Squirrel Monkeys are found In Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica

Squirrel Monkeys are found in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica.  This is a lowland primary rain forest  located on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica , with few roads and almost no development of the land and little invasion by man.  Tourist come here to Corcovado National Park  but not in large numbers because it is inaccessible except by water or by air ( small airstrips where single and twin engine planes land).

These squirrel monkeys are small, but the  funny thing is the males gains weight during their breeding season, up to 20% of their body weight.  It seems that the females are more attracted to the heavier males.  Opposite from us humans, right.

Squirrel monkeys like to eat small bats and small birds and bird eggs.   And large snakes like to eat the small squirrel monkeys.  They live and travel in large groups, sometimes in the hundreds, and have vocal sounds which warn against impending predators.  To mark their territory they rub their tales and bodies with their own urine.

Captured for the pet trade, these small monkeys are favorites for gaining big profits.   In Costa Rica we don’t see them being captured and sold, but in other countries such as South America these cute little monkeys can be seen in cages in large central markets in the big cities.

These monkeys are very cute with a white mask of fur around their eyes and and dark brown coloration  around their mouth, looking like a beard.  Their strange looking ears are large and pointed and protrude outward.   They playfully jump from limb to limb in the tree tops and hardly ever come down to the ground.