Facts About Monkeys

Whether at home or at the zoo, monkeys are clever, voracious eaters with diets that may include tasty tropical fruits, crunchy nuts, leaves and flowers, vegetables, bark, roots and even rodents and birds. They also hunt for food at night and during twilight, depending on their species. They are part of the simiiform order of primates, which is split into two groups: great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans) and lesser apes (lemurs, gibbons, mandrills and squirrel monkeys).

Monkeys can be diurnal, eating during the day; or nocturnal, eating at night. Several of the more than 100 monkey species are endangered in the wild. The biggest threats are habitat loss and fragmentation, live capture for the pet trade, and hunting for bushmeat or traditional medicines.

Most monkeys are omnivorous, but some have more tilted diets that are mostly frugivorous or insectivorous. For example, gelada monkeys eat mainly grass and are the only Old World monkeys that are herbivorous. Other monkeys, like New World monkeys and chimpanzees, eat both plant and animal matter, but the plant foods usually make up 95% of their calories.

Some monkeys are highly social, living together in groups called troops. In addition to offering protection, troop members help each other find food by sharing it or assisting with foraging tasks. They have an extensive language and use grooming to express affection, make up after a fight and communicate with others in the group. Grooming also helps keep monkeys clean of parasites and other debris.