Monkeys With Zest

While studying capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica, Mary Baker observed that the cat-size monkeys like to rub themselves with lemons, limes, and oranges. They kind of saturate their bodies when they really get into it, says Baker, a primatologist at the University of California at Riverside. It’s an amazing sight. They’re rubbing and hugging the fruit, biting into it, drooling like crazy, there’s spit flying everywhere- -whenever I show people videotapes they always think it’s on fast-forward. The monkeys also rub their fur with clematis-vine stems and piper-plant leaves. Indigenous people in Central America use these same plants to treat skin ailments and to stop bleeding; citrus fruits in particular contain antibacterial compounds and may also repel insects. Baker noticed that when she rubbed herself with fruits (The only part I didn’t do was drool, she says), mosquito-bite scabs healed faster. Capuchins are intelligent, but are they really playing doctor? ...