Power Multiplied

Wild Creatures

Shannon, the protagonist in the Power Rising series encounters many exotic creatures--not to mention a confused shark--in her quests, some with pretty disastrous consequences for her. On our own lovely planet, we have plenty of exotic creatures of our own. Here is a white-faced capuchin monkey I photographed, of which there are plenty in Costa Rica where I live. This one appears to be giving her little baby--a very young one--a bath. She lives in Manuel Antonio National Park, which I visited last week, but they also scamper about on my roof with some frequency. I understand they are very bright little guys as well as little thieves and scamps. We have all seen them as petite captives on television and in the movies. That, of course, is not where they belong, no matter how cute, or pet-like, or human-like they might seem. Seeing them in their natural habitat--that's the ticket. Unlike some of their fellow monkey species, the white-faced capuchins of Manuel Antonio, don't shy away from interacting with humans--usually to steal something or take food. But we pass human bacteria to them with our food, so if you have the tempting opportunity sometime to feed a monkey--don't: you might be killing it. Let's celebrate that beautiful baby instead.