Monkey Mystery: The Case of the Capuchin Kidnappers

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Zoo, National Museum, Postal Museum, Smithsonian, Society & Culture, Art19, National Zoo, Tony Cohn, Natural History, Dc, Exhibits, Museum, American History, Exhibit, History Of The World, African American History And Culture, History, Washington, Air And Space, Pop Culture, The Smithsonian, Sidedoor, Science

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Why are capuchin monkeys kidnapping howler monkey babies in Panama? We investigate this bizarre case of primate abduction with researchers working with the Smithsonian to get to the bottom of this bizarre behavior. We'll talk about their discoveries, the social dynamics between capuchins and howler monkeys, and the bizarre island conditions that might be driving this behavior. Is it boredom? Is it social learning? Or is something else entirely at play? Travel with us to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama to uncover this monkey mystery!

Guests:

Zoë Goldsborough, visiting researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and a behavioral ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Brendan Barrett, visiting researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and an evolutionary behavioral ecologist and evolutionary anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey there, Side Doorbals. We're quickly closing in on the start of our new season. We've got a lot lined up for you, from secret messages possibly hidden inside a prized Smithsonian object, to a famously mysterious mold, murder investigations, and even a trip to the state fair. That all starts in just a few weeks.
0:21.5	In the meantime, we wanted to follow up on an episode we made last year when we traveled
0:25.5	down to Panama to search for the Capuchin monkeys who learned how to use stone tools.
0:31.4	Capuchins are these little white-faced monkeys that one of the researchers described this
0:35.5	way.
0:36.5	I mean, capuchins are, well, I think of them as devil spawn.
0:40.4	What? Devil spawn?
0:42.9	Yeah, so I did my PhD on these species.
0:44.9	They ran me up and down hills for two years of my life.
0:48.1	And while I think that they are deeply interesting, they're also, am I allowed to say this on the radio?
0:53.6	Yes.
0:54.3	They're little s' ** allowed to say this on the radio? Yes. They're little sh.
0:57.4	So what are these little monkeys up to this time?
1:01.5	Well, they're actually causing a bit of mischief, which is putting it politely.
1:06.8	To learn more, I reached out to Zoe Goldsboro and Brendan Barrett.
1:10.7	They are the researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
1:14.6	and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.
1:18.4	They're using cameras to study tool use among Capuchins on Hickaron Island,
1:23.2	which is about 35 miles off the coast of Panama.
1:26.2	In 2022, Zoe was looking through some of this footage
1:29.5	when something caught her eye.
1:32.4	It was a young capuchin monkey carrying a baby monkey on its back.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Smithsonian Institution, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Smithsonian Institution and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.