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Capuchin monkeys were first observed eating the remains of a newborn monkey, a rare example of cannibalism among New World primates.
Researchers studying Panamanian white-faced capuchins in Costa Rica witnessed a 10-day-old baby fall from a tree.
The mother attempted to save the offspring, but she soon died and she quickly abandoned the corpse.
It was then that a 2-year-old male came up and started nibbling the dead baby’s fingers.
Then came the 23-year-old alpha female of the group, the child’s great-aunt, who also started eating the lower limbs.
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The remains of a capuchin monkey cub that was devoured by other members of his group. Cannibalism is extremely rare among New World primates and has never been observed in Capuchins
Cannibalism is sometimes adopted by animals during times of food scarcity or high population density, as it provides access to high-quality proteins, fats and other nutrients.
But it also carries a high risk of transmitting diseases and other inconveniences.
The consumption of male partners by females during mating is widespread in arachnids.
Cannibalism is not unknown among other monkey species either, usually as part of infanticide by alpha males seeking to establish a reproductive monopoly.
An alpha female and a juvenile male eating the fingers and legs of a dead child. Capuchins are omnivores but generally there is a struggle for access to prey and the whole animal is consumed
In the wild, a pregnant chimpanzee can sometimes isolate herself for weeks before and after giving birth to prevent her baby from being eaten alive by other members of the community.
But it’s rare among New World monkeys – there have only been eight recorded cases in just six species among the more than 100 found in the Americas.
And it has never been observed among capuchin monkeys, native to the rainforests of Central America.
“We’ve never seen anything like it before,” primate behavioral ecologist Katharine Jack, co-author of a new report in the journal Ecology and Evolution, told New Scientist.
White-faced Capuchins are omnivores – they are known to dine with lizards, squirrels, birds, and even small coatis – but they usually only eat things they’ve killed themselves.
“They don’t sweep at all,” Jack said.
Typically, Capuchins bite the faces of their victims, “perhaps to avoid being bitten or to silence the prey,” the authors wrote.
White-faced Capuchins are omnivores – they dine with lizards, squirrels, birds, and even small coatis – but they usually only eat things they’ve killed themselves
There is usually a struggle for access to prey and the whole animal is consumed.
In this case, dating back to April 2019, it is believed that an adult male seen being chased away after the baby’s fall has dealt the fatal blow.
But only the alpha female and the young male consumed the baby and left his face, upper limbs, and torso intact.
While the other members of the group expressed interest – smelling, touching and threatening the body – no one attempted to eat it.
“Since this is the only observation of cannibalism recorded in over 37 years of studying this population, we consider it a rare behavior in this species,” the authors wrote.
Researchers say more studies are needed to fully understand the unusual behavior, but they noted that female capuchin monkeys are known to carry deceased offspring for many hours.
In this case, the baby’s mother showed up but did not attempt to take him away when he was unable to hold on to her.
As a first-time parent, the researchers theorized, he may not have figured out what to do.
Without his mother taking the dead baby away, the other monkeys found themselves in an unusual situation.
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