This little capuchin monkey looks intelligent but full of mischief, kind of like a real monkey. Combined with one of the 14k gold monkey earrings, this piece could be part of a very classy-looking gold monkey jewelry set.

Play among monkey youngsters helps them to bond. During social play monkeys practice all kinds of adult behavior, which helps them out when they attain adulthood. Some of the play involves the attainment of real survival skills, like where the best watering holes are, how to get to trees with the best bugs or fruit, etc. Sometimes they wrestle with each other and do some play fighting of other kinds where they learn things like jumping, dodging, fleeing and chasing.

Play also encourages the babies to leave their mother’s side and become more independent. This also encourages weaning. By the time the baby monkey is at least a year old, it is pretty independent of its mother.

Adult monkeys aren’t much into playing, maybe because the advantages of safety outweigh the need for any more exploration. They seem more interested in the monkey equivalent of a good safe job. That would be foraging, taking care of the infants and the harsh realities of who’s the top monkey in the troop.

Wear my gold monkey pin in good health and think about those busy little primates in South America that inspired its creation.

 

For a glimpse at more designs, like a friendly possum gold pin, try my 14k gold wildlife pins home page.