PrintAnimals on the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Four different species of monkeys are found in Costa Rica:
The White-throated Capuchin Monkeys live in groups
of 5 to 24. They are extremely curious, agile and aggressive, defending
their territory by threatening with their sharp teeth and shaking on trees.
Apart from fruits and leaves they eat also lizards, birds and eggs.
Capuchin monkeys are firmly convinced that they are the rightuous owners of all bananas of the world.
Should you deny them THEIR bananas they can sometimes become obnoxious.
The sounds of Howler Monkeys sound terrifying for a first-time visitor in
Costa Rica but these animals are 100 percent peaceful vegetarians.
Take care however to not to stand beneath a howler monkey family as they use an effective strategy to keep people away
who bother them: they pee - with the most innocent face imaginable.
Howler monkeys rarely set their feet on the ground, they only travel trough the canopy.
Construction development with clearing of forests has cut off many of the monkey's travel routes so that
in the last 15 years
Costa Rica's howler monkey population has declined by 50%.
While deforestation is the main reason for the decrease of monkey populations in Costa Rica, many monkeys also end up being electrocuted on uninsulated power lines where their usual travel routes through the canopy have been cut. To prevent at least the electrocutions you might sign the Petition to prevent Monkey Electrocution in Costa Rica
Spider Monkeys are the most intelligent monkey species in Costa Rica. With their long, slender arms and
prehensile tail the animals move gracefully through the canopy in search for fruits, seeds and leaves.
Spider monkeys are severely endangered in Costa Rica due to habitat loss and poaching: in order to get the baby
monkeys, the adults are killed by the poachers.
On the Nicoya Peninsula spider monkeys are almost extinct but in
the Curu Wildlife Reserve a re-introduction program seems to be successful.
The last one of Costa Rica's four monkey species, the squirrel monkey, is not found on the Nicoya Peninsula.