The Golden bellied capuchin

The Golden bellied capuchin monkey (also known as the buffy headed capuchin and yellow breasted capuchin) is one of the most threatened of the Atlantic rainforest and neotropical primates due to the nature of the threats it faces from deforestation and the subsequent genetic inbreeding that comes as a result of habitat fragmentation.


However, it is a species that appears to be kept by a few zoos around the world and so I thought I'd ask the opinions of zoochatters on the following questions:

How common is the golden bellied capuchin monkey kept by zoos in ex-situ captive breeding programs outside of Brazil?

Due to this critically endangered status should the golden bellied capuchin replace the more common Cebidae species such as the tufted capuchin or perhaps even squirrel monkeys in zoos ?

For those of you who have seen these in zoos what do you find interesting (or not interesting as the case may be) about the golden bellied capuchin?

What are the best enclosures for this species that you have seen in a zoo ?

Is it a primate species that bores you or is it charismatic enough that you would like to see more of these monkeys kept by zoos ?


Look forward to your replies !


Photo credit to @TDH.

 

I’ve seen it in two zoos (Edinburgh and Colchester) which is more times than I’ve seen any other capuchin species. In my opinion, it is a charismatic and fun species, just like any other capuchin. I would prefer if it replaced more common species for conservation efforts and because to most zoo guests (not zoochatters) it is the same as any other capuchin. For me the only difference is it’s critically endangered status, which always adds a bit of awe and excitement to seeing an animal.

 

I have seen them at 8 different zoos in Europe in the past. I don't remember anything being said about how endangered it was though.
I've never had really good moments with capuchins in zoos, except for the two in Zürich mating high-up on a perch for everyone to see. They're always very active, they're smart but I never had any awesome picture opportunity yet.

Not my favorite type of primate, mostly because I have never spent the time I maybe should have with any kind of capuchins.

The White-faced capuchin interests me more, that may be due to its different coloration.

The best exhibit for this particular species I've seen is maybe the one in Zürich, although it is just an island (or two?), nothing really out of this world, but better than the cage-ish thing in Mulhouse.

Squirrel monkeys, however, I've seen in magnificient exhibits. The one in Doué-la-Fontaine with Spectacled bears is really nice. I also like the exhibit in Basel shared with Woolly monkekys.

 

Here are a couple of enclosures for this species that I've found in the gallery that look great:

Dudley zoo golden bellied capuchin monkey enclosure, the UK:






Apenheul primate park golden bellied capuchin monkey enclosure, the Netherlands:



Chester zoo golden bellied capuchin island enclosure:




Photo credits to @zoogiraffe , @CZJimmy , @Mr.Weasel , @Benosaurus , @NigeW , @Morgan , @vogelcommando and @snowleopard.

 

Thanks for your comment @Rayane !

Eight zoos ! wow! that is really quite a lot of zoos.

It is a bit of a shame that the zoos you visited didn't highlight how endangered it is though because it is really very close to extinction in the wild here in Brazil.

I'll have to check out the Zurich enclosure that you mention as the enclosures at that zoo from what I've seen in the gallery are very impressive indeed.

Yes, for some reason squirrel monkeys tend to get placed in very large enclosures at zoos and I suspect this might be both to accomodate large group sizes and also because they prove to be very popular animals for the public.

 

Thanks for your comment @chaotic_froggie !

Great to hear that you've seen the species at a few zoos and I agree capuchins are very charismatic, active and fun primates.

I would definitely like to see it replacing the more common tufted capuchin and even squirrel monkeys too at zoos.

I think you could be right that replacing the species mentioned with the golden bellied capuchin wouldn't have much of an impact on zoo guests who probably wouldn't really notice or care about the different / change.

 

By the way @Rayane what were the eight zoos where you have seen this species kept ?

 

ZooBorns
This article claims there are Golden Bellied Capuchins in 21 European zoos. I have never heard of any in North America and this article backs that up. It also talks about WAZA collaborating with Brazil to help this species.

 

Wow, that is an incredible amount of zoos and have to say that I'm quite glad that they are being held by quite so many.

So there are no golden bellied capuchins held in North America ?

 

So the article mentions that the Münster zoo holds the largest group of golden bellied capuchin monkeys in Germany at 16 individuals.

The enclosures for these at Münster actually look really very good.

Outdoor open topped enclosures and "tunnels":



Enclosed outdoor enclosures:



Photo credits to @snowleopard and @Eagle

 

Beauval, Tierpark Berlin, Köln, Lyon, Mulhouse, Zürich and Frankfurt. I thought I did but I actually didn't see any in Magdeburg. So that makes it 7 zoos.

 

@Rayane the enclosures at Zurich look really impressive.






Photo credits to @antonmuster and @Glutton.

 

It looks great, of course, and the landscaping is awesome, as you do not see any building behind it. However, the island is not the biggest, but it is still miles ahead from many other enclosures in Europe. They had 2.2 capuchins as of 2018.

 

I really like that they have access to the trees and such height to climb to and despite the facial expressions in some of the pictures I bet they are very happy capuchins indeed, lol

 

From what I have seen we don't have any in America which is a shame they would be great for education on the species

 

That is quite curious, I know that a lot of zoos in the USA hold tufted capuchins and other capuchin species so it is quite strange that none have got into the golden bellied capuchin too.

Yes, totally agree, they would be an interesting educational addition to any zoo.

 

That could be the case, the US already holds a few Capuchin species so they don't need another or it's the AZA and EAZA splitting up similar species like Goodfellow's tree kangaroo in Europe and Matschies in America

 

Quite old school set up for the golden bellied capuchin monkeys at Frankurt zoo, Germany, but by no means terrible:



Indoor enclosure at Frankfurt zoo (nice blue tiles!):

Outdoor enclosure:



Photo credits to @lintworm and @nikola.

 

Not sure in how many zoos I've seen this species, but probably eight.

I first learned about this species and its endangered status in Amersfoort. The fact that it is an endangered species and its physical appearance makes it a more interesting species to me compared to the tufted capuchin. However, the white-faced capuchin is my favourite species of capuchin, because of physical appearance and distribution (I have a strong interest in the fauna of southern Central America for years).

I guess the enclosure in Apenheul is the best I've seen for this species.

 

That is really interesting @AWP , is the educational signage on this species good at Amersfoort ?

I have to say I'm pretty fond of the golden bellied and Kaapori capuchin monkeys as they are really in a bad way in the wild in terms of how much of the Atlantic rainforest in that area of Brazil is being swallowed up by deforestation.

The enclosure at Apenheul does indeed look great, I love the complexity of the climbing opportunities that these animals have.