Day in the Life Part 3

The monkeys have found a small stream, fed by the recent rains.  Mikumi plops down regally in the center of the current, his legs splayed and his chin just protruding above the cool water.  The younger males scamper around him, pushing each other off the bank and splashing each other with mud. The females settle more discreetly on nearby branches, or drop to the ground to drink.

 

Mikumi's morning bath. Photo: K. Perry.

We lower ourselves to the ground near the stream, relieved to be freed from the weight of our backpacks. Bedlam and Ybobo, their fur still matted with mud from the creek, gallop past us before a fresh outbreak of play bouts sends them galumphing away to rejoin the ball of wrestling monkeys at the side of the stream.

Ybobo covered in mud. Photo: K. Perry.

Suddenly, there is a sharp series of alarm calls and the relaxed scene dissolves in a flurry of movement.  Some of the females and juveniles have scampered up trees and the adolescent boys, led by Mikumi, are threatening at a broad-shouldered stranger who has appeared out of nowhere.

“Hey, look, Drogon’s back!” Fiona says, smiling.  Drogon is an adult male from neighboring Pelon group, but he makes frequent visits to Celeste’s.  Like all capuchin males, Drogon left his birth group as an adolescent, along with his cousin Mikumi.  Males have to emigrate to a new group to avoid mating with their mothers and sisters, who stay in the same group their whole lives.  Since entering a new group can be very dangerous (alpha males usually don’t take kindly to newcomers who might usurp them), males generally migrate with a few of their age-mates.  One group of migrant males, dubbed the “Lost Boys,” spent over two years wandering the forest, taking on alpha after alpha and inevitably losing, until they finally disappeared from our study area entirely.  Unlike the Lost Boys, Drogon has a secure place in Pelon group as the right hand monkey of Gossip, the alpha male there, but he can’t quite make up his mind whether he wouldn’t rather be in Celeste’s.  His visits are tense occasions for the Celeste males.  On the one hand, Mikumi and Drogon grew up together; on the other hand, Drogon is a potential rival and may bring the rest of his group on his heels.  Drogon’s arrival tends to throw the group into a state of temporarily hostile confusion, which eventually dissolves into play bouts.

Stand-off between Drogon and the Celeste's males. Photo: K. Perry. 

Erebus and Bedlam both threaten Drogon, with Quincy behind them.  Mikumi, however, turns his attention to Fiona, who has just started a focal follow of Drogon. A little ball of fluff and fury, he threatens up at her, teeth bared and head bouncing. Fiona ignores him and calmly continues the follow, and after a few minutes he charges off after another victim.

Mikumi’s behavior is quite typical.  Capuchins frequently redirect aggression at researchers or other innocent bystanders when they find themselves in a tight spot.  It’s a way of showing everyone present how tough and terrifying you can be, while simultaneously diverting attention away from the original fight.  Now that a common enemy has been established, Drogon and Mikumi can bond over their hatred of the evil researchers in peace.

“We’re non-dangerous members of a card-carrying enemy species,” says Susan.  Capuchins will happily play on the ground a few feet from us or run past us in the course of their normal activities, but when they are threatened, researchers make great scapegoats. Fortunately, as long as the researcher doesn’t react fearfully or angrily, the monkeys lose interest before doing any real harm.

 

Drogon (top) and Mikumi give a not-entirely-convincing show of solidarity. Photo: K. Perry.

Drogon embraces Mikumi in an overlord and they both threaten Fiona, although Mikumi still seems ill-at-ease.  Soon play bouts resume, and the ground around the stream is a bustling hub of activity again.  Erebus and Avocado play wrestle with Drogon, and soon Quincy and Ybobo join in.

Avocado, Voldemort, and two juveniles (the one on the bottom is probably Harry) rubbing peppers into their fur. Photo: K. Perry.

Meanwhile, Harry and some of the other juveniles have found something much more exciting even than Drogon’s visit.  It’s a small, green hot pepper, but it’s not about to be used for food.  Harry bites down on it, and his eyes immediately begin to water in pain.  He scrunches his face up, and a dribble of pepper-infused drool slides down his face, which he rubs enthusiastically into his fur.  The other monkeys follow suit, biting the peppers and drooling copiously, their faces comically distorted.  Soon one large ball of squirming monkeys has formed, all rubbing frenetically at their own and each other’s fur.  What is this strange ritual?  The monkeys, as far as we can tell, are applying their own form of insect repellant.  Susan’s own research, as well as the work of researchers at other sites, has shown that this species of capuchins rub over a dozen substances into their skin and hair. These include citrus fruits, stinkbugs, tree saps, and the leaves and fruits of various plants. Many of these substances are used medicinally by humans and are known to have insect repellant or anti-fungal properties.

Two more fur rubbing pictures, because I can't resist sharing these. Photos: K. Perry.