A monkey’s quick reactions and smart thinking didn’t evolve just for our amusement – they help them survive in the wild. These diverse animals live in social groups and exhibit complex behaviors, such as grooming one another and working together to solve problems.
Monkeys are a varied species, ranging from the adorable little marmosets and titi monkeys to the large baboons of Africa and South America. Some, such as the capuchins and macaques, live in savannas or open wooded areas while others, like the geladas and golden monkeys, prefer mountain habitats.
Fruits and vegetables are staple foods for most monkeys, but some also eat protein-rich insects, such as caterpillars, grasshoppers and lizards. In the wild, monkeys spend 70 percent of their time foraging. Feeding themselves three or more times a day helps them keep their caloric intake in balance with their energy expenditure.
Some monkeys use their tails to grab or hold food, and some have prehensile tails capable of supporting their body weight or grasping a peanut from a hand. The unique long tails of certain species, such as the spider monkey and the marmosets, allow them to reach high branches in trees to retrieve fruits.
Monkeys can communicate with each other using vocalizations and body language. They can understand basic concepts such as “more” and “less.” In addition, some Old World monkeys have trichromatic vision (they can see red and green), which makes it easier to spot ripe fruits among the green leaves of a tree. In contrast, many New World monkeys have dichromatic vision.