Photo of Wrinkle Belly

On my way to the forest this morning, I heard a howl down in the corridor. I took off through a rice field and got to the monkeys just after 6am. It was the North group all right—sighting Wrinkle Belly confirmed that. Apparently they had gone down the corridor again for some of those lovely magenta flowers that they just can’t get enough of right now. The whole group was there, even the ones I hadn’t seen in a few days. Much to my relief, I saw all the missing youngsters. There were the two main juveniles (Horace and Buster), plus the third that sometimes plays with them. There was the little guy, who I surmise is Newb—an infant born two months ago up on Spondias Lane. I also saw Spud, now one month old and happily riding around on his mother’s back. Scooby was tiny and golden, clinging to his mother’s belly. And then all of a sudden I noticed that there was another tiny gold infant—the North group has had two births within the past week! I started calling this one Stacy, even though I probably won’t be able to tell Stacy and Scoob apart because they are so close in age. At any rate, it was really great to see the whole group. At one point, I counted 15 individuals in the tree crown, with two others in an adjacent tree.


We were so low in the corridor that we were literally in peoples’ backyards. Here’s a photo of one of the houses I was loitering around to watch the monkeys.


The patch was so scrappy, I would hesitate to call it “forest”—it was more of a banana field with a few trees in it.


Although I was initially elated to find the monkeys, the day quickly proceeded to boring as the monkeys settled down for a 4-hour nap after their morning feeding bout. There were a few scuffles that broke up the monotony though. At one point, one of the juveniles made away with either Stacy or Scoob, and the mom went on a frantic chase to get her baby back. I don’t know what the other group members want with the babies, but they are all intensely interested in them. Even Wrinkle Belly periodically came over to peer at and sniff the babies. I think in the case of the juveniles, they just want to play. When this particular juvenile stole the baby, it just hung there by its tail, holding the newborn precariously in its arms, while the mother shrieked and bit and clawed until she got the baby back.


In the afternoon, 3 children crept into the forest patch to look at the monkeys, and they were certainly surprised to see me. I was a source of endless fascination for them—with my binoculars and databook and watch that beeped every 2 minutes so that I could record the monkeys’ activity. The children—Hilder, Fernando, and Alejandro—were mainly barefoot and shirtless, but they fearlessly tramped through the thorns and brush with me as though it were nothing. These kids were all so small; I asked them how old they were and all of them replied that they did not know. I asked them if they went to school and they said no. I asked them if they had their own machetes, and of course they said yes. Fernando and Ale left when they heard their mother calling for them, but Hilder stayed with me to watch the monkeys. That kid is so cute. He would circle the tree to find the best viewing location and then call me over. He smoothed the dirt and drew pictures for me. He arranged rocks to create a sitting place, and he carefully picked off thorns and burrs stuck to my pant legs. And he squealed with delight as he watched the mothers and their newborns.

These kids were actually featured in the blog earlier--I met them on one of my early days after a fruitless search for monkeys in the Machete forest, and they wanted to show me their chained-up pet capuchin.


When it was finally time for me to go, Hilder led me out of the forest by way of his house. I talked to some of his family members and asked them what was the name of the big flowering tree in their backyard. I think it was his grandmother who identified it as “Chaperno.” I don’t doubt that she is right, but there are at least 5 different species of trees that go by the common name “Chaperno,” so I will have to figure out which one this is. I may have to enlist the help of botanists at the herbarium in Léon.

As promised here is a long-awaited picture of Wrinkle Belly. He looks so bedraggled and forlorn! But you’ve got to love him.


Thanks for reading!