Hunting and consumption of fruit-eating bats (Artibeus watsoni) by Cebus imitator in Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, Costa Rica

Vertebrate hunting and meat-eating are documented behaviors in many non-human primates, yet the predation of bats by Neotropical primates remains rarely reported. This study provides the first detailed record of a wild capuchin monkey ( Cebus imitator ) hunting and consuming fruit-eating bats ( Artibeus watsoni ) in a forest fragment on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The events were observed in February 2026 at Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, and involve an adult male named "Tuko", a member of a well-habituated troop. While the rest of the troop foraged on anthropogenic food sources, "Tuko" was observed searching around the dry leaves of a screw pine ( Pandanus utilis ). The male successfully captured three bats, one of which escaped, and sequentially consumed the remaining two over a period of approximately 11 minutes. The predation process involved sophisticated handling: the capuchin used his hands and teeth to skin the prey, masticate soft tissues (abdomen and trunk), consume the patagium and fine wing bones, and discarded the carcass remains. These observations highlight the opportunistic and extractive foraging capabilities of C. imitator and suggest that bat hunting may be a specialized behavior restricted to specific individuals within a troop. Given the rarity of such records, this study underscores the importance of long-term monitoring to understand the dietary flexibility and ecological impact of vertebrate predation in generalist Neotropical primates.