Primate Monkeys

Non-human primate infants are usually seen in the wild interacting strictly with their mothers. The research question I proposed was, do infants interact mainly with their mothers, or do the males sometimes carry and feed the infants as well? In my research I wanted to observe all species that I saw. This included White Faced Capuchin Monkeys, Howler Monkeys, and Spider Monkeys. The first species I studied was the Cebus capucinus (white faced capuchin monkey)
The white-headed capuchin is a diurnal and arboreal animal.[Emmons, 1997] However, it does come down to the ground more often than many other New World monkeys. It moves primarily by walking on all four limbs. It lives in troops, or groups, of up to 40 monkeys. Kinship is an important

Spider monkeys live in the upper layers of the rainforest, and forage in the high canopy, from 25 to 30 m (82 to 98 ft). They primarily eat fruits, but will also occasionally consume leaves, flowers, and insects. Due to their large size, spider monkeys require large tracts of moist evergreen forests, and prefer undisturbed primary rainforest. [Lang, 2007] They are social animals and live in bands of up to 35 individuals but will split up to forage during the day.] They can produce a wide range of sounds and will "bark" when threatened; other vocalisations include a whinny (a gentle high-pitched neigh) similar to a horse and prolonged screams. [Britannica, 2009] Spider monkeys form loose groups of 15 to 25 individuals,but can have even 30 to 40. During the day, groups break up into subgroups of two to eight animals. This social structure is found in only two other types of primates: chimpanzees and Homo sapiens. The size of subgroups and the degree to which they avoid each other during the day depends on food competition and the risk of predation. The average subgroup size is between 2 to 8 but can sometimes be up to 17 animals. [Weghorst, 2007] Also less common in primates, females rather than males disperse at puberty to join new groups. Males tend to stick together

The reasoning for my hypothesis is that we know that these species of monkeys carry their infants on their chest and back, and also that in many troops there are more females than males. My prediction was that if I saw an infant at all, it would be with its mother traveling, or feeding, or it would be riding on the mother’s