Tech 4 Peace
Do the pictures belong to the bonobos that deceive chimpanzees by pretending to be female to get food?
Circulating on social media sites are images accompanied by a text stating "The African deceitful monkey, the most deceptive in the animal world, deceives its chimpanzee male victims by pretending to be a female so they bring food to him comfortably, then he goes to a new victim to deceive whenever he feels hungry."
The truth
The attached claim is false, as the monkey shown in the picture is a female of the species (Capuchin), and the reason for her swollen breasts is that she is lactating, according to what was explained by the page (Vida Animal Sin Censura), which is concerned with raising awareness, education, and promoting the conservation of wildlife.
A photographer named (Franco Requena) took the attached pictures and posted them on his account on January 2, 2023, accompanied by a New Year’s greeting and the phrase “the monkey that wears a hood of breasts” and the word "Amazonians," as indicated by the Vida Animal Sin Censura page about the habitat of this type of monkey in the rainforests of the Amazon basin.
So the monkey is a nursing female Capuchin and not as claimed to be a deceptive African male with breasts.
What is a brown Capuchin monkey?
Brown Capuchin monkeys are arboreal animals, moving on all fours by jumping and climbing using their long tails "as a fifth limb. Very curious play is common among juveniles in the wild and in captivity, forming groups ranging from 8 to 15 individuals, dominated by an alpha male. They eat insects, fruits, and other plant materials, sometimes also feeding on bird eggs. Unlike other monkeys, they are often seen on the ground, walking between trees too far apart to jump across. Named Capuchin after the Capuchin monks, the brown Capuchin monkey and other species of Capuchin monkeys got their names due to their resemblance to the brown-roped clothing worn by Capuchin monks.
