DuMond Conservancy's Team Aotus

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Meet Betsy: The 'World's Oldest' Owl Monkey



Betsy is in Pursuit of a New Partner!




A photo from 2004 of Betsy, her late partner Peanut, and their infant daughter Creamy. Picture courtesy of Dr. Christie Wolovich (c) 2004



This past week we began observing and collecting behavioral data on Betsy.  Betsy is a very special owl monkey because she not only is the oldest owl monkey at the DuMond Conservancy, but she is likely the oldest owl monkey in the world! She lost her mate Peanut last year and has continued living compatibly with her daughter, Crunchy.   Their companionship came to an abrupt and dramatic end about 3 weeks ago when she began fighting with Crunchy.  Owl monkeys live in family units, but once the offspring has reached maturity they will leave the group to find their own mate. Apparently, Betsy saw Crunchy as a threat to her territory and took matters into her own hands. Since then, Betsy’s rates of hooting (a vocalization that sounds like an owl hooting) and scent marking have increased tremendously. Owl monkeys rely heavily on chemical cues to communicate so we are trying to decipher her chemical messages. It seems that Betsy is ready for a new mate!

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