Monkeys move rapidly around their home range looking for food and spreading seeds. This allows plants to continue growing and replenishing the environment and natural habitat. Monkeys are smart and can adapt to changes in their environment as well as learn new behaviors. This is why it’s important not to introduce monkeys to places where they are not native because of the impact it can have on the ecosystem.
Like humans, monkeys are highly inquisitive and intelligent, but their brain development allows them a greater freedom of movement than great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans). They can solve complex problems and use objects as tools. Some, such as the capuchins, spontaneously use stones to crack nuts. Others, such as baboons, can train to use sticks as tools. However, in contrast to the great apes, few monkeys exhibit the social learning that takes place among great apes.
Most monkeys are solitary or live in troops of several females with their young and a single male or several males (hamadryas baboons, mandrills, and most guenons). Most troops also have a leader. Monkeys have developed many ways of communicating with one another, including visual signals (like the emperor tamarin’s long tongue) and auditory calls. They communicate with one another through grooming, which isn’t just a way to keep clean, but also to express affection and make peace.
Like other primates, most monkeys are diurnal and spend their time on both trees and on the ground. They sleep by day in trees, often by themselves, and change their sleeping sites daily. They are capable climbers and can even cling to surfaces such as rocks. They can walk on all fours or stand on their hind legs when holding something in both hands.