Rachel is one of our softer “wild girls”- she’s still wary of people, but far more curious than she’d ever admit. She’ll often watch caregivers from across her habitat with a practiced air of indifference, but she'll toss out a flirty little eyebrow raise or glance-over-the-shoulder when she thinks no one is looking. When her boyfriend Micky is getting his medications though, that shy reserve vanishes and Rachel immediately rushes over to stick her tiny hands through the cage, hoping to receive a treat of her own.

Rachel arrived at Jungle Friends with 24 other capuchins during a complicated rescue from a failing roadside zoo. What was expected to be a straightforward relocation soon turned surprising when several females, including Rachel, gave birth shortly after arrival. Despite the zoo’s claims that all of the males had been vasectomized, the newborns made it clear that wasn’t the case. To ensure the moms and babies were safe and stress-free, Rachel, her infant Skittles, and their steady companion Monica were moved into a quieter habitat where Rachel could care for her daughter in peace.

With Monica acting as a devoted aunt, Rachel blossomed as a mother. Skittles thrived under her attentive care and grew up confident and healthy, free of the stress behaviors so common in captive-reared infant monkeys. These days, Rachel loves

lounging in the roof hammocks of her outdoor habitat, peeking over the edge to discreetly track her caregivers’ every move. She’s still shy, still a little wild at heart, but always watching, always curious, and always uniquely herself.