When I came to Costa Rica to spend a
year working as a field assistant for a respected researcher and mentor Prof.
Susan Perry, I wasn’t expecting to find social drama in the work place. I am
very reserved, not-too-social person, so I find it hard sometimes to deal with
lots of emotional conflict. And I try to not get involved. But I am not talking
about human life this time, I am talking about monkeys. Yes, our fellow
primates. And just so you know, I became involved.
Eight years of memories from Wiebke Lammers
The following post is from Wiebke Lammers, "monera suprema." This year, Wiebke left us after a decade of service to the monkey project. She is currently a graduate student in
the MSc program in Conservation and Biodiversity at University of Exeter. We miss her terribly but know that she will go
on to do great things for conservation!
Here is her post. All other photos are taken by Wiebke Lammers.
 |
| Wiebke Lammers descending into "7th Circle" valley to avoid losing the focal monkey. Photo by James Broesch. |
Here is her post. All other photos are taken by Wiebke Lammers.
My life with the Lomas Barbudal Monkey Project spans
almost one decade.
Monster and Peeves
written by Amy Scott, a volunteer field assistant on the project
Two months ago I was amazed at the monkeys’ ability to spot a camouflaged cascabel (rattlesnake) hidden among spiny bromeliad plants, and now I was following a four-month-old baby as he meandered helplessly through a similar patch of bromeliads. I worried that I was the only individual concerned with his fate—there could be a hungry cascabel ready to attack under any of these plants. But then out of the corner of my eye I spied another individual watching him. It was Monster watching him; she is just one of three amazing monkeys in this story.
Two months ago I was amazed at the monkeys’ ability to spot a camouflaged cascabel (rattlesnake) hidden among spiny bromeliad plants, and now I was following a four-month-old baby as he meandered helplessly through a similar patch of bromeliads. I worried that I was the only individual concerned with his fate—there could be a hungry cascabel ready to attack under any of these plants. But then out of the corner of my eye I spied another individual watching him. It was Monster watching him; she is just one of three amazing monkeys in this story.
Waldo's Wasp Tale
written by Chris Hirsch, a volunteer field assistant on the project
White-Faced Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus capucinus)
are widely accepted as some of the most intelligent monkeys in the
entire New World. Personally there is no doubt in my mind that these
monkeys are much more intelligent than we give them credit. There wasn’t
a day that went by, during the year that I spent in Lomas, that I
wasn’t impressed by their inventiveness and problem solving abilities.
Whether it was navigating complex social hierarchies or foraging
dangerous prey, the variation of solutions among individuals, to these
common challenges, suggests an impressive level of cognitive reasoning.
This fact was never as evident to me as it was while working with the
Musketeers group during wasp breeding season.
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