientific description of more than creativity to get what you want. Tool use as described by Beck the employment of an unattached environmental object to alter more efficiently the form, position, or condition of another object, another organism, or the user itself is an important part of cerebral growth and social development. Well, common consensus has it that capuchins don t use tools except the bearded capuchins (Cebus libidinous) in Brazil which use a hammer stone and anvil for cracking palm nuts. It does not mean however, that Costa Rican capuchins are not capable of using tools, it may simply indicate that there is no viable reason to do so since the foods they eat don t require a special tool just like eating an apple or banana doesn t require us to have a special tool. One of the scientific articles I had read suggested that monkeys, or Costa Rican Capuchins to be exact, were incapable of tool use because they would not use sticks positioned in the holes of a plexiglass box to retrieve the bananas. The same could be said for this experiment, perhaps changing the food reward inside to something more desirable would bring about another outcome, and even humans will not employ cognitive thinking skills to something that doesn t interest them. However there are a couple of things that we filmed which could be considered tool use, such as the use of leaves for soaking up water. If you don t have a cup to drink water from, how do you get it to your mouth if it is in a hole that neither your head nor your hand will fit into? Well, you devise a way like Tristan did. It was not that he just used leaves, he had wadded several of them together and stuffed them into the cup of the banana tree to soak up the water which was stored there. It might not be quite the same as using a knife and fork, but it does show some initiative at getting what you want. And what about if you were being eaten by bugs? Well capuchins like Sergi and Solomon were inventive in this aspect too. Bath time with Sergi and Solomon After the torrential rains had come we were not the only ones swinging at mosquitoes. The capuchins were also being inundated by these irritating females! But it appeared that

64 64 Sergi had a trick up his furry sleeve. A medicinal material of the natural world to ward off the wicked buzzing beasts! While watching Solomon, who had been draped peacefully across a wide branch, try to escape the onslaught of those vexing parasites by moving upwards into the entangled vines we caught a glimpse of Sergi moving oddly in the foliage. He sat semi-hidden curled up between two tress on a cross branch running his fingers over his fur in an agitated manner. Then we noticed he was not at all agitated. He was nearly making all the movements that we humans would do when taking a shower with a bar of soap. Sergi started at the top of his head and slid his hand down his back and then around to his chest, literally as though he was lathering up! He kept up a watchful eye from this private spot amidst the trees, more for predators than privacy for sure, but the behavior was the same as a human. Shortly afterwards Solomon came down from his spot amongst the vines and after clawing the bark a couple of times and looking around he turned and scampered across the branch to retrieve something. It was round and fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. According to some of the park officials the substance comes from termite mounds but to me it appeared more like a fruit of some sort due to its size and shape of it. It was possible that Sergi left it. Solomon then began the same ritual. He started with this substance in his left palm rubbing it first on his face then his chest and then his back. Solomon also made sure just like Sergi had that he was hidden amongst the foliage. Solomon s bath was considerably shorter than that of Sergi spent an entire minute and twelve seconds bathing while Solomon spent a minute and two seconds. I wondered if this piece of material belonged to Sergi and Solomon was only sneaking a use knowing full well that Sergi had gone further up the tree. I wondered this because of the way that

65 65 Solomon had gone over to where Sergi had been. He had walked leisurely over squatted down and like I said began to claw the bark of a vertical branch, he then reached out past the branch, like a magician moving one hand as a ruse to distract attention from the true act underway, to play with some leaves at arm s length. Afterwards he doubled back some 10 feet and grabbed the material keeping an eye peeled towards the surrounding treetops to begin his hurried bath. In addition to Solomon and Sergi we spotted Cleopatra who was also bathing. She was a little higher up in the tree and not hidden behind the leaves, apparently she had no stage fright even though she had her back to us. In comparison to the males she spent a great deal of time sweeping across her body. She also spent a considerable amount of time cleaning her genital regions until the screech of a bird caused her to stop her ministrations after two minutes and thirty four seconds. Solomon, Sergi, and Cleopatra came together in the canopy. Cleopatra had already made herself comfortable squatted on the branch surveying her surroundings while Solomon was a few branches above her rummaging through the leaves, when Sergi sauntered in all proud of himself. He vocalized to her in the typical chirp-whimper before casting himself straddle of the branch and watching her. Cleopatra though had not even bothered to acknowledge his presence. Frustrated Sergi began to play with his dangling feet, acting as though he needed to catch them in the same way that a cat chases its tail. Even his antics could not get Cleopatra to look at him so he took his leave. Whether it was a pout of frustration or not one cannot be sure, but he sauntered off to another tree some thirty feet away and curled up in a ball on his back in a fork and began to groom himself. Each of these tool use behaviors requires creativity and problem solving skills which are linked to a more developed cerebral cortex or being able to envision the outcome.

66 66 Chapter 12: The ties that bind None of us can deny how nice it is to receive a welcome hug from an old friend,or the warm embrace of our loved one, our dog wagging his tail when we come home, or our cat rubbing and purring against our leg; and it is no different among our animal friends. These welcome touches are known as grooming amongst the animals and just as they work for us, they are the ties that bind. As with my other animal experiences and those of the orphanages in Africa and the rescue centers in Central America, the ties that bind don t necessarily need to be between same species to be strong, but they do require that all too simple of a behavior, touch. Bonding by grooming and cognitive comparisons Grooming is an important behavior both in humans and non-humans. It was found to be a stronger determinant of mother-infant attachment than food, according to Harlow and Harlow. It permits the sensation of touch which implies an intimacy or trust. Physical contact is a necessity for copulation and reproduction and furthermore it provides a strong bond between the giver and the receiver, and often results in a reciprocity, although not always. The nerve impulses stimulated in the epidermis transmit messages to the brain through and may activate neurotransmitters like dopamine or brain regions such as the amygdala. Moreover, it is a close range means of communication; it can have many connotations such as: attraction both physical and non-physical such as like and love in humans, empathy and reassurance. This important behavior amongst non-human primates activates the same neural system as do appetitive stimulus and symbolic rewards such as a nice meal or money permitting the development of trust between animals and indicating their hierarchical rank. Consider businessmen and women who take colleagues out to lunch to forge a trust and establish a relationship. Grooming amongst animals is no different, it is a means by which they can communicate their likes, comfort, and trust in one another. Although we have mentioned the extended grooming of the Alpha male Apollo and his female, grooming in general seems to be more confined to female-female and female-offspring.

67 67 The bonding between the mother and offspring is one of the most important and one of the most endearing events, even amongst these wild creatures. The majority of grooming times noted were between mother and offspring. The actions of the mother stimulate what s known as the mirror neurons in the ventral premotor cortex. The importance of this mother-infant bond is shown in a study by Prather and Colleagues in which monkeys had bilateral amgydala (remember this is the part of the brain for social norms and fear) lesions performed at two weeks of age and were then returned to maternal care and a normal social environment. In later social interactions their behaviors were undistinguishable from the normal control subjects. Other studies without this maternal and social environment have indicated severe social disabilities in cognition and processing when amygdala damage had occurred. Damage to this region often presents itself as lack in understanding social gestures, fearless, and aggressive behavior resulting in being a social outcast. This difference that we see in these results gives us an indication to the power and potential of the mother-infant bond on future social cognition and development regardless of the lesion, nearly like the healing of a broken bone in an infant. We recorded many mother infant behaviors which were opposites like that of Daisy and Daffodil in Apollo s troop Sally and Sugar in the Samburu troop. Daisy was very tender with Daffodil, unlike Sugar with her daughter Salty Sally. Daisy took the time to reassure and caress her daughter, just as a mother might do her young daughters hair making her feel at peace and ease, so too did Daisy. Daffodil had obviously had a rough morning of play and needed some soothing from her mother. Daisy did not deny her daughter this needed attention. We humans often forget these basic necessities once our infants have grown to school age, however the human touch as we call it seems to be a much practiced event in the wild jungles of Central America. It makes me think of the popular bumper sticker some time back that said have you hugged your kid today and should really say have you hugged someone today? Daisy naturally doesn t spend all of her time grooming and

68 68 carrying for Daffodil. Quite the contrary. She attends to her when Daffodil asks, but then she limits the time and continues on with her own affairs too making an interesting balance between being mother and being self. When Daisy walked off leaving Daffodil to sleep hanging awkwardly across the fork of the tree there were neither whimpers nor pleas for more. Daffodil laid there for a few minutes fast asleep before she awoke realizing her mother had wandered off down the branch to groom herself. Daffodil got up from her little hanging spot and wandered over to another more substantial fork in which she laid curled into a ball. In the Playero group, Adelaide walks along the beach with her young and out of season infant on her back. The infant appears very small and frail, but alert. I wonder if it will be like so many other species of animals when infants born too late or too early in the season die like my little goat. I also wonder if this change in timing was provoked by the change in natural feeding habits, similar to other species that will have fewer pups or cubs when there s less food, and whose mating routines and estrus cycles can be manipulated by environmental changes such as feeding and light. Luckily Adelaide appears to be a good mother suckling and carrying for her baby. As with humans, Many hormonal and endocrine changes take place during pregnancy and parturition which facilitate the mother-infant bond and induce the release and change in neuropeptide such as β- endorphin, corticotrophin-releasing factor, oxytocin, and arginine vasopressin. In the maternal-infant bond, oxytocin and vasopressin are involved when a mother and her offspring begin their bonding through nursing. Oxytocin is a hormone which is important in the let down of milk. Not only does it permit for nursing, but through nursing permits the maternal-infant bonding through touch, olfactory and visual connection. Not only does Adelaide carry her infant and nurse and protect her, she also teaches her necessary skills for beach living like drinking from the inside of a tree hollow, perhaps giving her offspring the chance to survive. Adelaide is protected for some reason. She is accompanied everywhere by one male who seldom takes his eye off her.

69 69 She seems to have been wounded above her left eye and her face appears full of swellings. A human mother walks by at the same time with her infant daughter perched upon her hip. Both of these mothers behaved as if they were mesmerized by curiosity yet fearful of what the other beast might do. They both took the same glances at those which surrounded them, the human mother gave her daughter a nervous hug and a bounce. They reminded me of what my young niece had done when she was determined to have Waldo s ducklings in a photo with Junior, Waldo ran with her wings out quacking trying to save her babies from the infant who was trying to grab them, in turn causing my niece to run to save Junior from whatever attempt at his safety Waldo might possibly have in mind. One day when Miss Atty with her fuzzy white furry cheeks was taking a snooze all curled up between the branches she was awaken by some rustling in the leaves above her and the sharp shrill whistle of a hawk nearby.

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71 71 Since her youngster was exploring his surroundings chirping all the while that she lazed in the branches, she apparently felt that there was no threat and decided to begin cleaning herself. She squatted down removing insects from her fur while keeping a lookout in the canopy. Boys will be boys though even amongst monkeys and they bounce through the forest with carefree abandon. However, something had obviously startled Miss Atty s son Flip. Flip came burling down from his playground in the canopy above her landing surprisingly gently right on her back and partially supported by branches. Atty was very relaxed and held out her open palm. Flip began a little self grooming while keeping one wary eye up on those imaginary monsters in the canopy. Atty attentive to her offspring turned and began to groom him in to a peaceful state. Grooming or caressing places the juvenile at ease and promotes trust which is an important step in behavior in all social animals including humans. The ability to trust develops here with the mother, just as with a child who has experienced a traumatizing or terrifying event whether it be imagined or real, the hug and caress of a mother can take away all the whimpers and concern. The lack of consolation by the mother could result in a superfluous fear leaving the young vulnerable to other predation. If a capuchin juvenile is scared by the squawk of the Scarlett macaw and not consoled by its mother and taught that it is not a threat it may miss both the indication of a palm nut tree in fruit or could possibly miss the sounds of a true predator while focusing on an unnecessary fear developed in infancy, such as some phobias that humans and domestic animals have. The juveniles do not stray very far from their mothers and tend to keep up a constant chirp, which sounds like the whimpering of a human child, while venturing out to play with other juveniles or to explore. At the hint of danger the youngsters make a quick dash

72 72 towards their mothers who first embrace them and then begin to groom them, which appears to be a reassuring conciliatory behavior. The squawk of a parrot just like the sighting of a snake stimulates fear behaviors through the auditory and visual systems. This auditory fear bears importance on the future survival of the offspring. Auditory fear conditioning involves transmission of tone from cortical and sub cortical regions of the auditory system such as the medial division of the thalamic medial geniculate body and posterior intralaminar nucleus via excitatory glutamate neurotransmitters. The ventral cells of the lateral amygdala augment firing in which they are not sensitive to extinction and therefore have a longer period of latency. The synaptic plasticity of the lateral amygdala depends upon training in which the lateral amygdala will encode key aspects of fear in memory storage for quick recall. This quick recall, such as the sound of a gun firing versus thunder could mean life or death in the wild. Fear, furthermore, has been shown to inhibit learning capacities and therefore must not be made central to the animals behavior. Observing the monkeys with their offspring, and remembering all the reassurance and bonding with my own mother, the bonding between myself and my domestic animals and those of the other wild animals I had observed around the world reinforced the magnitude of the mothers importance in survival. Without this reinforcement, how could one learn all that was necessary to survive both in the forests and in the culturally complex world of the capuchin monkeys? I was also reminded of an experiment with JC in the neuroscience lab about the aversive experiences in early life that can have long term effects over neurochemical adaptations of the cortico-mesolimbic system involved in emotional and stress-coping behaviors and how enrichment of the environment of these animals can make changes in these areas which are lacking, which is something to take into consideration on a social level as well as with wild and captive animals. I felt that this might possibly what is transpiring in the modern zoos. I wondered if the same was something that our public schools systems could employ to improve our failing social behaviors.

73 73 While watching them, I just could not imagine the trust that the infants, even adults at times, must have in the other to be rolled around on branches thirty feet up in the air without hanging on for dear life with that prehensile tail. Only once had I actually seen one lose its place and fall a few feet. However, I realized quickly that it was not all that different from my nieces when I held the youngest while she learned to swing from the monkey bars and encouraged the other in her attempts to jump from the swing in the school playground. The patience in this grooming is also the same as a concerned human mother for her child, consoling and reassuring in every gesture. These conciliatory behaviors help instill independence, confidence in their environment and motivation in the youngsters, just like with our own children. These small gestures as hugging and giving reassurance and applause make a difference with adults as well. Unfortunately we tend only to these support behaviors for people on stage, in the public lime light, or in sports. Although this reinforcement bonding is somewhat supplanted by monetary means which also provide a sense of importance, it may not be providing the same amount of motivation and trust that praise may. This extensive diligent grooming could be being performed for training purposes being that the longer an action is carried out the more easily it is processed in the long term memory. When motor behaviors are learned they can be by seeing or by hearing the behavior. According to some research in 2001 the visual and audio visual mirror neurons code not only visual analyses are at work for learning the meaning of actions and behaviors of oneself and others and their outcomes, as well as the individual perspectives. This leads us to further imbue upon these animals a social intelligence such as those studied extensively by notable scientists. This type of bonding and grooming behavior not only helps to avoid unnecessary fears, but also to interpret correctly the external environment. Learning proper grooming techniques is important for the social development of the offspring both in human troops and in capuchins not in a physical means, but by learning how, when and where you may touch another, how to gage various body signals, facial gestures and vocal tones.

74 74 According to research touch for the capuchins equates to the same neuronal structures as the Broca area in the human brain stimulating mirror neurons in the ventral premotor cortex. The comfort, consoling and enrichment by the mother and the troop in infancy are the earliest points in which neuronal plasticity for cognitive social development, communication and facial recognition can be stimulated. Even though this learning begins between mother and infant, it does not stop there. We see it amongst male and females, females and females, and at short intervals amongst males and males. Monkey Love and Romance We humans often believe that we are the only ones capable of such great love stories as Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, and Tristan and Isolde, however amongst these social creatures courtship requires a special bond and that bond is only achieved through what is known as grooming. Like those old love stories and the classic paintings of the lovers lying enamored on the ground these monkeys are every bit as entranced in each other yet carry their state of enchantment or attraction to a long lasting alliance. Capuchin females reach sexual maturity around the age of four and males reach sexual maturity between seven and ten. Even though females won t be receptive until they are closer to seven years old it does not prevent them from practicing their feminine tactics and flirtatious behavior for gaining a place in the mating game. These young females begin showering their chosen ones with attention whether they like it or not just like the high school girls who attempt to gain the attention of the older boys by sitting next to them at lunch or on the school bus. Capuchins may not be putting on makeup or parading about to be noticed, but they certainly realize the power of persuasion through touch. Despite the fact that Capuchins are polygamous, females typically choose to mate with the highest ranking and most powerful male in the troop. The name of the game here is not to be just asked out on a date, but to become one of the Alpha males favored females. If the female succeeds in gaining the Alpha males attention when she is in estrous during the January to April breeding season she will have one offspring about 160 days or five months later. With any luck she will continue to bear one, or sometimes two, offspring every two years. Coming from good stock confers upon

75 75 the offspring a better chance at survival, ranking in the group and passing on of genes. And so the flirting begins in youth to find just the right male as we found with Tristan and Isolde. Tristan and Isolde were found sitting hidden up in the forked branches of a tree. Tristan was lying across the forks ever so peaceful like while Isolde performed her ministrations. Isolde was very attentive as she caressed the top of Tristan s head running her fingers through his fur and then lifted his relaxed arm only to continue running her fingers through the thick coarse fur. They had already traded places twice now jumping over each other to have the opportunity to caress the other. Now they had changed yet again with Tristan jumping over Isolde s head to land on the branch behind her. Now it was Tristan s turn to pay a little attention to Isolde. Suddenly they stopped and Tristan began to pay attention to himself. It was as if he had become aware of us watching and filming them and had told Isolde not now they are watching because Isolde had leaned down and moved the leaves out of the way that covered her to peer down at us with an expression of curiosity or possibly contempt for the interruption. While we don t usually go out with the intent to do research for only one subject matter but there are times that a subject of interest is presented to us. This was the case on that early hot morning when the silhouettes of Echo and Narcissus with their Tails entwined at dawn showed between the swaying branches just when we were on the verge of abandoning the hunt. Echo and Narcissus had obviously searched out their own secret hideaway on these outer swinging branches. They had a special relationship with each other which is similar to a couple who have been together for many, many years and are capable of falling into an easy silent understanding. They sat before us up in those thin branches some ten minutes in the morning light with their tails entwined.

76 76 They did not seem to be interested in mating or grooming but just in the silent peaceful company of each other s presence and touch, as if they were a couple holding hands on a park bench. This would be the type of behavior that we would encounter over our hundreds of hours of filming in contrast to what of other research areas in the country had reported. Apollo seems to have a favored female. We base this upon the fact that he has been seen twice in the company of a female in which the grooming was extensive. Other females were groomed too on the same days, but not with the same intensity or same amount of time dedicated. It is possible that the capuchins, like the wolves (Canis lupus) and so many other animals have a preferred female with which they have a stronger bond. It is very likely that she is also dominant in her gender group. From our position in the dust of the Sendero Laguna Meandríca we could see that Apollo was with a female. It was easy to see how close their contact with each other was. There were two others which held a special bond. Bonds are determined by the amount of time one spends grooming or in the close proximity of another animal. Really no different than us humans, if we like someone or feel safe with someone we tend to spend much more of our time within close proximity and communicating with them. This pair, which we named Chronus and Saturn after the Greek gods of time, spent twenty minutes grooming. They made no efforts to move along with the rest of the troop as they crossed through the high tree tops towards the lagoon. Chronus and Saturn took their time together and Chronus rolled Saturn in all positions across the forked branch on which they sat. Chronus groomed Saturn with all the attention of a young couple lying beneath the trees on a beautiful day in the park. They spent their time together grooming and touching reinforces their ability to trust. Going to the beauty parlor or the spa is important for most females and is no different for my female capuchin friends. And a good relaxing manicure, massage, hairdo and a little gossip simply cannot be disturbed. The grooming amongst females which we witnessed is not as intense as that between Apollo and his female or between mother and offspring, however it too symbolizes a trust and quite possibly an alliance, even though we do not

77 77 know as yet to what degree. When I say it s not as intense I mean in the length of time spent in the company of each other or in time spent grooming. Bonding amongst females seems to be of great importance in the non-human primates much like it is amongst human females and they seem to have best friends with whom they spend more time and for whom they hold a deeper trust more. The grooming isn t always reciprocal, but when it is the bond appears to be much stronger. A female capuchin approaches another and often presents herself in a tentative manner as if awaiting an ok signal; unfortunately we couldn t always see the facial expressions and did not get as many cues as we would have liked. Females would sometimes trade places so that the other could have her turn at relaxation and rejuvenation. We did not see any overt signs of aggression nor of submissive behavior. Just as human females might ask another female if she would like to go to the beauty parlor doesn t necessarily indicate submissive behavior, here we cannot say it either.

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79 79 One such pair of female friends was Pancakes and Maple Syrup. They spent a great deal of time grooming each other and alternating turns. And really what else should you do at the end of a long morning of breakfast, manicures, and spa treatments? Rest and enjoy that peaceful feeling. At least that is what Pancake and Maple Syrup did. It certainly shows how important the grooming is to relaxation. Teenagers Worship a Rock Star and capuchins do to. Of course we aren t really talking about a rock star, but the Alpha male does have star appeal and young males all want to know how to be like him, how to get the attention of all the females and the power of the Alpha. And how does one go about gaining such knowledge. One must bow to the master. Like when young Plato went to learn from Socrates. We had one such episode in which one smaller male named Plato behaved in a submissive manner at the approach of a larger male named Socrates. The larger male first groomed the smaller for a very short period of time prior to the subordinate male grooming the larger. The subordinate male groomed the larger male for a longer time frame before the larger male moved on. It appears that bonding by touch in the capuchins, much like human males, is not the primary activity. Due that we did not see male-male grooming for reassurance in the bachelor group after the terrorizing incident; it is hard to suggest that this is one of its purposes amongst males. It is possible that they groom each other the same way human males do with a handshake or other culturally based display of affection to indicate their position or rank. Even though capuchins may groom older members their main behavior with each other is to play. Just as a young boy may imitate his father, he will head off to play with his friends.

80 80 Chapter 13: All Fun and Games Three kids up in a tree makes for All Fun and Games. As with play in all animals, including human, the main theme is learning new skills through their rambunctious, energetic antics. Apollo s troop was especially exciting in this way because of its mix of males, females, and offspring. Apollo s troop was in good shape and always made me so excited when we would find them. Youngsters will be youngsters whether they be monkeys or children. Apollo s nine were very cute and playful like little puppies. They seemed to have a number of entertaining antics up their furry sleeves. Payasa, one who seemed to need quite a bit of attention would scratch the top of her head with her hind foot in a precarious fashion while squatted down on the branch only to suddenly free fall grabbing on to another branch. She was a bit crazy in comparison to the other youngsters with her rapid bouncing back and forth off the branches as though she was a three year old who had had too much sugar. This behavior of course caused her fellow siblings to join in on the games frolicking about amongst the leaves and vines overhead. The adult monkeys were all in repose in the large surrounding trees far enough away from the commotion for a nap and not too far from earshot. Capuchin youngsters keep up a constant chatter when they are away from their mothers. Apollo s youngsters tended to have groups of three as a preference for their tickling, swinging, and jumping escapades. They like most youngsters are high on energy, noise, and curiosity. Their speed through the forest makes it hard to tell who is tackling who in a mid-air tail swing between palm leaves. When watching them it is hard to imagine a monkey swinging and tickling from the tiny fragile looking branches of a palm. I expected them to come crashing down on top of my head at any moment and really wasn t quite sure how I would react since the last monkey that was on my head pulled my hair and screeched wildly. But these youngsters were well adapted to their arboreal home. They would sit in wait only to launch a sneak attack on one of their unsuspecting siblings. While

81 81 hanging on by their tail the other two would grab in a way that looked like children tickling each other. Apollo s youngsters were also the ones who were the most curious about us! We were part of their exploration since that first day that they had gotten to know us. They reminded me so much of Tarzan and Jane when Jane is overwhelmed by the monkeys. Once they began to recognize us Apollo s offspring would be hanging upside down to peek at us, sit above our heads, hang through the branches and even stalk us as we walked along. They would move to where we could see them, stop and then squatting down on a branch to observe us begin wildly grabbing at leaves only to squat again and drop the leaf down toward us. Up above my head was a tremendous rustling of leaves and snapping of limbs, when I could finally see, there they were three of the noisiest young monkeys! They were communicating with each other via gestures with their hands. Becky had found a fruit to eat and Tom and Huck were dying to know what it was. Tom and Huck approached Becky with their hands out to touch and see whatever it was that Becky had found. Becky didn t mind showing off her great find either, but like kids who have found some novel item like a turtle they may let the others see it, but they still won t share it. Huck got frustrated and left since Becky wasn t going to share. Tom stayed though, he just moved up above Becky, maybe hoping she would share a little with him if he watched her long enough. Becky apparently had no intention of sharing and she squatted calmly on the branch holding her fruit with both hands and peeling the rind off with her teeth. Tom had also found a fruit and after a few bites he noticed my husband filming below, took aim and launched the fruit straight at his head barely missing Becky and giving my husband a good juicy whack! Tom, Huck, and Becky weren t the only threesomes playing together, it seems that capuchin juveniles like to play in groups of three. Apollo s offspring Hughy, Lewie, and Dewey; and Marie, Toulouse, and Bonaparte were just as rough tumble and energetic. While watching and filming these guys there no time to blink! They fly through the trees at

82 82 break neck speed free falling from the heights of the canopy only to grab on with their tails and swing upside down. They chatter so much during these chase, jump, crash and falls that it almost sounds like they are giggling. Apollo s kids were most obnoxious in front of our cameras showing off their acrobatic abilities and antics. Hughy was walking along having a look at us from behind the palm leaves when pow! Lewie comes burling in for a side swipe! While both of them are hanging upside down swinging from Hughy s tail, Dewey comes in from the other side for an attack! Now we had three of them hanging from one tail all in what seemed to be the most amount of spirals possible to spin worse than any merry go round. Dewey and Lewie were having a time with Hughy, as though they were tickling him until he let loose with his tail or wet his fur! To someone who didn t know that they were juveniles playing they would be quick to say it was a fight due to all the screeching. As we watched the three of them swing in and out from each other we saw and heard the branch crack that Hughy was hanging from. We were holding our breath sure that all three youngsters would come toppling down grasping on to whatever lay in reach. To our amazement, Dewey and Lewie let go of Hughy and dropped into the lower palms. Hughey seemed a little lost and also dropped down. His friends had moved on and he was left sitting on the palm all alone. However within a few seconds he spotted them in the tangled branches and made a new approach. He got Lewie to play for a little bit, but after the branch had snapped they didn t seem to have the same gusto for playing. Another group of three, also Apollo s, were busy trying to get some playtime in too. Marie, Toulouse, and Bonaparte we called them. This time Toulouse was hanging on to a branch with his tail playing with the palm fronds. Marie had no problem to tackle Toulouse anywhere. She would come barreling in and sideswipe him or behave as though she were uninterested then reach out and grab hold of his waist. At which point they would take off into spins while hanging by her tail until something else distracted them.

83 83 Swinging by their tail seems to help build the skills necessary for quick movement through the trees. The juveniles are loud and busy when they move through the tangled branches like a bunch of six year olds on the play ground. They flip themselves upside down pulling on each other and sometimes appear like little girls on the school monkey bars trying to show off for a camera slipping their legs into different hanging positions, almost as if to say look no hands. They free fall as though to impress us and then suddenly grab hold of the branches as if to say tricked ya. Hanging upside down and chasing each other in dizzying loops around the tree trunk and frolicking in the sun may be fun, but their antics are not always well accepted by the adults in the troop, especially those that are trying to take a nap. Like all mothers, sometimes they just have to tell their youngsters to go play by themselves. This was the case with Anti and Andi. Anti wanted to lay in the vines running across the branches and sleep but Andi, her daughter, wanted to play! Andi made a ruckus in the branches above trying to get Anti s attention. She succeeded, but it was not the attention that Andi was looking for. Anti moved up in the tree and began to rustle the leaves between her palms rapidly in an agitated fashion, ripping some of them off, while Andi swung upside down in her face. Within a couple of seconds Anti let out a bark which sounded like a Chihuahua with laryngitis that sent Andi scampering away. Anti let out one more bark and then went back to peacefully pulling off some leaves, wadding them up and chewing on them. Andi on the other hand had understood her mothers rebuke and went to play alone higher up. Anti decided to wander to another spot where her energetic daughter was not dropping leaves and branches on her head. Andi continued to wander in those branches above her mother looking for some form of entertainment, any form of entertainment, just like a disgruntled four year old. She pulled on vines, shook branches, rustled the leaves, scratched her head and hung upside down by her tail. She spun around in crazy swings until she decided to go up and have a peek out the top of the canopy. After all the

84 84 self entertainment she could muster up, even down to mimicking her mother nibbling on leaves, leaves that she didn t particularly seem to like She finally noticed us and began to drop leaves on us too like she had with her mother and then wandered off in search of some other type of adventure. As I watched these young monkeys play, I couldn t help but make comparisons to the behaviors I had seen in my young nieces and preschoolers and kindergartners. It appears that these monkeys spend a great deal of time in introverted behavior unlike the extremely social squirrel monkeys which are all over each other in rambunctious play the majority of the time. Even though we tell about the escapades of these young capuchins playing together in groups of three or grooming each other, the majority of the time they are seen sitting alone eating, playing with something that attracted their attention, or grooming themselves. According to investigators such as Barrett and Henzi, their preschool or toddler type behavior may equate to an evolutionary infancy of social cognition. Young preschool aged children also exhibit this solitary type of social behavior. I am reminded of a children s program where there are several small children all in the same room, but each one doing different activities. Although preschool children will all be on the playground at one time, similar to the Cebus Capucinus all in the canopy at the same time, it does not necessarily indicate that they are neither playing together nor that they have a special bond other than that they are in the same place at the same time. In 1932 Mildred Parten described the behaviors of preschoolers as parallel play. She noted that the children will sit playing with their own toy at a table with other children doing likewise and for the most part this appears to be the same amongst the capuchins. Preschool children also have another form of play called on-looker play in which they simply watch another child or two playing until invited to join. The young monkeys seem

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86 86 to have this very same type of behavior with their siblings and at times with adults, waiting patiently or impatiently to be noticed. Watching them makes one believe that their social play or behavior stops here at the associative and on-looker phase and does not reach the cooperative play level that we see in older children. As capuchins get older they spend far less time in this group play and even more time alone other than grooming. I wonder if they truly are in an infancy of social brain development, if with more interaction they might possibly develop more sense of self and be able to predict the behaviors of others in relation to them. Is it possible that their prefrontal lobes which are associated with emotions would become more developed if their interactions remained social? Would they also be capable of self awareness and therefore more awareness of the other? Or is this just a human idea? They do communicate with each other but is it the same as being able to imagine the others fear like small children can? Is this ability of small children to understand the intricate social structure of the human world due to empathy or the impact of maternal care? Are we not at risk of losing this ability by becoming more self involved with computers and the like? Is it possible that because we interact on a close level with many people that we develop an understanding of what is the same and what is different within each other therefore giving rise to empathy, imagination or creativity? Does their means of communication equate somehow to that of humans?

87 87 Chapter 14: Communication, Warnings, and Naptime at the end of a long day During grooming juveniles are also learning facial expressions which are equally essential in humans and capuchins. As in reading the external environmental sounds to determine danger, social animals must also be aware of facial expressions and body postures from within their own troop and the connotations of them. According to Brothers 1990 the superior temporal sulcus helps process conspecifics behavior and the socio-emotional importance which is determined by the amygdala and the orbito-frontal cortex. The more accurately one can judge the signals, which depend on temporal regions for perception and communication, the better the response can be, however when they are ambiguous in their meaning they are triggers for apprehension, like superfluous fear, and leave the interpreter vulnerable and with a great deal of energy expenditure. Consider the amount of mental effort involved when you are trying to figure out what someone s facial expression means. Humans and primates have both cortical and sub cortical brain specializations for recognition of individuals and facial expressions which are stimulated in infancy by interaction with the mother and other members of the troop. Face processing is by the fusiform gyrus according to fmri studies. According to one study in a well known Institute for Biological Cybernetics showed that there were diverse activation patterns in the amygdala based on different facial expressions depending upon whether the facial expressions were direct or indirect. The interpretation or perception of various facial expressions appears to depend upon the direction of the gaze which elicits a greater amount of attention when dubious. Averted expressions created more activation in the central nucleus and promoted a higher level of arousal and skin conductance-responses in the macaques than those of direct gaze suggesting that there is an increase in brain activity for the interpretation of ambiguous expressions. These expressions are of paramount importance in two ways. First just as with humans mother and infant must create a nearly immediate communication for survival. The mother must register and interpret the sign and signals from her offspring and vice versa.

88 88 These first expressions may be just from pure need of food, warmth, or danger but become more complex over time. From the tiny smiles that infants first give to expressions of anger or pain and will be recognizable. The monkeys may differ in the same exact facial expressions as we humans, but the young must still learn how to interpret them. According to R.M. Weigel There are seven primate facial displays noted: (1) open mouth bared teeth-threat, (2) open mouth staccato beep-which could be a defensive threat, (3) bared teeth scream-indicating appeasement or maternal solicitation, (4) grinwhich could mean appeasement and reassurance, (5) lip smacking-which seems to indicate reassurance or leads to passive contact, (6) forehead raise-which may lead to active contact, and (7) relaxed open mouth-play face which could be signaling playtime. These expressions along with vocalizations are as important for the capuchins as they are for us indicating hunger, pain, frustration, playfulness, welcoming or threatening. In addition to facial and vocal communication according to some articles capuchins also have olfactory communication. Some of the scientific articles I had read said that the capuchins urinated on their hands to mark their territories. Although we saw them urinate and we saw them clean themselves we have yet to see that they actually urinate on their hands and then mark trees with it. We filmed Apollo on several occasions where he cleaned his genitals, however he didn t subsequently wipe his hands as though he were marking territory. It seemed to me that this might be something which is happening with the Cebus Apella, brown capuchin, in Brazil and perhaps not necessarily in the Cebus Capucinus of Carara. I was also curious though, if they were marking territory with urine, then why didn t they sniff it the way dogs do? They thus far have not been seen exhibiting the usual behavior of an animal which relies upon its olfactory senses for territorial boundaries. They typically walked with their head held up and with their noses down for sniffing. Communication doesn t stop at just the positive social interactions; it is a means of letting one know when danger lurks nearby like the bachelors exhibited one day.

89 89 Just like us, capuchins are met with many challenges to their survival and must be aware of warning signs because predators lurk everywhere, even in the tops of trees. Capuchins suffer a variety of threats, both from other troops as well as from hidden predators. Cebus Capucinus must stay alert due that a threat can be posed either from above or below. Their most common predators from below are caimans, jaguars, and ocelots, while their most common arboreal predators are boa constrictors and lance heads. And even from the sky they must be on guard for a variety of raptors await a possible banquet of monkey meat. When the king vulture or the caracara fly over the canopy top the capuchins disappear into the dense foliage and are completely silent. On one hot muggy morning we heard sudden screeches in the silent forest. We were quite a distance away from it and had been headed in the opposite direction from the lagoon to look for Apollo and his troop. We both turned to each other saying that s the monkeys, something s got one. We took off as quickly as we could splashing through the water. If only we could have moved faster. We had run down the swampy trail and then ducked through as much of the thicket as we could trying to get a view of what was happening. We could only record their screams though as the jungle was too thick and we were cut off at every possible pass, even if we would have had our machetes, which we do not use because it damages the fauna, we would not have been able to get to them. It was too late, when we arrived there was a very loud shrill screech followed by an eerie silence which happens at a death in the forest, all within less than a minute there had been chaos and then nothing. Absolutely nothing, not a movement nor a sound, it even caused us to whisper. We felt sure that there was one less in my little bachelor group of eight now. As we began to leave and go in search of Apollo again two bachelors came out from thicket. Damian came quietly over head about 30 feet up at a fork in the tree. He was so quiet we nearly missed him. I am not sure that he even knew we were there. He was hanging with his tail, ready to flee at any moment, looking in the direction he had come from. He didn t move, he held perfectly still watching with concern in the distance as if to see if he were far enough away to breathe. He dropped down into the fork still

90 90 watching in the distance. He finally relaxed enough to lay straddle of one side of the fork, but still had his tail and arms in position for fast flight. Damian had to me what seemed to be an expression much like ours first of sadness as though he had had a great loss and did not understand why. This was followed by an expression of concern. He finally noticed us, but made no attempts to flee. He just hung there as though he were lost and all alone. It was one of the only times we had witnessed silence amongst the monkeys, even when they are asleep there are utterances. But now there was not even a whimper. The forest finally began to come alive again and the birds began to sing. Damian however still kept looking around, he seemed as though he felt

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92 92 safer with our presence than to leave and be alone. Being alone makes one an easy target in the wild for predators of all ilk. There was a sudden rustle in the treetops and Damian leapt to flight position, looked around, then dropped down to a more protected spot in the leaves. He clung to the trunk of the tree, the sparkling sunlight reflecting off his pale white skin, watching with great attention and concern. He suddenly ran up the tree, past the first fork he was at and continued up where he came to a sudden stop. Damian s friend Pithias dropped down from the branches in a tree about ten feet away. Unlike mothers with their young, they didn t caress each other but they made vocal and visual contact with one another across this space between the trees. It appeared that their mere presence and utterances were enough to calm each other. The rest of the troop never came into view again that morning. What better thing to do on a hot steamy busy day of foraging and leaping through the tree tops and being chased by busy youngsters and hungry predators than to take a well deserved nap! Sometimes the best nappers are the young and the old. Old Sage seemed to be able to sleep anywhere! Old Sage may not really be old at all, but the facial characteristics certainly make one feel as though this was one old monkey. He looked as though he had experienced the changes of the world like the old North American Indian chiefs. Our presence was obviously no bother to Old Sage lying in the branches like a grandpa fast asleep in front of a television with his glasses off. Old Sage was so sound asleep in the branches that I am sure if we would have stepped on a twig he would have flown through the air with a start! As it happened there was a slight rustle in the trees and he slowly lifted his pale white face and peered about with those dark chocolate eyes to see if there might be any reason to move from his lazy boy chair in the trees. After one big open mouthed yawn and a lazy blinking glance down at us he dropped his head back down to a resting position and promptly returned to his slumber amongst the shady branches.

93 93 The importance of sleep We have four phases of activity. One is beta which is 13 to 30 Hz when our brains are active. Alpha which is 8 to 12 Hz when we are in a relaxed state and Theta. Theta is very low EEG of 3.5 to 7.5 Hz which is when we are in deep sleep, such as REM. Theta is a time of sleep which vacillates between vigil and sleep. According to some studies if the control node of the theta rhythm is damaged severe memory losses may occur. After Theta we drift into Delta at its 4 Hz which are present during our deepest sleep. When we are awake, we have alpha and beta activity then as we begin the first of our four phases of sleep we experience different Hz beginning with Theta. Our first sleep mode Theta is followed by our second mode of sleep which is interrupted by sudden increases of 12 to 14Hz which can occur several times per minute known as K- waves. These K-waves or spikes of cortical electrical activity can continue until we reach REM sleep. During our third and fourth phase of sleep we continue with the delta waves and ultimately arrive at REM with theta and beta activity. REM sleep is that part of sleep in which we do not awake to loud noises our cranial and spinal motor neurons seem paralyzed even though some movements remain, such as eye, heart, respiratory, and intestinal. Each one of these cycles in humans lasts about 90 minutes whereas the REM part is about 30 minutes of that. According to some studies the occipital lobe is stimulated during sleep, as are the motor areas if there is movement in the dream just as if we were actually moving. Sleep helps to maintain homeostasis even amongst the animals. As we have more and more means to light up the skies in these tropical jungles at night with various fireworks I am concerned for the well being of the animals, as well as the humans which inhabit them. In studies of both humans and animals which were deprived of sleep for extended periods had difficulties in focusing, balance, in regulating their body temperature and appetite, even their metabolism had changed and their stress levels increased. In animals the deprivation of sleep can lead to death. Humans can even experience hallucinations when deprived sleep. It also appears from some studies that the REM sleep could be

94 94 necessary for cerebral growth, although it is still not proven. The effects on learning and memory are still being researched. Fortunately, animals are not kept awake all the time by our noise, however, it is possible that they and us are experiencing stress levels due to the interruptions of sleep. It would be interesting to find out the behavioral differences between the animals in park areas with high decibel noise levels during the night such as tourist areas with bars and other areas that are still virgin forest areas. Hearing is probably one of the more important senses amongst our animal friends and is used as much as we use our visual capacities. The tones we hear are based upon Hertz or the vibrations per second. The ear is one of those special organs which can determine and analyze various tones and separate and recognize them which are important in nature for detecting the difference between the wind howling through the tree limbs and the approach of a diving hawk. The cochlear nerve is responsible for transmitting information about what is heard to the primary auditory cortex across axons. The cilia can be damaged by loud tones which exceed certain decibels. The normal conversation between people is carried at 60 decibels while city traffic jumps up to 80 decibels. Although these sounds do no damage, exposure to 85 decibels in humans requires ear protection if continued for more than one hour. By OSHA standards exposure of 100 decibels for more than 15 minutes is recommended against. The fireworks and the concerts that are going from 6pm until 3am during the holidays are at decibel levels of 140, regular exposure at this level for more than 1 minute runs the risk of permanent hearing loss. In addition to disrupting sleep patterns the animals run this additional risk which can make them easier for predation.

95 95 Chapter 15: Swingers, Howlers, and Jumpers Many social animals and other monkey species inhabit these rich forests and will be written about in greater detail in future books, however for now we give a slight introduction to the other three monkey species and various other animals which live here. One of the most difficult to capture on film is the Central American Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) swinging through the trees on a flying trapeze. This is one monkey species which I had come to know during some excursions in Mexico. Here they are a bit more of a challenge to find, even though their range is from Veracruz to W Panama. They are elusive. This monkey is very fond of mature, tall forests and has a habitat that ranges from sea level to 2300 meters. They are very agile monkeys, swinging through the trees hand over hand like children in the school play ground on the monkey bars, only the monkeys have the aid of a tail to grasp and hang on with. They, like other new world primates, are arboreal and diurnal. At night they sleep in the high tops above the canopy in wide spread trees. When they are flying through the tree branches with their long slender 2-3 foot tall bodies like acrobats they make enough racket to attract attention, but are so quick that they disappear as swiftly as they appeared. Their time is spent foraging through the upper level canopy in sub-groups of 2-8; their main groups can be as large as 30 individuals. Most of the ones we saw were moving along in pairs in Carara Park. On the beach in Manuel Antonio they moved through in groups of six or eight. Troops normally have one adult male for the many females and the females are apparently in charge. According to some research it is the female who plans and leads the troop through an area of sq km to new fresh ripe food sources. Spider monkeys are frugivorous (pronounced fru-jiv-or-us meaning they eat fruit), however they also eat seeds, but their special preference is for full, ripe fruit.

96 96 An important feature of the spider monkey is its ability to form different smaller social groups for foraging within its main group of up to 30 and still be able to recognize those individuals in the both settings. This is a different type of ability than we see with other primates here which maintain one group. Humans normally have different groups with which they associate like family, work, and school, religious or social organizations and manage to recognize who belongs to which group. It requires a greater memory capacity and ability to recognize and register an individual in context with where you know them from. Spider monkeys do not like intruders and will work in a group to drive them off by displays of barking and threat postures. They can be a formidable force in mass fussing at tourists or other interlopers. They will stand up and try to intimidate intruders or shake branches at them similar to so many other creatures here such as the coati. At times they will even throw tree limbs or leaves at the invaders. All in all though they prefer flight to fight and if the perceived threat continues they will break off into smaller bands and flee at a fast pace being lost completely in the dense foliage in seconds. Female spider monkeys enter puberty and reproductive viability around the age of four. They have an estrus cycle similar to humans of every 26 days. If conception occurs when they mate they will have gestation period of 230 days. Spider monkeys don t reproduce every year like many other mammals, but will usually have two to three years between each birth due to length of time of maternal care. Spider monkeys care for their young longer than some of the other species. They are carried around by their mothers for 10 months and are nursed for up to two years. They spend the first five months of life clinging to the mothers abdomen and the next five riding on her back.

97 97 Howling at the break of day throughout the forests are the Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta Palliata). We do research on the howlers monkeys in many parks in the pacific coast region. These little monkeys have a loud howl in comparison to their small size. The male of the species is 36-60cm long and weighs in at 6.6kg and female measures a cm and weighs in at 7.8kg. This sexual dimorphism is nothing out of the ordinary amongst primates, including humans. But their vocalizations are something different entirely. They can be heard up to 3-5km away and are especially loud at feeding times. They sound like a pack of hunting dogs howling. At 430am at in the different parks you can hear these guys calling to their neighbors letting them know their whereabouts in the forest canopy. The males and females both have large hyoid bones that permit their unique howl to resonate throughout their small home range of thirty hectares. Even though thirty hectares sounds like a lot of land they really don t use it all. Howler monkeys are the slowest moving monkeys, almost as slow as the sloth, mostly because of what they eat. Their diet is exclusively vegetarian like the gorillas in Africa and consists mostly of leguminous leaves of trees with dehiscent (pronounced di-his-cent meaning to split open like green beans) seed pods such as mimosa. Due that vegetation is such an important resource for howler monkeys and is not high in energy supply they tend to have these small home ranges, in which travel routes are typically reused. Although 30 hectares is a large area, they typically move around in a range of 400 square meters which is adequate for their slow moving pace. These home ranges are not protected by the large alpha males which are 47-63cm up to 23% larger than females, as they do not have specific territories, but the food resources are protected. Due that specific territorial boundaries do not exist they attempt to avoid conflict with other troops by vocalizations and hence the familiar howl which reverberates throughout the forest and shorelines.

98 98 Their loud call is made possible by a large hyoid bone, which is larger in males than in females. Males will typically howl at the crack of dawn, especially in Manuel Antonio National Park and Arenal where they begin at 4:30 in the morning. In Carara National Park they begin howling a bit later, around 8:30am. Their troops of will also commence their dog pack like howl when they are on the move to another foraging site, similar to the North American gray wolf (Canis lupus) in which they attempt to advise other nearby troops of their movements in order to avoid conflicts. Howler monkeys will fight if they cross each other, often with severe injuries inflicted and at great expenditures of energy therefore making avoidance necessary. Intra group aggression seems to be minimal, yet there are dominance hierarchies amongst different groups. These hierarchies are advertised by the resonant sound of the howls, the louder the howl the more dominant the troop. These troops are neither matriarchal nor patriarchal societies as both sexes are evicted at sexual maturity and form new groups. In the future more studies will be conducted on the comparative behavior to humans in this regard. Sexual maturity begins in males around 4 years of age. Female sexual maturity takes place sooner, as with most mammals, at 3 years of age allowing both nearly 15 years of reproductive capabilities within their 20 year lifespan. genitalia become a very visible white. Upon sexual maturity their

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100 100 Mating season is usually once a year and females which conceive will typically give birth every year to year and a half following a gestation period of days. The young are carried on the chest like the spider monkey offspring for the first days of life and are then carried on the back until they are pushed off at 3 months of age to move along on their own. Although they are pushed off, they are not weaned until they are a year to a year and half old. Howler monkeys (Alouatta Palliata) are slow moving lowland monkeys which prefer evergreen forests like cows prefer green pastures. They are found throughout the tropics from southern Vera Cruz, Mexico to northern Columbia and western Ecuador. There are six known species of howler monkeys throughout the tropics. Different from the old world monkeys they are purely arboreal and live off of vegetation with a preference for young leguminous leaves even the leaves of the mango tree are acceptable food. Most of their diet is made up of leaves, nearly 64% according to some studies, however, they also consume up to 31% fruit and flowers. Leaves being the primary food source permits greater foraging opportunities, this is not without cost though. Leaves are low both in sugar content which is needed for energy and low in nutrients as well. The combination of which requires less energy expenditure due to less intake hence the slow movements, the small home range, and the need of a howl. The various fruits and flowers which they consume supplement their diet with the needed sugar supply. Furthermore a purely leaf based diet requires, as with most foliverous animals, that their dentition differ in order to aid digestion of the fibrous content. The howler s teeth are broad and flat for better grinding and they are also equipped with a deep lower jaw, as well as a differently arranged digestive system for the most efficient utilization of intake. To account for the dietary discrepancy the howler monkey is equipped, not with a sacculated stomach like cattle, but rather with a large cecum and colon making up 1/3 of

101 101 the body volume of this monkey. The large cecum and colon are for the promotion of cellulolytic bacteria for food break down and efficient nutrient uptake. Since nutrient uptake takes place in the small intestine, which is the first digestive process, it makes it necessary for howler monkeys to take in vegetation which is easily fermentable such as young leaves and shoots. Young leaves and shoots have two other benefits in addition to easy fermentation, one palatability and two non-toxic. As most horse owners can tell you, old grass is apparently not sweet. Horse, cattle and apparently these howlers too will opt for new fresh shoots. As leaves and shoots mature their flavor becomes bitter making them less palatable and depending upon the type of vegetation may be toxic. Because they do not have a four chambered stomach and do not ruminate like cattle, course fibrous material which is resistant to microbial fermentation may form phytobezoars (impacted masses) causing symptoms similar to colic in horses thereby requiring this large gut for breakdown. Tree foliage is often fibrous and high in phenolics, terpenes, essential oils and cyanogenic glycosides giving these slow paced fellows just what they need from their plentiful food supply for as long as the rainforest trees stand. When the rainforest is decimated as it is in some regions here by cattle farms and developments, the animals lose their passages from one region to the other. This is what has been happening to the diminishing population of the small but mighty Central American Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri oerstedii). With any luck the new president of Costa Rica with her respect for the resources here can implement some land usage regulations leaving at least a corridor of trees throughout the river regions of the concession lands that were given to locals for cattle farming and thereby reduce the inbreeding and lack of food sources.

102 102 The Saimiri Oerstedi are known as some of the most intelligent simians, with the Saimiri Oerstedii having a brain body mass ratio of 1:17, whereas humans have a 1:35 ratio. The Saimiri Oerstedii, commonly known as the Central American Squirrel Monkey or red backed squirrel monkey which resides in both Manuel Antonio and Corcovado, has two subspecies; the grey crowned or capped (Saimiri Oerstedii Citrinellus) and the black crowned or capped (Saimiri Oerstedii Oerstedii. The differentiation between the Grey capped and the black capped are difficult to notice due to the slight changes in coat color. However, the difference in the color of the cap and their home range of these subspecies make them more distinguishable from one another. These two subspecies occupy different zones of the Pacific coast. The grey capped squirrel monkey lives in the central pacific coast and in this case were observed and studied in Manuel Antonio National Park. The black capped squirrel monkeys are restricted to the southern pacific coast, south of the Terralba River going down the coast to the Osa Peninsula and into the northern part of Panama. North of the Terralba River lies the range of the grey capped squirrel monkey.

103 103 Their range is from the Terralba River northwards to midway between Parrita and Jacó. Unfortunately like I said these little guys are at risk because their habitat has diminished and there aren t any remaining forest strips between the regions meaning that inbreeding could eventually pose a problem. Troops have diminished over the past ten years since my first studies of them. Sightings used to be common place but now seem to be at certain times of the year. In addition they have begun to have health problem such as intestinal and dental due to the rich carbohydrates and sugar filled food from tourists. With some luck perhaps the parks will be able to sell formulated food to the tourists to feed to these animals preventing such problems. The Central American Squirrel monkeys, including the subspecies, are between 26.6 (10 inches) and 29.1 cm long, not including their non-prehensile tails, which are either equivalent or longer in length. They truly are the size of squirrels. The males of the species tend to weigh more, weighing around 829g where as the smaller female weighs around 695g, 1000g is 2.2 pounds. Due to their habitat and their expansive ranges of hectares with a daily range of 2-4 hectares, they have a varied diet. They are omnivorous monkeys which have evolved a special anatomy to cope with their diet and special hunting and foraging techniques. They have specialized teeth which are sharp and narrow and a short simple gut for nutrient absorption. They are capable hunters of the tent making bat. Their hunting skills are remarkable when one sees them hunting the bats and snapping up flying insects. They are quick in their movements and inventive in their techniques such as bouncing on the limb of a tent making bat forcing it to flee so that it can be caught. Their diet also consists of eggs, lizards, birds, frogs and other small prey, as well as fruits which they have a special preference for which make up nearly half their diet. Sadly, they have also developed a taste for human handouts of cookies, crackers, and bananas which they seem to love in Manuel Antonio National Park. Their movement throughout the forests all day foraging both on upper and mid-level forest are important for seed dispersal of the passion flower, mango, cashews, yayo flaco and others. They seldom take

104 104 all that is on one tree even though there is strong competition amongst spider monkeys, capuchins and other creatures including humans for these fruits. Strong competition for food sources necessitated adaptation in their evolutionary development. They apparently learned that capuchins which typically have a smaller foraging area knew which trees were bearing fruit. Using the capuchins as lead the squirrel monkeys once within range of the producing tree could arrive much faster thanks to their shorter thighs which allow them more jumping force. And so they would bolt in mass at breakneck speed feasting long before the capuchins arrived. Another adaptation which helps them in their competition for resources is their group size. Being that they are smaller, larger primates can cause them to flee if alone or in small groups, whereas it proves to be more daunting if there are large numbers. Troops of Squirrel monkeys have been noted as having upwards of a 100 members, although this tends to be more typical of the South American squirrel monkey and is not a fixed troop but a merging of several groups. Central American troops tend to run between The best research on these monkeys was done quite some years back by two of the most diligent researchers from two different areas, one from Costa Rica and one from the US, which were dedicated to accruing true data. See the appendix for more information. Troops consist of females, their offspring and adult males and are of an egalitarian social structure. There are 60 % more females than males in these troops. The adult males typically socialize during the mating season and only at that time display dominant social hierarchies in which the dominant male has the most mating rights. The females may mate or solicit mating from other males as well but the alpha male is the key progenitor. Males may remain with their group for life. Apparently, squirrel monkeys like the capuchins in Carara Park are not territorial nor aggressive many troops overlap in their territories and have a mutual tolerance of each other. The only aggressive behavioral displays I saw were when tourists were feeding them bananas at a popular beach hotel and the monkeys would run at the feet or legs of the tourists scaring them away from the bananas they were offering.

105 105 Like the males, females do not have a social hierarchy and along with their offspring form the core of the troop. These monkeys are very gregarious and seem to not have any social boundaries as they climb and crawl all over each other; differing from the capuchins which spend a great deal of their time solitary. Males produce offspring but they don t participate in rearing, that is woman s work and therefore the females work together. Younger females which may or may not be related to the mothers help to carry and watch out for the offspring while the mother forages. The females typically give birth all at one time, at night, after a 7 month gestation period. In Manuel Antonio this is typically in March. There are offspring born at other times too, but survival is usually difficult. These offspring form yet another part of the group entirely, nearly making their own subgroup. If you can imagine a woman who has 5 children and is wishing for grandchildren and suddenly is presented with them by all 5 of her kids at once, then you can imagine the craziness that happens in Squirrel monkeys. A whole group all the same age ready to grow and play. Their first few weeks of life is mainly spent clinging to the mother, but around the forth week they begin to move around. Entering their second month they begin to leave the mother for more excitement with the other youngsters investigating their new world with an unbounded freedom. The exploration of these youngsters has no bounds social play since they don t lack for playmates to join in on all the excitement. The juvenile squirrel monkeys become even more rambunctious when the troop is moving slowly. Weaning is easier than for other monkeys because it is basically self induced by their playful spirit which is far more important than food. During this time of play they learn troop traditions such as finding food, catching prey, and dunking hands into a water hole to drink, as well as social development. During this playful time of life they also develop physically and learn survival skills as they chase each other running and jumping through the canopy. Although they primarily wrestle, their play also consists of rapid escapes and chases which help them to develop strategies when a predator is near. Furthermore they use this play time to mimic the adults in both sexual behavior and aggressive behaviors, just like little kids playing house. These types of play teach the youngsters to transmit and interpret signals of both forms, vocal and non-vocal.

106 106 Juvenile squirrel monkeys have a great curiosity about their surroundings within their species and out. Their curiosity leads them to investigate other animals and humans. They will approach and observe and quite possibly touch a new object, even small birds. They may behave in a manner which appears aggressive such as throwing, swinging, or jumping at something. Through this attraction to play, young squirrel monkeys begin to spend more and more time with playmates permitting the female to enter again into estrus and make the next generation of these high speed, diminutive and valuable yet threatened creatures. Squirrel monkeys are used extensively in biomedical research and are of great importance to these native tropical forests and to the scientific community making their preservation of vital importance. This species is currently on the conservation status list as threatened due to the decline in their natural habitat. Unfortunately in a developing nation with limited resources or outside expertise it is quite possible that the squirrel monkey may not be in existence in a few short years. Chapter 16: The Social Creatures of the Pacific Coast Many many creatures in addition to primates roam these forests, some very social some not, of those creatures, the most abundant are the amphibians. One of the good things

107 107 about the deluges and quagmires was that every reptile imaginable was there for ones viewing pleasure! Reptiles abound here in Costa Rica with fossil evidence placing them here in the late portion of the Paleozoic Era 300million years ago. They have tough scales to minimize water loss permitting them to be terrestrial. Their heart is divided into more chambers than that of other amphibians for better circulation and higher blood pressure for muscle activity. They have three types of ovulation patterns occur oviparous, ovoviviparous, and viviparous. There are three groups of reptiles and all three thrive here; the crocodiles, the turtles and tortoises, and the lizards and snakes. There are some 23 species of Crocodilians in the tropics and sub tropics, only 2 in Costa Rica. The Caimans (Caiman crocodiles) are the most abundant reaching 2.5m in length and range from southern Mexico to Ecuador and Brazil. Their snouts are broad and rounded. The spectacled caiman typically lives in fresh water however at times it has been known to occupy brackish mangroves in Costa Rica. They are meat eaters, delighting in insects, fish, and carrion. The female of this species makes her nest in leaves guarding the eggs for 70 days. The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), recently under attack by humans who have been decapitating them and leaving their remains due to lack of park funds for patrolling such places as the Tárcoles River, ranges from Mexico to Ecuador. They can reach 7m in length but are typically 4m with the males being larger than females. Their snouts are different from that of the caiman; they are longer and pointed with lower tooth protruding upward outside of the jaw. They are coastal animals which eat vertebrates, fish and turtles. They dig burrows into embankments to hide and sleep in. Their nests are dug into the sand where they stand guard. If the young are threatened they give a call and the mother will come running to their defense. Both crocodiles and caimans live up to 60+yrs and are preyed upon by herons, egrets, raccoons and other mammals, including humans and anacondas.

108 108 Turtles also inhabit this biological wonderland. Sea turtles, freshwater turtles and box turtles exist here. The only type which Costa Rica doesn t have is the land tortoises. Most turtles have a long life span ranging between years. The young turtles are carnivores eating snails, insects, fish, frogs, and other reptiles but older turtles eat mostly vegetation. The most frequently seen is the red turtle (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima) which forages on land at night and lay small clutches of 1-4 eggs. The snapping turtle (Chelyddra serpentine) with its long tail and hooked jaws satiates its omnivorous appetite with the same diet of other young carnivorous turtles, but the adults unlike other turtles do not change to herbivores with age, although they do eat aquatic vegetation it isn t their primary food source. The semi aquatic white lipped mud turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum) also lives here inhabiting swamps, ponds, and streams dining mostly on aquatic snails. Amphibians of all types flourish throughout this tropical wet forest with an especially large variety of frogs: poison dart, toads, tree, and rain frogs, all a rich food source for the multitude of other inhabitants. The poison dart frogs such as green poison-arrow frog (Dendrobates auratus) are highly territorial and diurnal. They are specialists in seeking out delicacies of ants and mites. The Males are responsible for carrying up to 6 of their young tadpoles at a time high up in the trees to water cups in the bromeliads for protection. The nocturnal Marine toad (bufo marinus) by and large is the most commonly seen. These toads stay near the water due to moisture loss living under leaves that cover the forest floor, logs and rocks to keep cool. They feast on beetles, ants, small frogs, and lizards and have a developed a special taste for dog food and make themselves a pest. They are the most common cause of dog poisonings throughout Costa Rica due to the white noxious substance which oozes from their skin irritating the mucus membranes. They can supposedly spray the substance up to 30cm away. These toads lay eggs in clusters of noxious jell protecting them from the voracious appetites of other forest creatures. The Litter toad (bufo haematicus), and the beautiful harlequin frog (Atelopus varius) are also quite common.

109 109 Rain frogs are tropical frogs which inhabit areas from southern North America throughout most of South America. They live in a variety of habitats; land dwelling, aquatic or arboreal. There are some 40 species in Costa Rica which vary both in size and color patterns. Their sucker feet are quite strong as I found out one day when one tiny 1 inch long glass frog decided to take a stroll up my leg when I had shorts on. They range in size from 2.5cm to 16cm and are both nocturnal and diurnal. They too like the plentiful ants, but they also eat mites, beetles, spiders, small lizards, etc., that happen to wander into their lair. However, they like all the other species are also subject to being prey and bats love them. Carara has two of the common rain frog (Eleutherodactylus fitzingeri), mudpuddle frog (Physalaemus pustulosus). Of all the notable frogs that inhabit the forest the Family Hylidae is this most impressive. These frogs have large bulging eyes and bright colors. There are 39 species in Costa Rica. They are a small frog with an elegantly slender waist, skinny thighs and legs, a large head, and long rounded snouts. They like many other frogs and amphibians here have prominent enlarged toe pads with sucking disks allowing them great flexibility in their travels. They measure between 3.5cm and 8.5cm, are arboreal, and most are nocturnally active. Their main habitat is tree crevices or epiphytes where they lay eggs in the arboreal waters. If attacked or startles they emit loud startling screams or squalls and emit a noxious poison. Of the many species Carara park has three: red-eyed leaf frog (Agalychnis callidryas), boulenger s snouted treefrog (scinax boulengeri), and variegated treefrog (Hyla ebraccata), True frogs such as the leopard frog (Rana pipiens), and vaillants frog (Rana vaillanti), are good swimmers and jumpers. They have many predators and no skin toxin thus jumping and swimming are essential for their quick escape from other hungry forest creatures. They are diurnal and aquatic and spend most of their time feeding on bugs, fish and smaller frogs. They are streamlined, aerodynamic; slim waisted and long legged with webbed back feet to aid them in flight. Naturally the deluges also bring with it snakes seeking refuge in the trees, which like I said before I just absolutely love especially when you re not sure if it was a vine that just went through your hair or one of these slender twig like creatures. Luckily we have only

110 110 encountered a few; the green parrot snake, the coral snake and naturally the most feared of all slithered before us one day the deadly fer-de-lance. There are 1500 known colubrid species, 100 of them are in Costa Rica. Carara park has eight: mussurana (Clelia clelia) nocturnal which eats the fer-de-lance use slow acting venom and constriction to kill it, the indigo snake (Drymarchon corais) which lives in river beds, swamps, and marshes, eating small turtles, frogs, mammals, birds, fish, eggs and other snakes. They may not be venomous but they have very strong jaws for grabbing and holding their prey. Tree snakes such as the blunt-headed tree snake (Imantodes cenchoa) forage at night for small frogs and lizards. The brown vine snake (Oxybelis aeneus) is a slender, elegant snake and feasts primarily on lizards. Other tree snakes include the roadguard (Conophis lineatus), Mica (Spilotes pullatus), bird eating snake (Pseustes poecilonotus), and skinkeater (Scaphiodontophis annulatus). In addition Carara also has five of the dangerous species of snakes, although most are nocturnal they are to be respected, the most feared and venomous of all the vipers is the fer-de-lance which looks a little like a diamond back which has two important predators, the non venomous mussurana (Clelia clelia) and humans. Other vipers such as (Bothrops asper) are arboreal as juveniles are terrestrial as adults, just as the fer-de-lance. The jumping viper (Atropides nummifer) and the bright yellow eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) are arboreal. These vipers give live birth and eat primarily mammals. The forest is also home to the boa constrictor (Boa constrictor) which is a predator of the Cebus Capucinus and many other monkeys and small mammals. They can reach a length of 6m (18 feet) but the norm is m (4 ½ to 6 feet). They are typically terrestrial but young ones are arboreal and lay in wait for prey at a burrow or on the branches of a fruiting tree. I got to know these fellows first hand since a Doctor friend of ours in Grecia breeds them. There are 4 species of the Central American coral snake (Micrurus nigrocinctus) in Costa Rica. Their special coloring of red and yellow together and then a black band sets them apart from the mimicking false coral. These snakes like most are seldom seen as they are

111 111 terrestrial living under leaves and debris. They feed on lizards, amphibians, and other small snakes by emitting their venom by chewing. They are most commonly seen during the dry season at which time they move around diurnally at times pairs will be found together. Most of the ones which we have seen were only about a foot long and as big around as a man s index finger. Luckily most of the other types of snakes I have only gotten to know through a small snake exhibition hall in Grecia on the old road to Alajuela and not hanging down in my face or slithering across my feet. Carara park is also home to two of the nine species of geckos which inhabit Costa Rica, such as the leaf litter gecko (Lepidoblepharis xanthostigma) and the Central American smooth gecko (Thecadactylus rapicauda) which have tiny hair like structures on their toes providing them with the ability to attach themselves to walls and ceilings. They range in size from ½ to 1 ¼ inch in length, are typically diurnal, and feed on insects. These little guys anchor themselves to the ceiling letting out loud vocal calls of chirps, screams, and whistles to advertise their territory. There were times when we actually thought we had birds nesting in the house they were so loud. At times they will let go with their suctioned feet and drop to the ground with a loud thud. They may be small, but their bite is as strong as their call is loud. Five types of the 38 species of iguanids inhabit Costa Rica. They are quite common to see, such as; green iguana (Iguana iguana) which is semi arboreal, eat leaves, twigs and fruits. They are also good swimmers, especially the basilisk or Jesus Christ Lizard (Basiliscus basiliscus). This fellow runs upright on his hind legs even over water when he is startled. They are abundant, semi arboreal, and omnivorous. Another is known as the ground anole (Anolis humilis) which are mostly arboreal but a few are ground dwellers. They are sit and wait predators and very territorial. They are an important food source for motmot and trogons, and many other bird species.

112 112 Manuel Antonio is home to the semi arboreal Godzilla lizard which is actually the green iguana. It is a large lizard up to a meter or three feet long. It normally moves at a very slow pace and often stays in the same place for a couple of days. In Manuel Antonio we filmed one while watching for monkeys one morning, it stayed on the same tree branch for two days hardly having moved at all. It nearly appeared like a garden statue which had been placed on the tree branch. This vegetarian eats flowers, fruits, and crops and they are a food source for snakes, hawks, jays, skunks and raccoons. Skinks and Whiptails are common throughout the country as well and you see many of them along the trails. Skinks are slim bodied lizard shaped creatures with short limbs. They have smooth shiny roundish scales and are terrestrial preferring moist ground. They are diurnal mostly on the move foraging in the morning hours gulping down insects whole. They are preyed on by snakes, lizards, birds, coati, armadillo, and opossum. Eleven species of Whiptails are in Costa Rica. They are abundant living on trails, roads, and beaches. They are slender, alert, and active. They are not the lay in wait predators, but instead actively search for insects and small amphibians. They make a lot of noise rummaging through the leaves on the ground at full speed and often sound as if there is a larger animal walking along. Two types are seen in Carara National Park; barred whiptail (ameiva undulata) and the edppe s whiptail (cnemidophorus deppei). Both skinks and whiptails are egg layers. One of the most sought after animal here is the glorious Scarlett Macaw commonly called Lapas. One particular morning as we marched through the muddy trails we heard the commotion of the Scarlet Macaws. It was not too difficult to follow their ruckus through the forest. They were darting back and forth between the twenty or so palm trees their harsh calls reverberating throughout the canopy. Finally we spotted one of them

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114 114 silhouetted against the tropical dawn with his strong prominent beak, his arched neck and the well known elevation of his wings as though they have shoulder pads. We watched as he slowly lifted his wings to take flight from the leafless branch that he was sitting on. As we walked further into the brush beneath the palms hoping for some monkeys we saw three more of these beauties fly in. In the early dawn light we could not see their brilliant bold colors but their elegant flight was made all the more spectacular as they glided in unison wing tip to wing tip. As the light of day pushed its way through to the forest floor where we stood beneath a Monstera Deliciosa vine, before us hung one, all radiant, sparkling in his fine iridescent plumage of red, gold and blue in the sun. It will never cease to amaze me how such a brightly colored bird can become invisible in a forest of green. We found that they stayed in pairs, accompanying their mate in flight and feeding, or with one other presumably an offspring. They had a variety of tones which they used to communicate as they glided across from tree to tree. They used long tones like that of a cat purr mixed with their squawk, or short screeches with more force. The rich biodiversity in this tropical corridor attracts one of the 16 extinct species which inhabit areas from southern Mexico to South America. The flock which frequents Carara National Park and the Guacalillo Mangrove Reserve are the Ara macao cyanoptera which have large yellow bands on the wings. The flock that we were privileged enough to see playing, fighting, grooming and feeding that morning in the palms had some fifty or so birds. There are around four hundred individuals in total that pass through this region of the pacific and another seven hundred that frequent the Osa Peninsula. Flocks of fifty are normal for this socially interactive bird with their offspring. The Scarlet Macaw nests in the Guacalillo Mangrove Reserve making a nest in the naturally formed tree holes of the soft wood trees of Ceiba and Gallinazo similarly to a highly lucrative city apartment market in New York or San Francisco. Competition for

115 115 these nesting sites is steep between the Macaws and also with other animals such as the amazon parrot, toucans, and bees. If they succeed in getting their nest site they lay 2 to 4 eggs which will hatch in twenty-one days. Only one of the hatchlings will survive though. Which is a good thing for the parents because they remain responsible for the care of the hatchling for 75 days seeing to all of its needs and to care for more than one would be an overwhelming task. After three months the hatchling will begin its steps towards independence, however not far from its parents. They leave the nesting sites between five and seven in the morning flying in family groups or in pairs along their three main fly routes to feeding sites for their varied diet. When they land along the banks of the Tárcoles River they feed on beach almond seeds. From there they take flight landing in the tropical forests of the Carara National Park delighting in the bountiful fruits that bade them welcome. They drift across with hardly a flutter of their wings and land hanging vertically on the nut bushels or tree bark. When they finish feasting on their natural fruits they once again take flight for the forests and plantations in the hills behind the park where they dine on teak and Melina and occasionally leaves and bark. Bird watchers come frequently searching for these birds and do not catch even a single glimpse of one, yet on that June morning we felt extremely lucky. In all the years of forest visits we had only seen two pairs off the cliff side balcony of a small resort hotel on the road between Carara Park and Jacó, we had never seen so many as that particular day. It is a pity that this beautifully colored majestic bird faces problems with its survival due to the diminishing of the mangrove swamps it which it builds its nests. Other flying social creatures here are bats. They may not be as astounding in their coloring but that doesn t make them any less interesting in their social behaviour. They benefit from the rich vegetation and animal life and also contribute to it, and are also a food source for the capuchin monkeys and many other animals. There are 980 species of bats and they make up 39% of all the neo tropical mammals. Of the 200 mammals in Costa Rica 105 are bats.

116 116 They have true wings attached at their fingers and claws their order of Chiroptera refers to chiro for claw and ptera for wing. Their fur is long and silky and they have sharp claws for gripping, scent glands which emit a musky odor, and large hearts. The females are larger than males in most species. Often times various species are visibly distinguishable from one another based on the type of nose and body size. Mating systems also vary by species; some are polygamous while others are monogamous. Bats have a great range in size from the greater fishing bat at 60 centimeter (two feet) wingspan to the tiny 4.5 centimeter (1 ½ to 2 inch) sucker-footed bat. The dietary habits of the various bats are different too and range from blood, to frugivores, carnivores, nectivores, and insectivores. Most specialize on insects though, using sonar to grasp or scoop bugs. Large bugs like fruits are taken to a roost to take apart and eat. Bats usually roost in caves, hollow trees, and undersides of leaves or roofs of buildings. Their foraging times also vary widely by species. For an animal which instills fear in so many and receives the brunt of being a wicked evil bloodsucking animal, they are highly social. Bats even though they suffer this bad reputation are animals which place a great amount of importance on the care and protection of their young. Most carry their young ventrally on their abdomen during the first couple weeks of life while foraging. Others actually have baby sitters which watch out for the young while the parents go out foraging. Early one morning, just before daylight, we were watching some learn to fly. As we watched, one was flopping around on the ground and sending out signals in what seemed to be a high pitched stress like sound. I was concerned about its safety and scooped up placing in it the safety of a palm branch. It continued emitting loud peeps even though I had already backed away. Unexpectedly I heard other peeps another larger bat appeared. I wasn t sure if this was friend or foe, but at that point all I could do was watch. I had thought to go chase the bigger bat off when it seemed as though it was on top of the young injured one. Within seconds the larger bat had pulled the young one up to its chest, spread its wings and flew into a nearby tree. Perhaps it was the surprise of seeing this tenderness or just that the dawn and the dew made it all mystical, but I was held spell bound by the beauty that I had just seen. I never would have believed such a

117 117 thing if I had not seen it with my own eyes. When I commented to friends, they began to joke that I was the only person they knew who would think it was beautiful and want them for pets. Not only are they beautiful if you can get passed the vampire blood sucking visions they have a tremendous value for the variety of plant life in the tropical forests. There are nine species of bats living in Carara park. One of the rarest of all to see and a delicacy for the capuchins is the tiny albino bat which roosts on the bottom of palm leaves measuring about 2 inches in body size. The greater fishing bat (Noctilio leporinus)lives near fresh or salt water it has very large hands, feet and claws making it easy for grabbing and eating fish, crustaceans and insects from water. The Jamaican fruit-eating bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) has a diet of insects, pollens and small fruits. These bats, like most are polygynous. The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) feeds on blood which it encounters by using vision and sonar. It ordinarily makes its tiny perforations into the necks of domestic animals such as cows and horses, often even the back and rump in which they emit an anticoagulant and lick up the blood as it drains out. These bats can walk run and hop along their victims. They don t normally cause any major damage unless they are overpopulated and lack their natural predators; however they can be pests as Pebbles could have attested to. We had such a problem with these guys nesting under the tin roof that we had to hang a rattling chain around Pebbles neck at night. We had so many by the time my niece had arrived that we had to flush them out with water. Unfortunately we flushed them out without knowing that they had young and so my niece and I went out picking the wet little guys up out of harm s way and putting them onto tree branches. Their wings were like vinyl and their fur as soft as a puppy and a rich dark black chocolate color. At the time we knew they had sharp teeth, but what we didn t know was that they were carriers of rabies. The mothers regurgitate the blood to feed their pups. And these very same bats are helping medical science in the cardiology field because of the substance they emit as an anticoagulant.

118 118 The false vampire bat (Vampyrum spectrum) 80cm wingspan eats birds, rodents, and other bats. They are equipped with large canine shearing molars and powerful jaws. They live in small groups of pairs and offspring. The parents often leave the offspring with a babysitter during night while out foraging but on return they and their pups muzzle like wolves. Both pups and babysitters get fed by the returning parents. The small short-tailed fruit bats (Carolia perspicillata) are common in large groups of several hundred. They are fruit eaters and sometimes take in nectar. They arrive at my hummingbird feeder just before dawn and drain it dry within two nights. When they take fruit they take it to another spot for eating in order to avoid predators that may be lurking in the fruiting tree. These bats carry their young clinging to their abdomens for nearly two weeks prior to letting them fly solo. Bats are very important for seed and pollen dispersal throughout the tropical forests. The sucker-footed bat (Thyroptera tricolor) has tiny adhesive cups on its thumbs and feet to permit it a wider range of foraging opportunities. Small groups of them will roost in a newly formed leaf of a banana or heliconia, head up, until the leaf unfurls, at which point they search out a new home. Nectar bats (Glossophaga soricina) small bats which are also commonly seen in large groups eat mostly nectar but also eat fruit and insects. The young cling to their mothers fur with their teeth and are carried for a month. In the forest certain white tropical flowers only open at night and are pollinated by these bats as they get nectar and carry the pollen that accumulates on their bodies from pushing their tongues into the flower to others. The black myotis (Myotis nigricans) are tiny bats which live in large groups. Males roost separately from the females and their young. These bats forage on insects all night. They carry their young until they are able to start flying by themselves at 3 weeks old. The tiny greater white-lined bat (Saccopteryx bilineata) also calls this area home. Males of this species have harems and therefore do defend their territory. The mother carries the pup till two weeks of age. The park is filled with other types of mammals too. Many of which are commonly known such as possums, armadillos, Mexican hairy porcupines (Coendou mexicanus), and variegated squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides) and the northern raccoon (Procyon lotor).

119 119 There are four types of opossums ranging in size from 30 to 42 centimeters (1-1 ½ feet), with the largest being the Opossums (Didelphis marsupialis). The other smaller ones are; Central American woolly opossum (Caluromys derbianus), water opossum (Chironectes minimus), gray four-eyed opossum (philander opossum). The water opossum actually swims and is typically found near water sources, such as the lagoon. Both the common opossums and the gray opossum are nocturnal and are most often seen on the roadside dead. Armadillos are also active here and tend to be out with their offspring mostly at night digging up roots and tubers or eating carrion. Mexican hairy porcupines can usually be seen hiding up in the trees looking like just a black spot. They will usually stay in one area for several days before moving on. They are usually found by the family dog which returns home with a face and mouth full of quills or are the targets of local hunters which unfortunately still do not understand the need for leaving part of the family. Variegated squirrels are not quite as easy to see as the backyard kind, but are still around moving through the trees foraging or seen eating the indigenous red hibiscus flowers. The northern raccoon is most easily seen in Manuel Antonio national park where there s plenty of scavenging to be done. Most of the other animals are more difficult to encounter to the frustration of many tourists. If you are determined to see animals there are some resorts around Arenal and Manuel Antonio which invite the critters in with offerings of food. But for the most part to see animals in the wild one must have patience, especially in a mostly virgin park. Others animals in Carara Park which are seen from time to time are Hoffman s two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni), the brown throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus). Tayra (Eira Barbara), striped hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus semistriatus), grison (Galictis vittata), and the long tailed weasel (Mustela frenata). Sloths are often found curled up in the fork of a tree, blending in with the bark. When Linnaeus originally categorized them they were placed amongst the primates. Now however they are in the same order as armadillos and anteaters. There are five species in two genera, the two toed and the three toed. They are found throughout the tropical

120 120 forests and are a delight for tourists when spotted. However, they are found as backyard visitors and make themselves at home if given food, and if not they move around through a small home range of less than 16 acres. They are leaf eaters and compete with the howlers for food sources. Since they do not move much, and when they do it is unbelievably slow, it is very difficult to spot them. Each movement they make is deliberate and slow like an extremely slow tai chi exercise as they reach up to grab an upper limb extending their arm ever so sluggishly. Sleeping sloth in Manuel Antonio Rarely seen are animals such as the kinkajou (potos flavus), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Jaguar (Panthera onca), margay cat (Leopardus wiedii), silky anteater (Cyclopes didactylus), northern tamandua (Tamandua Mexicana), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu), neotropical otter (Lutra longicaudis), olingo (Bassaricyon gabbii) also inhabit the park and one must count themselves lucky if they have seen them. Bird life abounds in Carara National Park although one must take their time to see them. Four species of parrots and two parakeet dart in and out screeching loudly and coloring the sky; red-lored (amazona autumnalis), mealy (Amazona farinose) and the yellow naped (Amazona auropalliata), white-crowned (Pionus senilis), brown hooded (Pionopsitta haematotis, and the orange-fronted (Aratinga canicularis) and orange-chinned parakeet (Brotogeris jugularis) color the sky. When these birds land in the trees, even when you know they are there, it is often hard to spot them. One would think that the colorful birds would stand out amongst the green backdrop; however they blend in all too quickly.