These monkeys are kidnapping babies from another species and scientists can’t explain why

A bizarre phenomenon identified in primates in a small Panamanian island has left experts confused about the new trend.

Scientists working on Jicarón Island noticed that the Capuchin monkey population had started to ‘kidnap’ younger monkeys of other species. The observation was first made by behavioral ecologist Zoë Goldsborough, who then went back through 15 months of camera-trap footage to see how frequent the behavior was.

“I realized that it was really something that we hadn’t seen before,” Goldsborough said. “I was shocked.”

Incredibly, she found that one adult and four sub-adult and juvenile Capuchin monkeys - all males - had abducted at least 11 infant howler monkeys. There was nothing to suggest that the bigger, more dominant Capuchins were eating, caring for or playing with their victims.

They embarked on an effort to study this behavior and published their findings on Monday in a paper in Current Biology journal. They forward the idea that this trend of inter-species kidnapping is simply a “cultural fad” within this specific community. They suggest that the unique ecosystem of Jicarón may have contributed to the rare findings.

Pedro Dias, a primatologist at Veracruzana University in Mexico, told CNN that instance of adopting/abducting infants of other species is fairly common among females, with a natural maternal instinct. But the males on Jicarón did not seem to be providing any sort of care.

Instead, the study suggests another possible reason for the behavior. Co-author Brendan Barrett described Capuchin monkeys are “destructive, explorative agents of chaos" who are always pushing boundaries. Unusually, the Capuchin population on Jicarón has no predators and the outgoing primates are free to embark on strange new activities.

The lack of predators “makes it less risky to do stupid things,” Barrett explained.

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