Capuchin
Habitat: Rainforests, the circus, pirate ships, film sets, eating poisoned dates.
Ah, the king of all monkeys, for whom we owe so much.
When people say man's best friend is the dog, spare a thought for the capuchin. Surely this wonderful creature would be everyones best friend if only the current Dangerous Animal Importation Laws were more reasonable. The capuchin is a fascinating and hilarious species. Small in size with extraordinary tails like a third arm and cheeky in appearance, these are one bunch of loveable Monkeys.
The Capuchin or Sapajous lives in small groups everywhere from the rain forests of Central America down to the Amazon. A new world monkey (because they hail from the Americas, which years ago someone decided was 'The New World'), they've got fantastic tails and a flat little nose which adds even more charm to their charming little faces. Much like us, they’re happiest spending their days swinging from branches, playing in the forest canopy and searching for delicacies on which to dine on. Like Ewoks, capuchins are investigative little beasts whose curiosity and flambuoyant japery lands them in no end of trouble with crocodiles down by the rivers edge, where they gather to pick fruit and seafood. Surprisingly agile for their diminutive size, the capuchin is often able to out manouver such predators by scampering up the nearest tree.
Intelligence is a big draw for the capuchin, who is known to break open nuts by pounding them with rocks, and even rub citrus juices into their fur as a natural mosquito repellant. Excellent stuff - they're not only highly intelligent, but emotional too. When upset, capuchins are known to give out a hell of a cry with tears forming in the corner of their eyes. Now if this is real emotion or just playing up for the sake of others we will never know, but clearly our little Latin American friend has a zest for life which Bacardi could only ever dream of.
Lets face it, these monkeys are hilarious. Their favourite pastimes include a fondness for banging things—steadily and hard on the ground, making mud rolls, acting, dressing up, dancing and of course smoking (their favoured brand is Woodbine apparently). With all these talents could they not replace most of the actors in Hollywood you say? Well yes they could and yes they do. Capuchins can be seen in supporting roles in many films such as Pirates of the Carribean, Raiders of the Lost Ark (‘Bad dates…’), and even the hit television series Friends (Marcal the Monkey was a brown capuchin). In the film Monkey Business, Andre the swift fingered capuchin (real name Chapito) outshines the performances of both Harvey Keitel and Thora Birch by a substantial margin.
However historically speaking it is dancing that they are best at, as not only is this their favoured social pastime with their friends but also biggest source of income thanks to the organ grinder trade. In days gone by, around the time that someone coined the phrase 'New World Monkey', Capuchins formed the basis for all Pirate evening entertainment. It's easy to see why, as the capuchin is cheeky enough to amuse even the most humourless crew member, whilst small and lightweight enough to sit on the captain's shoulder or be stowed in the hold during a storm.
Like a little person, only better - The Capuchin.
In conclusion, what this Monkey lacks in size it makes up in a thoroughly excellent personality. We should point out that at times of stress capuchins can become irritable, and in reviewing animals such things have to be taken into consideration, but isn't this also true of the Bison? And bisons are a lot less loveable than capuchins.
We honestly can't find any bad points in this creature. What a star!
Celebrity Owner:
Overall Capuchin Score: 9.4/10
Nope.
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