The Common Squirrel Monkey

Apr 08, 2012 Features / Columnists, Interesting Creatures in Guyana

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The common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) is a small New World primate from the Cebidae (squirrel monkey) family, and native to the tropical areas of South America. The common squirrel monkey can be found primarily in the Amazon Basin, including territories in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Paraguay and Venezuela; a small population has been introduced to Southern Florida and many of the Caribbean Islands.
A group of free-ranging individuals was spotted and photographed in 2009 at the Tijuca Forest in Rio de Janeiro – possibly the result of an illegal release or of an escape from the pet trade. By 2010, the Squirrel Monkey had begun to be considered as an invasive species in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest, and there were concerns about its role as a predator of eggs of endangered bird species.
The common squirrel monkey prefers to live in the middle canopy, but will occasionally come to the ground or go up into the high canopy. They like vegetation which provides good cover from birds of prey in the rainforest, savannah, mangroves, or marshlands. This species of monkey is considered both frugivorous and insectivorous, preferring berry-like fruit on branches. It also looks for insects, and small vertebrates, such as tree frogs. It obtains a majority of water from the foods eaten, and will also obtain water from holes in trees and puddles on the ground. When fruit is scarce, the common squirrel monkey will drink nectar.
The common squirrel monkey is polygynous with a multi-male, multi-female group structure. Most social interactions in some groups occur within the various age/sex classes, with the division of classes being between adult male categories, mother-infant categories, and juvenile categories. The core of the group is made up of the adult females and their young.  As a result of the natural attraction each class has to the adult females, the different age/sex classes come together as one social group.
Even though juveniles play and jump around an appreciable amount during phases of high activity, they usually stay close to the adult females.  In terms of the males’ level of attraction to the adult females, the phase of the yearly reproductive cycle is what determines their distance from the adult females.
The fact that reproduction is seasonal plays a major role in the social behavior of some groups, where the frequency of between-sex interactions of the males and females differs between the birth season and the mating season.  Adult males are generally socially inactive during the birth season and spend their time travelling and foraging at a distance from the group.
On the contrary, during the mating season the adult males become fatter, excited, aggressive, and highly vocal and spend most of their time engaging in dominance interactions among themselves or following and approaching the adult females in estrus, in hopes of being able to mate with them.
Males can increase their chances at copulating with receptive females by approaching them quietly. Non-receptive females, on the other hand, respond aggressively to any male approach and will threaten and chase the males away, usually with the help of surrounding females. Overall, intersexual interaction among them greatly increases during the mating season.
Infants develop rapidly. They become fairly independent between five to eight months of age and spend only a small percentage of the day with their mothers. Also at this range of age, the infants can find food on their own. The infants are active members of the social group, climbing, running, exploring, and frequently making contact with adult members of the group. Most adult-infant interactions are initiated by infants towards adult females who are not their mothers. Adults generally respond to the infants calmly, but some adults may respond with antagonism. Infants rank the lowest in the group.
Many other aspects of S. sciureus social behaviour, such as dominance relationships, coalitions, dispersal patterns, and aggression, stem from the feeding ecology of the animals. Feeding ecology directly affects the females of the group which in turn affects the behaviour of the males in the group. The feeding patches are very small and dense, which makes it possible for an individual with the greatest capability of winning a fight, if one were to occur, to monopolize access to any patch.
All males emigrate from their natal group and some females may as well, although the females are more often philopatric. Males are typically dominant to females, but females still have a high status in the group and are capable of forming coalitions against dominant males. Genital display among males is an important social signal in relation to group hierarchy; it is derived from sexual behavior, but is used for social communication.  Dominant males display to submissive males to emphasize their higher status. The dominant males direct their action to the face of the passive males and the act can be done with the displayer leaning over the passive monkey or the displayer doing the action from a distance in a more upright position.
This form of dominance interaction increases during the mating season when males want to emphasize their rank and strength and gain more control over other males in relation to access to females. Genital displays may also define male-male alliances when the males participate in “joint genital displays”.
The common squirrel monkey is diurnal. It is usually quiet but will utter loud cries when alarmed. It is arboreal but sometimes it will come down to the ground. Bands or troops can be from 12-100. Occasionally troops as large as 500 have been seen in undisturbed forests.
The common squirrel monkey is rated as “least concern” by IUCN from a conservation perspective. However, they are among many rainforest animals whose status may be harmed by deforestation. The species has also been captured extensively for the pet trade and for medical research.

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