Here are some fun, interesting, and very true facts about..... MONKEYS!Did you know that... -there are over 250 known species of monkeys! That's a lot of monkeys! -Apes aren't monkeys. All monkeys have tails, but apes don't. Apes have flat noses instead of snouts, and are more intelligent than monkeys. -When we think about what monkeys eat, we usually think bananas and plants. But Some monkeys will eat Worms, Frogs, insects, snails, & lizards! (Yuck!) -the smallest monkey is the pygmy marmoset, measuring just 40 cm long! That's a tiny monkey! -The biggest monkey is the mandrill, which is around 1 m long and weighs around 40 kg! -Groups of monkeys are called Troops, tribes, or missions. -Small Troops of monkeys only have adults in them. -Large troops are made up of adult and young monkeys. They can have up to 500 monkeys in them! That's a lot of monkeys! -some people capture monkeys and sell them as pets. -In Malaysia, some monkeys are trained to climb trees, grab coconuts, and bring them to their owners. -In some parts of Asia, people train monkeys to perform tricks. Cool, right? WRONG! The owners don't always treat the monkeys well, and sometimes even yell at them! :( -The 6 kinds of primates are- lemurs, lorises, Tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and.... HUMANS! :D -The Gelada lives on grasslands in Ethiopia, a country in Africa. it is the only monkey in the world that grazes. -1/3 of the world's monkey species is found in Brazil! Wow! -The South American douroucouli (dor-uh-KOO-lee), also known as the owl monkey, is the only nocturnal monkey. -Since they feed in the dark, Douroucoulis only see in black & white. -the reason owl monkeys are nocturnal is because they wouldn't be able to survive if they had to compete with bigger, more aggressive monkeys. -The moustached monkey is a monkey with a blue-ish face and a white "moustache"! *************(see right for pictures!)************* New & Old world Monkeys -Monkeys are divided into two main groups- Old World monkeys, which live in Africa, Asia, and Europe, & New World monkeys, which live in Central and South america. -new world monkeys have long & flexible tails that are able to grasp things, while old world monkeys have short tails. -Old world monkeys have opposable thumbs, while new world monkeys don't. -Old world monkeys' nostrils point downward, while new world monkeys' nostrils point sideways. -Some old world monkeys have pockets in their cheeks, called cheek pouches. They store food in them to eat later. Communication -Monkeys communicate in different ways. (but they don't talk like us humans do!) -some monkeys bark, grunt, & roar to warn other monkeys. -Monkeys also move their bodies to communicate. -monkeys sometimes clean each other to make friends. Sources: *sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/animals/monkey.html *Endangered Monkeys by Molly Aloian & Bobbie Kalman *Monkeys by Melissa Gish
|
Wanna learn about more animals? Visit other animal of the month pages:
Monkey Mania-April 2012 Penguins- may 2012 Chinchillas- June 2012 Orcas- July 2012 Seals- September 2012 |
Photo used under Creative Commons from sylvain_beauchamps