How to Teach a Monkey to Do Amazing Things

A monkey is a very intelligent animal that can be trained to do all sorts of incredible things. But, it is very important that a monkey be taught these skills in the right way and for the proper length of time.

Monkeys are diurnal (active during the day) and social, living in groups called troops, which include several females with young and one or more males. Most monkeys are arboreal, spending their lives in trees, but some monkeys, such as the Gelada baboon and the golden monkey, live on rocky hills and mountain slopes. Others, such as the owl monkeys and mandrills, live in savannas and other open wooded areas.

Many monkeys have prehensile tails that can grasp branches. They move by clinging and leaping or walking on all fours (quadrupedalism). Some, such as the marmosets, have no tail but have strong hands and feet for gripping. Monkeys can also swing their arms from branch to branch.

Like other primates, monkeys can communicate with their eyes, ears, and mouths. They can grumble, yawn, bobble their heads, or raise and lower a crest of hair on their head, as the cotton-topped tamarins do. They can even show anger or aggression by grinning, pulling the lip up to expose the teeth, and biting.

Most monkeys are omnivorous, eating nuts, fruits, leaves, flowers, vegetables, bark, roots, and even rodents. Some, such as the capuchins and rhesus macaques, eat only fruit or nuts, while others specialize in one food, such as bananas.