Extra Credit Observation of Nonhuman Primates

    We went to the Santa Ana Zoo to observe the social interaction of three groups of primates. We observed examples of the New World monkey (Bolivian squirrel monkey, brown headed spider monkey, crested capuchin), ape (white-handed gibbon), and the prosimian (ring-tailed lemur.) Each type of primate has unique physical characteristics and different social behaviors.
    The Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys live in large groups called troops. The information plaque said that they have a well defined social hierarchy comprised of multiple same-gender groups. A single troop can contain 20 to 50 individuals. The females have darker heads than the males, but we didn't see any males. Each female or male group has a leader, but it was difficult to keep track of them in the trees. They were very agile and seemed to use their tails for balance, not for grasping. They eat fruits and leaves, which would make them omnivores. They're diurnal creatures that were active during day and had their down time during the night.
    The capuchin monkey is supposed to be the most intelligent of the New World monkeys. From what we read on the signs it said they were known to use tools regularly. They would know how to use rocks to crush certain fruits and get out the inside or use sticks to move things out or around. We were able to observe two different kinds, the crested capuchin and the brown capuchin. Both types are from South Africa. These omnivores feed on nuts, insects, and fruits. They are diurnal, arboreal, and their locomotion pattern was brachiating, which was distinctly different from the squirrel monkeys which seemed to scamper and jump around like a squirrel.
    We were lucky enough to get a picture of a female grooming her young, but we're not sure if it was the mother or if other females help raising the young. These monkeys were a little more rowdy than the rest. There was a male that showed he was the boss of the cage, making his dominance known. Even though they were wild I got to take a picture of them hanging upside down using their tails which showed that they had prehensile tails. 
    Moving on to the last of our New World monkeys we have the brown-headed spider monkeys. They are from South Africa. These special creatures have amazing long fingers and arms. When they were walking their arms were so long it was dragging on the ground. They lack thumbs, but they make up for that with a long prehensile tail that's almost a 5th arm. They eat fruits, nuts, and insects, which makes them omnivores as well. 
    We noticed they have really flat noses and its a little far apart and its sitting on their tiny heads that is too small for their bodies. The face was the only hairless thing on their body. It said they are a male bonded group. When we were observing them we didnt really get a chance to see them do much except balancing themselves on the fake poles. Their locomotive pattern seem to be semi-brachiating. 
    Next, we approached the white-handed gibbons. These gibbons are from the order Primata and they are in the lesser ape category.  We went to read the information that was given to us in the front. It said they came from Asia and they live in tropical rain forests. They eat only fruits and leaves which meant they were herbivores. They come in two color forms, blond and black. They move using brachiation, as we see them swing from branch to branch. These gibbons are arboreal. As they moved from branch to branch, once they have found a location to relax they make their loud morning song which is supposed to mean that they were proclaiming their territory.
    The sound that these gibbons were making sounds like if they were saying Woot! all the time. These gibbons are known to be the loudest of the apes and probably are because we could hear them a block away, but as we approached closer to the loud Woot! sounds, it turned out that the sounds were coming from the gibbons. The gibbons after they climb to another location they would make these sounds. It seems like they were claiming the spot as Gibbons are known to be highly territorial.  These gibbons didnt do much but sit there and make these sounds for most of the time being and as we were about to walk away, one of the gibbons started grooming the other one. We didnt see any apparent reason why this gibbon started grooming the one next to it but expect for the reason that it is trying to just grow a bond with one another. 
    These gibbons had very light colored hair and for obvious reasons on why they called it the white-handed gibbons, half of their white hands and feet would be white. One of the zoo workers there explained to us that their hands are similar to ours. Surrounding their black face is white hair. We could not tell the dimorphism between the males and females. Gibbons are also awake in the morning and they sleep at night, this means that they are diurnal. They were all very awake and making loud noises as we got there, none of them were sleeping. 
    Finally, we stopped to see the ring-tailed lemur. These prosimians live in Madagascar in the tropical rain forest. They only eat fruits and insects. The ring-tailed lemur uses their distinctive ring tail as a flag for communication. They also use their dark scent gland on the arms used to mark territories. Unlike most species of lemur, these are also diurnal.
    Most of the lemurs there we saw was mostly female probably because for one reason, that the females are dominant and also that the female remain into the troops they are in a type of Female-Bonded society. We could not tell the difference between which was male and female as they all looked the same. The only reason was because Tom the employee there told us that these lemurs were mostly female. Reason why we didnt see any sexual dimorphism was because females are more dominant than males. We could tell they had many core areas as most of the lemurs seem to sit in the same spot for long amounts of time. They would leave to get food off their plate or off Toms hand and head back to where they were just at. We think this is because ring-tailed lemurs are territorial and it is mostly females since males dont bother. 
    These lemurs were pretty bright colored and had a mixture of white and black hair from face to neck and on their legs. However, the body of these lemurs was black, white, and brown also. The tails were just rings of black and white. Right when we got there, they were all eating. Tom the employee there had nuts, bananas, and grapes in his hand and the lemurs came and ate off his hand. These lemurs do not share food and are territorial. While Tom was feeding them, he explained that the troops live in 20 to 50. Lemurs also groom each other and they were all the same sizes. They didnt have sitting pads like the Old World Monkeys do. They're similar to the Squirrel Monkeys in some ways, since they have a female dominant society and they're similar size, but they don't live in trees since they come from a very different habitat.
    We viewed many different primates and it was interesting visiting the zoo with a different mindset knowing why they groom and to know their behavior patterns towards each other. It was definitely a first for us and we enjoyed the zoo more actually especially since now we know the differences between all the animals. Knowing their behavior gave us an interesting view since we arrived at the zoo because we get to know why they do the things they do. 

squirrel monkeys: