Watch This Capuchin Monkey Use a Tool to Pick Her Nose and Eat It, Too

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Watch This Capuchin Monkey Use a Tool to Pick Her Nose and Eat It, Too

Unusual tool use by a female capuchin has surprised researchers.
Rachel Pick
New York, US

A female capuchin monkey has figured out how to use sticks to probe her nose and mouth, which researchers at her native Serra da Capivara National Park in Brazil say is unusual and idiosyncratic for females of her species.

The capuchin, named Acácia, was recorded putting sticks and stems up her nose, which triggered a sneezing response. Researchers think this may have been her intended aim—inducing a sneeze to relieve irritation in her nose—but aren't willing to speculate after only one observation of this new behavior. In their report, they are reluctant to rule out that this probing may just be due to curiosity. Acácia thoughtfully licked the stem after every insertion, just like the weird kid in your kindergarten class, only cuter.

This kind of behavior has been observed in chimpanzees, but never in capuchins. Male capuchins use stick tools for foraging, but that's all, and females have never before been recorded using stick tools for probing purposes. "[It] may therefore be an innovation on behalf of this female capuchin," the report reads. You go, girl.