Researchers stunned after footage reveals bizarre animal activity on remote island: 'Carrying them for days at a time'
Trail camera footage from a remote Central American island has left researchers befuddled as to why capuchin monkeys are acting in a never-before-seen way.
Captured on an island off the Panama coast, the footage shows five capuchin monkeys kidnapping at least 11 infant howler monkeys over the course of 15 months. Researchers divulged their findings in a study published in Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (via ScienceDaily), which was then reported on by Outdoors.
"Young male capuchin monkeys have been abducting baby howler monkeys and carrying them for days at a time," the Max Planck Institute wrote on Instagram. "Nobody was on the island to see which capuchin started the behavior and who copied him. But remote cameras were there."
Trail cameras have become valuable research tools for conservationists. They allow researchers to monitor remote areas for long periods of time with remarkable efficiency. And the cameras are often so conspicuous that local wildlife doesn't know they are there, giving an unfiltered look into these creatures' daily lives.
Recently, trail cameras have captured remarkable footage, such as a bird's rare mating ritual in Thailand. They've shown rarely-seen glimpses of endangered species, such as an Arabian lynx, tahr, and wolf in Oman. And they've confirmed the reintroduction of species to certain ecosystems, such as river otters throughout Ohio.
As far as capuchins, these abductions had not been seen before, and researchers believe it began as random behavior that somehow caught on within this specific population.
"The more interesting question is not, 'Why did this tradition arise?' but 'Why here?'" researcher Brendan J. Barrett said in the study.
The capuchins did not play with, eat, or hurt any of the babies, and kept them for just a few days. Researchers do believe, however, that all of the abducted babies ended up dying, as the capuchins couldn't provide them with the milk they needed to survive.
"Witnessing the spread of this behavior had a profound effect on all of us," researcher Meg Crofoot said in the study. "We therefore feel even more responsible to keep learning from this natural population of primates who, to our knowledge, are the only ones on Earth to be practicing this strange tradition."
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