Facts About Monkeys

Monkeys are very intelligent animals and can be mischievous both in captivity and the wild. They also seem to explore the same emotions that humans do within their groups including love, anger and sadness and can even laugh. They have forward facing eyes and flat noses and opposable thumbs that help them climb and move around. Their fingers are structured very similar to those of humans and they have been known to use tools too like sticks and rocks to crush shells on seafood and other invertebrates.

Some monkeys, such as the lion-tailed macaque, have very diverse diets and are considered to be omnivores. They enjoy eating fruits, seeds, nuts, vegetables, small lizards, insects and even animal meat. They are able to adapt to their changing environments too, and will adjust the types of food they eat to whatever is available.

Other monkeys, such as the aye-aye, are more specialised. They live in the forest’s canopy and feed on leaves, stems, bark and twigs and will occasionally eat insects. The aye-aye is able to capture evasive insects by using its hands with different lengths and thicknesses in a variety of ways to trap them. The aye-aye monkey can use 17 distinct call types to communicate with one another.

Most monkeys breed seasonally, with many species laying eggs between September and November for birth in February and April. The gestation period for monkeys can vary between 160 to 170 days depending on the species and its habitat.