Blond Capuchin

• Common Name: Blond Capuchin
• Taxonomy Classification Year: 1774
• Monkey Size: 35.6 to 38.4 cm (15.1 to 14 in)
• Skin Color(s): Golden-yellow
• Habitat: Forests
• Diet: Omnivorous
• Native Countries: Brazil

The blond capuchin monkey^[1] is one of the capuchin monkeys native to northeastern Brazil.

• They get their name from the distinctive golden-blond fur on their bodies.
• These capuchin monkeys have pinkish-brown faces and black feet and palms.
• Their prehensile tail acts as a 5th hand, allowing them to grasp onto branches, freeing their hands.
• Capuchin monkeys and the closely related squirrel monkeys are the only New-World Monkeys with pseudo-opposable thumbs.
• Although they cannot rotate their thumb relative to their other fingers, they have a firm lateral grip between their thumb and forefinger, making them more dexterous than any other primate on the continent.

The Blond Capuchin mainly feeds on African Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis)^[¶].

• Thanks to their ability to use tools and unique dexterity, capuchin monkeys can eat food inaccessible to other animals.
• The blond capuchin monkey can live in large groups of more than 150 individuals and, like other capuchin species, exhibits a high and complex level of sociability.
• True omnivores, blond capuchins prefer arthropods, seeds, and fruit and sometimes even eat nestlings, frogs, and small mammals.
• As arboreal quadrupeds, they prefer the forest’s lower to middle canopy and undergrowth but sometimes forage along the forest floor.
• Like other primate species, the blond capuchin is threatened by poaching and trapping for the illegal pet trade.