Fun White-fronted Capuchin Facts For Kids

The white-fronted capuchins (Cebus albifrons) are wild primates that thrive in dry, wet, dense forests, rain forests, and savanna forests. They are located in Peru, endemic to Amazon Basin, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Paraguay.

They are also located in South American countries, except Chile. Also known as Humboldt's white capuchin, they are medium-sized monkeys that can live up to 40 years.

Like humans, their bodies are covered with hair and not fur, so they do get tanned under the sun. They are named capuchin because they resemble Spanish capuchin monks with their white/pink faces and hood on the head.

When it comes to intelligence, these monkeys stand out and are remarkably superior to other monkeys. They can show dexterity with their hands by holding sticks, branches, and stones to open hard seeds, shells, and nuts. Their unique characteristics and habits set them apart. So, let us find out more exciting facts about the white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons).

After you are done reading about them, you can move on to enlighten yourself with our other articles on Titi monkeys and Patas monkeys.

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White-Fronted Capuchin Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a white-fronted capuchin?

A white-fronted capuchin monkey is an animal belonging to the monkey family. It prefers the thick jungle to swing easily from one tree to another. Also, where there is an abundance of nuts and fruits, you can spot it quickly. The scientific name (Cebus albifrons) is derived from the Greek word Kebos (Cebus), meaning long-tailed monkey.

What class of animal does a white-fronted capuchin belong to?

They belong to a mammal category, where the female white-fronted capuchins give birth to a single young baby. After that, they do not mate for two years, unless the new infant dies. In such cases, they mate after eight weeks. Due to this reason, populations conservation seems challenging.

How many white-fronted capuchins are there in the world?

The white-fronted capuchin is a Least Concern species. There are four to five species of them which are further classified into subspecies: white-face or white-fronted, yellow-breasted, black-capped, and wedge-capped.

Where does a white-fronted capuchin live?

They are spread across South American states except for Chile, like squirrel monkeys they too house tropical forests like in Panama, Colombia, the Amazon basin of Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela. These species require a humid climate and their home range also involves Central America, Northern Argentina, and Costa Rica.

What is a white-fronted capuchin's habitat?

These capuchins (C. albifrons) live in both wet and dry forests, tropical and dry deciduous, primary and secondary in a group. Also, you can locate them in the lower to mid-canopy and understory of the forests.

The canopy offers shelter and protection from predators. Their seed dispersal activity on the jungle floor and fecal matter aids in helping trees grow, thus adding plenty to the existing forest to shelter them.

Who do white-fronted capuchins live with?

Capuchin monkeys are social and live in groups of 10-35 individuals, approximately with one male for each adult female. Their territorial range is around 22 sq mi (35 sq km), and they are polygynous.

Females only bore one baby after going for a gestation period of 160 days. The baby clings to the mother and she nurses the infant until it grows.

As the baby grows, the other members of the group also start taking care of it and help in understanding its role. The alpha males and the alpha females are also seen grooming each other sometimes.

How long does a white-fronted capuchin live?

White-fronted capuchin monkeys live up to 30 years. If preserved well, these species can survive up to 40-45 years. An old survey indicated that the oldest  0one reached 54 years of age.

How do they reproduce?

Whenever the female is ready to mate, she makes chirping sounds to attract males. Male and female white-fronted capuchin monkeys prefer new partners every season.

Once they get attracted to each other, they continuously mate until the female conceives. Her gestation period lasts about 160 days, and she gives birth to only one baby, similar to the Howler monkey.

The mother looks after the infant and carries it on her back everywhere until it turns four months old. The lactating white-fronted Cebus albifrons do not hunt or search for food except for handling lighter items. After four months, the baby follows the footsteps of adults by mimicking every action they perform.

Be it foraging, marking area, or opening up nuts, they do all. It takes around four years for infant capuchin to become independent ultimately.

What is their conservation status?

They come under the Least Concern category. Their population size is reducing at an alarming rate due to jungle fragmentation, hunting, and loss of habitat. According to the last census, they have now started receiving attention. Hence, their (Cebus albifron) conservation program has already been initiated by wildlife sanctuaries. The more forests growing, the more males and females growing.

White-Fronted Capuchin Fun Facts

What do white-fronted capuchins look like?

White-fronted capuchins are brown, black, whitish, and off-white in color. They reach up to a length up to 12-22 in (30-56 cm), and their tail is as long as their body and covered in hair.

This helps them to grab and hold on to the branches of the trees firmly. Male capuchins weigh more than females at around 4-7 lb (1.7-3.5 kg), and females weigh about 3-5 lb (1.4-2.2 kg).

Their face is pink with black eyes and large nostrils. Blessed with strong jaws and teeth, their enamel is the thickest of all non-human primates. With equal size forelimbs and hindlimbs, they comfortably move on the ground.

The fingers are dexterous with pseudo-opposable thumbs, letting their fingers move independently. As compared to their body size, the brain is larger.

How cute are they?

White-fronted capuchins are cute and adorable especially when they stick their tongue out. It looks adorable but it is done to allow moisture to evaporate so that they stay cool especially during the dry season.

How do they communicate?

They live in groups, to protect themselves from enemies, so raising infants and watching over food needs some kind of communication. Hence, they communicate by making visual and auditory calls.

Their pitch tone, duration, and intensity determine different sets of messages that can be transmitted. Calls like alarm calls, territorial, food, predator, and dominance calls vary, which is relatable to Tamarin monkeys. They also leave their scent by soaking their hands and legs in urine.

For instance, the white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons) uses a bark sounding like 'waah' to indicate danger. Females make an 'eh-eh' sound to alarm the dominant male of the danger and a 'yah' sound shows happiness and excitement by the members of the group.

How big is a white-fronted capuchin?

The white-fronted capuchin species grow up to 33.1 in (84 cm).

How fast can a white-fronted capuchin run?

These species can run fast and very quickly especially when they spot a predator. The white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons) can also swing swiftly among the trees.

How much does a white-fronted capuchin weigh?

A male white-fronted capuchin (Cebus albifrons) weighs more than the females at around 4-7 lb (1.7-3.5 kg), and females weigh about 3-5 lb (1.4-2.2 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

They are New World monkeys where the dominant capuchins are referred to as alpha male and alpha female.

What would you call a baby white-fronted capuchin?

A baby is called an infant and can see from birth.

What do they eat?

Capuchin monkeys feed on more varied types of food than other monkeys in the family. Their omnivorous nature allows them to eat a variety of plant parts such as leaves, flowers, fruits, pith, bulbs, woody tissue, sugarcane, insects, and fish from the forest.

Modern research has found out that they have recently resorted to eating larger nuts and cashews. Capuchins have also been seen gorging on frogs and tree rats and small invertebrates.

Their quick adaptation to the environment makes them creative foragers and helps them sustain themselves when there is extreme food limitation. They that live near water bodies relish crabs and shellfish.

These Cebus albifrons have a peculiar characteristic of eating anything they find in their habitat. For then, new small vertebrates, insects or fruit is as good as the existing items.

How active are they?

Cebus albifron species are arboreal (live on trees) and diurnal (active in a day). They hunt for food the whole day on the forest floor along with other members except for a mid-day nap and sleep in the night.

They are quick and agile animals and possess good muscle strength. The strong fingers help them open up any fruit or nut they wish to consume.

Would they make a good pet?

No, these species cannot become good pets as they are considered a wild primate who loves their natural environment, forest, and freedom and become aggressive when held captive. They are intelligent species who are driven by the natural instinct of hunting and surviving, so petting them and keeping them at home is not a good choice.

As infants, they are sweet and innocent, but as they grow older, their wild side is more visible and can cause unpredicted damage.

Also, depriving them of social interaction with other monkeys can induce behavioral and psychological problems.

Though it is legal to have them as a pet in places like Florida, Ohio, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Nevada, and Alabama, taking into consideration its temperament is essential to safeguard future harm. Also, they cost around $5000-$7000.

Did you know...

Since white-fronted capuchins dine on fruits mostly, the total population is considered as seed-dispersers thus helping the forests grow.

The capuchin can get dehydrated easily if it is not drinking enough water.

Males white-fronted capuchins (Cebus albifrons) whip their heads to attract female capuchin Cebus.

What are capuchin monkeys known for?

White-fronted capuchins' total population is known for their extraordinary intelligence as compared to other species. To save themselves from mosquitoes, the members crush millipedes and rub the remains on their back, which automatically acts as a bug repellent.

Are capuchins aggressive?

They are identified as social, diurnal (awake in the day), and territorial species of the forest. White-fronted capuchins spend the entire day searching for food, urinating to mark their territory, and protecting their infant.

The younger ones show gentleness, but the adult ones are quite aggressive like Proboscis monkeys and can throw feces when agitated. An obvious competition for food exists among the groups.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals including woolly monkey facts and white-bellied spider monkey facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring one on our free printable White-fronted capuchin coloring pages.

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