Monkeys are agile, intelligent primates that are our closest animal relatives. Their resemblance to people has cost them dearly: Millions of monkeys languish in labs, where they are subjected to cruel experiments. They are also captured in the wild for the pet trade, and zoos buy monkeys from the trade or breed them in captivity. In the wild, monkeys must spend a lot of energy obtaining food and staying safe from predators, so they need large enclosures, enrichment and social housing to thrive.
Some monkeys, like baboons and geladas, live on the ground in Africa’s savannas, while New World monkeys such as macaques and tamarins are primarily arboreal. Both groups have long limbs and use their prehensile tails to hold onto branches. Most monkeys have narrow-chested bodies, while apes are more barrel-shaped. But while the limbs, face and trunk distinguish monkeys from apes, the two groups share similar body language: both communicate with facial expressions, gestures and body posture. A 2019 study found that Old World monkeys can combine two items in a language sequence but do not have the open-ended system of human speech where we can string together an infinite number of words, as Live Science points out.
While monkeys make up only 0.1% of all research animals, they are crucial for many fields, from infectious diseases (such as polio and malaria) to neuroscience. For example, the brains of monkeys, particularly rhesus macaques, are so similar to humans’ that they can be used as models for human diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia. Some studies require monkeys to have cranial implants, which are inserted during anesthesia.
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