The Catarrhini suborder Feeding our primates Photos Site navigation For friends and sponsors News Information History Primates Ornithology Herbivora Predatory animals Herpetology Young Veterinary Children's page. The capuchin is the most familiar New World monkey, largely because of its winning way of soliciting coins for organ-grinders. In the early 16th century capuchin monkeys were already being drawn by great Albrecht Durer. They are likely to have been brought to Old World among other overseas wonders in one of the first sailings to the West Indies. They also might constitute a part of victuals for sailors in their long way to Europe - even at the present time these monkeys are being hunted for because of their meat.
Capuchins are also popular entertainers in zoos - where they adjust well to captivity.
The most remarkable peculiarity of these animals is their prehensile tail usually used by the monkeys as an additional extremity. Capuchins are very clever and good for training. In their habitat they live in not very large groups numbering several dozens of individuals governed by dominating males. The capuchine monkeys demonstrate an unexplaned habit of rubbing their bodies with fragrant substances. In captivity they prefer to use for this purpose onions and citric fruit.