Primates in Captivity

Nicholas Hon

Mr. Cearley

Anthropology

12 March 2015

Primates in Captivity

        Zoos have been part of America’s backbone in entertainment, but behind the happy façade lies dark secrets. We come to zoos to see exotic animals; they look happy in a replica of their original environments, but that is the exact opposite of how these animals feel. I traveled to the San Francisco Zoo on February 1st from 1:30 – 4 pm to observe Siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus) and Common Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) and how captivity affects these species. Although these species are both monkeys, they have different characteristics.

        The Siamangs share some characteristics with Common Squirrel Monkeys, but they are different in certain ways. These two species are similar with their overall personality. In this section of the zoo, I noticed much more noise compared with other animals. These two species were constantly calling out to each other. They are very active; I remember watching these monkeys jumping across their cage multiple times within a minute. They are also avid climbers; because of their body structures, both species have more ease climbing than other primates. Grooming seems to be a universal concept with primates. Occasionally, these primates would take breaks from their activities to gather near the top of the cage to groom. The Siamangs and Common Squirrel Monkeys also use their hands to carry items, mainly food. Unlike most animals that leave the food on the floor, they use their hands to bring the food to their mouths. However, these two species have significant differences.

        The Siamangs’ arms are longer than their legs. Because of this attribute, they can swing much further than Squirrel Monkeys. When they are on the ground, Siamangs transition into bipedalism. Their arms help them balance as they walk on their two feet. From my experiment, they are much more social than the Common Squirrel Monkeys. They often spend periods of 10 minutes grooming each other and they would climb around the cage together at times too. However, the Common Squirrel Monkey licked themselves for cleaning purposes, much like cats. This is probably why they do not need to interact with each other as much, since they can groom themselves. Squirrel Monkeys have body parts relative to their size, except for their tails. Their tails were much longer than a Siamang’s and also helps them balance. I noticed that these monkeys were less social compared with Siamangs. They were often traveling around the cage by themselves and eating alone. I did not see them walk on two feet also; they were “hopping” on land, much like how squirrels move.

        I believe that these species are similar because of a common ancestor. It would be blasphemy to think a monkey came from a fish or some other non-related animal. However, I believe that these differences exist because of evolution and different environments. Siamangs originated in Thailand/Malaysia, while Squirrel Monkeys are from Central/South America. These two countries offer different challenges environmentally, thus pushing species to adapt to environment changes. But I believe that there’s one thing we can all agree on; these two species would rather be in the wild than be captivated.