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National Geographic
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
These capuchins are abducting babies from howler monkeys—for fun?
A young male nicknamed Joker was probably the first to start carrying a howler monkey baby on his back for days on end. Then a group of other young males started to copy him. Here a white-faced capuchin monkey perches on a tree branch in Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica. A group from the same genus has been observed with stolen howler monkey babies on a small island off the coast of Panama. Photograph By Eric Kruszewski, Nat Geo Image Collection On a tiny island off the coast of Panama called Jicarón, a male capuchin monkey called Joker appears to have started a disturbing trend. Camera traps caught Joker, nicknamed for the scar on his face, and other male white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus imitator) carrying kidnapped howler monkey infants on their backs. Researchers originally set up the traps in 2017 after a botanist visiting the island had reported the monkeys using stones to process food, which had never been seen before in the more slender kind of capuchin that inhabits Costa Rica and Panama. The cameras did reveal one group of capuchins using stone tools and anvils to crack open seeds, fruits, even crabs and snails. Yet as the team reports in the journal Current Biology this week, the footage also captured this bizarre baby-snatching fad, something never seen before. 'It was so weird that I went straight to my advisor's office to ask him what it was,' says primatologist Zoë Goldsborough of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. (Capuchins are known for their ingenuity—another species is 3,000 years into its own 'Stone Age'.) A bizarre new trend A recording dated January 26, 2022, first documented an unidentified young capuchin male carrying a howler monkey (Alouatta palliata coibensis) infant. The next day Joker was carrying that same infant. And so he did for days on end, at least until February 3. 'Our first thought was that maybe this infant had been abandoned by the howlers, and then adopted,' Goldsborough says. There was one known case of a marmoset monkey infant being adopted by a different species of capuchin in Brazil. But crucially, that baby was adopted by a female who could nurse it, says Patrícia Izar of the University of São Paulo, who reported that finding in 2006. Capuchin males, on the other hand, don't have a clue what to do. And so the kidnapped howler infant very likely died of starvation. What's more, the poor infant was making the kind of calls it usually makes when separated from its mom—and later on, some adult howlers called out as well, indicating the infant had not been abandoned, but abducted instead. 'We don't have footage of how the capuchins did this,' says study coauthor Brendan Barrett, a behavioral ecologist at Max Planck. 'But we know they are not afraid to gang up on much larger howlers.' Things were about to get a whole lot weirder. In April and May, Joker was seen carrying another howler infant, and then another. Footage also showed him dragging a third one, possibly dead, with some other young males tagging along. Then, between September and March, the situation escalated: Four other males were seen carrying live howler infants on their backs or bellies, sometimes for more than a week. Over a span of 15 months, at least 11 infants had been abducted—and few if any are likely to have survived. While there had been at least one earlier report of a capuchin from a larger species in Brazil stealing a howler monkey infant and carrying it off in its mouth, presumably to eat it, this study is the first to document white-faced capuchins abducting infants in this way—and researchers are especially fascinated that the behavior was subsequently picked up by other individuals, too. 'This observation is particularly intriguing because examples of the social spread of such behaviors with no apparent fitness benefits in animals other than humans are rare,' says Izar. Because there had been camera traps on the island for years before this behavior was ever observed, the researchers probably captured the first time it happened, or at least a very early occurrence. It is not unusual for young capuchin males to be seen carrying infants of their own species, says Susan Perry of the University of California, Los Angeles, who has studied Costa Rican capuchins at another site for decades, but was not involved in the current study. 'Capuchin males often try to steal capuchin infants, and they seem extremely pleased—as if they've won a prize—when they succeed. Until the infant gets hungry and starts crying for milk.' At that point, the infants tend to be abandoned. 'Fortunately, the infant's mother or other female relatives are usually lurking nearby to retrieve their infants.' Capuchin males have a preference for male infants, says Perry. 'We think the infants they develop a close relationship with early on will often grow up to become allies with whom they can make the risky move to another group to mate.' Abducting howler monkeys would obviously be useless in this regard, but perhaps their urge to carry infants is so strong that it sometimes misfires, says Perry. Goldsborough and Barrett agree, but they believe another tendency may be misfiring as well—the desire to do as others do. Perhaps Joker really just wanted to carry an infant, and then the others just wanted to have a go at it as well. Not that it improved their social standing—young males carrying howler infants appeared to be the target of aggression from other capuchins more often than those that weren't. But for a species in which learning a new technique to get your hands on difficult-to-reach but nutritious foods is an important part of growing up, perhaps the tendency to do as others do pays off often enough to be indiscriminate. Island life may bore capuchins The island environment could be a factor, too, the researchers argue. On the mainland, capuchins usually have to be wary of predators, and foraging takes up more time when you have to be constantly on guard and stay close to the group. On an island with plenty of food and hardly any threats, perhaps young males are just bored. 'Animals living on islands with no predators—or in zoos, were they are also safe and well-fed—have often been found to be more innovative and better at using tools,' says Goldsborough. In many cases, what bored animals come up with may be useless or even annoying, says Barrett. 'I've seen capuchins groom porcupines and smack cows on the butt. They mess with everything. They're just constantly testing and interacting with the world.' But occasionally, an individual will find that, hey, if you swing a rock at one of these smelly, colorful things on the beach, there's a tasty treat inside. Or that if you hang out with male infants, they'll have your back when they grow up. Some capuchins also develop strange rituals with no other purpose than strengthening social bonds. It's all in a day's work for this large-brained, hypersocial, tirelessly inventive species that in many ways resembles our own, even though our last common ancestor lived around 38 million years ago. But what about the poor howlers, an endangered species on Jicarón, whose babies are being abducted? 'It's tragic,' says Goldsborough, 'but as researchers, we don't intend to interfere with natural behavior. I hope the howlers will eventually adapt, for example by keeping a safe distance from this one population of capuchins, or that the capuchins themselves will eventually tire of this. Those howler infants can be quite a handful.'
National Geographic
19-05-2025
- National Geographic
Bhutan's beauty beckons tourists. Here's how to plan your trip.
Considered by some to be the real-life location of the elusive Shangri La, Bhutan is a small Himalayan enclave that also happens to be the last remaining Buddhist Kingdom in the world. Here, there are many more Buddhist temples and monasteries than days of the year, and just about as many festivals. Add in rolling hills, dense forests, and countless never-to-be-named mountains in areas so remote that it takes a week's worth of hiking to reach the nearest village, and you have yourself a culture-loving trekker's dream. From two-mile treks up to hilltop temples and sacred sites to the newly established 250-mile Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan has routes for all skill levels. The Black-Necked Crane Festival in Bhutan is held annually on November 11 at Gangtey Monastery in Phobjikha Valley. Photograph by Tshering Wangdi, Alamy Stock Photo Bhutan's new model of tourism Freshly opened to tourism in 1974, Bhutan has a number of regulations in place for visiting. And, having watched neighboring countries like India and Nepal face significant overcrowding and pollution problems as a result of rapid commercialization, Bhutan decided to take a different approach. Intent on preserving its culture and pristine natural habitat, Bhutan requires guides and federal workers to wear traditional dress while on duty; it requires three trees to be planted for every one cut down; and its constitution sets aside 64 percent of land as permanent forest. To prevent overcrowding, Bhutan also introduced one of the highest tourist taxes in the world. Dubbed the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), this $100/day charge is required to obtain a visa, and it is in addition to the accommodations, airfare, activities, guides, and other trip costs. (Our ancestors walked these trails hundreds of years ago. Now you can too.) The Bhutanese Paro Tshechu Festival within Paro Dzong. Photograph by Eric Kruszewski, Nat Geo Image Collection How to choose which festivals to see in Bhutan Each festival has its own focus: Increasing prosperity, improving health and wellbeing, or warding off evil spirits. They also, particularly in remote regions, provide a rare opportunity for locals to socialize with extended family and friends they rarely see otherwise. Celebrations often last three-to-five days and many locals attend every day to be blessed by the dances. Filled with elaborate costumes and intricate performances, these festivals welcome dozens of masked dancers representing demons, spirits, animals, and deities that perform for three or four hours at a time. Most attendees sit on the ground (often outdoors in the sun), but some bring mats and small stools to pass the time more comfortably. For the past 25 years, Kinley Gyeltshen has been leading hiking, heritage, camping, and festival tours for Wilderness Travel, one of Bhutan's first international tour operators. According to him, festivals are a fun addition to a trip, but shouldn't be the focus. Instead, he suggests travelers spend about half-a-day at a festival and spend the rest of the time exploring other aspects of the country and culture. Gyeltshen also encourages travelers to consider smaller, lesser-known festivals. 'Not only will there be fewer tourists, but you'll have a better chance to really get a feel for the people and be able to interact with locals on a personal level,' he says. Dancers performing at the Trongsa Tshechu, a prominent annual festival in Bhutan, celebrated within the walls of the Trongsa Dzong. This festival is also known as the winter festival and is a major religious and cultural event. Photograph by Reinhard Golebiowski, Anzenberg/Redux A crowd watches Buddhist monks performing a masked dance during the annual Trashigang Tshechu festival. Photograph by Jed Weingarten, Nat Geo Image Collection When to go to Bhutan There's no bad time to go to Bhutan. In fact, numerous festivals take place every month across the country, and there are excellent hikes available year-round. When planning your trip, consider that most festivals follow the lunar calendar, so the dates are not fixed. Here's a breakdown of what to expect each season. November – January The weather is cooler and potentially snowy during these months, but Gyeltshen says the hiking is good and skies tend to be clear. 'It's the best time for photography, particularly if you want clear pictures of bright blue skies and snow-capped mountains,' he says. Winter is also the best time to witness the 700 black neck cranes that roost in the Phobjikha Valley ('Crane Valley'). The Black Neck Crane Festival is held in November, when the cranes begin arriving, but Gyeltshen suggests visiting in December or January to witness the largest numbers. Aside from the Black Neck Crane Festival in central Bhutan, all other winter festivals are in the far east, requiring several days of driving or a likely-to-be-canceled domestic flight. February – March Late winter and early spring offer cool but pleasant weather and you still have a chance to spot black neck cranes in Phobjikha. The landscape is still fairly brown (and you may experience light snow in some areas), but the hiking trails, festivals, and attractions are much less crowded. The Punakha Festival is an excellent choice, as it is lively, easy to get to, and a short drive from many other attractions. (Related: A photo journey into the remote communities of eastern Bhutan) Celebrations often last three-to-five days and many locals attend every day to be blessed by the dances. Photograph by Pete Ryan, Nat Geo Image Collection The Gangtey Tshechu festival at the Gangtey Monastery. Photograph by Lee Frost, robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo April – May Though the black neck cranes have returned to Tibet, Gyeltshen says late spring is the best time for birdwatchers who want to see the large number of migrating river birds returning to Bhutan from northern India. The weather is warm and pleasant, valleys are bursting with wildflowers, and hikers can enjoy less snowy and muddy trails. The Paro Tshechu Festival is a popular festival that is very easy to get to because it's held near the airport that virtually all travelers arrive through. The drawback of visiting in late spring is that trails, attractions, and festivals are much more crowded. June – August Summer monsoons have become less intense in recent years, but these months remain the wettest. Hiking is certainly an option, but you'll face a much greater chance of encountering sloppy, muddy trails. Gyeltshen notes that the upside is that in summer, flowers are brilliant and bountiful, including the national flower, the high alpine blue poppy, and the critically endangered pink poppy. Sonam Dorji, a tour guide with MyBhutan, adds that summer festivals are plentiful, they go on rain or shine, and that the country is less crowded because of the higher chance of rain. September – October Though summer monsoons can extend into September, the weather tends to be pleasant. According to Dorji, September is the best month to tackle long treks like the 216-mile Snowman Trek (which he's done three times). Thought to be the hardest trek in the world, this harsh Himalayan hike typically takes 24-30 days to complete, includes several passes over 17,000 feet, and requires wilderness camping every night. Because October is less prone to rain and has so many easy-to-reach festivals (like Thimphu and Jakar), October is a bit more crowded than September. If visiting in October, Gyeltshen suggests also considering the Highland Festival. Held each October 23-25, this high-elevation festival attracts few foreigners since it takes place in the remote highland town of Laya, a two-hour trek from the nearest road. (Related: See the relentless beauty of Bhutan—a kingdom that takes happiness seriously) How to get there:Gateway city, Paro (the only international airport) can be reached by direct flights from Dubai, Kathmandu, Bangkok, Singapore, Delhi, and a handful of other Indian cities. Delhi has daily flights, Bangkok has several flights per week, but some cities, like Dubai, only have one weekly flight to Bhutan. Two airlines serve the country, Drukair and Bhutan Airlines, and if you join a group tour, your tour operator will likely handle booking your flights. Guided tours: Technically, a guide and a driver are not required, but hiring both makes traveling easier, partly because travelers are not admitted to many sites without an official guide. Adventure travel company, Wilderness Travel, specifically schedules small group hiking tours around the country's spring and fall festivals. Intrepid offers several hiking-focused trips and they are often combined with Nepal to help bring down the cost, but they do not typically include festivals. Numerous other small operators, like MyBhutan, specialize in custom tours focusing on hiking, festivals, luxury, or other themes. Cassandra Brooklyn is a New York City-based travel writer who specializes in sustainability, accessibility and the outdoors. She is a former international tour leader with EscapingNY and is the author of the guidebook Cuba by Bike.
