Intelligence

Crested capuchin (Sapajus robustus)

Capuchins are considered the most intelligent New World monkeys[21] and are often used in
laboratories. The tufted capuchin is especially noted for its long-term tool usage,[22] one of the
few examples of primate tool use other than by apes. Upon seeing macaws eating palm nuts,
cracking them open with their beaks, these capuchins will select a few of the ripest fruits, nip off
the tip of the fruit and drink down the juice, then seemingly discard the rest of the fruit with the
nut inside. When these discarded fruits have hardened and become slightly brittle, the capuchins
will gather them up again and take them to a large flat boulder where they have previously
gathered a few river stones from up to a mile away. They will then use these stones, some of
them weighing as much as the monkeys, to crack open the fruit to get to the nut inside. Young
capuchins will watch this process to learn from the older, more experienced adults but it takes
them 8 years to master this.[23] The learning behavior of capuchins has been demonstrated to be
directly linked to a reward rather than curiosity.[24]

In 2005, experiments were conducted on the ability of capuchins to use money.[25] After several
months of training, the monkeys began exhibiting behaviors considered to reflect understanding
of the concept of a medium of exchange that were previously believed to be restricted to humans
(such as responding rationally to price shocks).[25] They showed the same propensity to avoid
perceived losses demonstrated by human subjects and investors. During the mosquito season,
they crush millipedes and rub the result on their backs. This acts as a natural insect repellent.[26]