Monkeys are so cute and fun to watch but they can also be very naughty. They can open cupboards and jars of medicines and make messes of everything in sight. Monkeys must be watched every minute they are outside their cage or they will turn on faucets, unscrew light bulbs and break things. All chemicals and poisons MUST be locked away and the cage must be secure. Monkeys can be very aggressive if they are scared or upset. Some species of monkeys do well in captivity and can be a wonderful family pet. There are however a lot of monkeys that do not do so well and are in desperate need of homes.
Monkeys communicate with gestures and vocalizations. They often use their tails to indicate that they are angry or excited. They also communicate by staring down or away from other monkeys to avoid a fight and they use loud vocalizations to warn each other of danger or to mark their territory. They use a variety of sounds including grunts, squeaks, whistles and howls.
Most monkeys are omnivorous and they eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, bark, leaves, roots, flowers and rodents as well as insects. They are very good at finding food and they travel in groups to search for it. These groups are called troops and they include females with their young and males or several males (as in hamadryas baboons, mandrills, most guenons, and savanna baboons) or even both females and males (as in squirrel monkeys).
Some of the most fascinating monkeys are endangered due to habitat loss and fragmentation, live capture for the global pet trade and hunting for bushmeat or traditional medicinal uses. Other threats include disease, climate change and the destruction of their natural habitats.