A monkey is a primate that eats plants, insects and birds’ eggs. Its prehensile tail helps it grab trees and objects. It can also use tools made from branches or sticks. Its chambered stomachs digest leaves by bacterial fermentation. Its burping is a friendly social gesture. These animals often live in forest habitats, but they also spend time in desert-like savannas and snowy mountains, where some species have thick fur to help them survive.
Monkeys can be found all over the world, with most living in tropical rainforests. New World monkeys, such as spider monkeys and tamarins, are more arboreal, while Old World monkeys, including baboons and geladas, spend more time on the ground. They are often solitary, but some types live in large groups called troops.
Most monkeys eat mainly plants, but they also eat insects and birds’ eggs. They fill their cheek pouches with leaves, seeds and fruits as they forage for food. Some species, such as the colobus monkeys and the langurs of Asia, have chambered stomachs that digest leaves by bacterial fermentation. Others, such as the golden monkeys of China and Allen’s swamp monkeys of Africa, can “go fishing” by placing leaves or grass on water and grabbing the fish that hide underneath.
Most monkeys are clinging babies when they first enter the troop, but some are independent from birth. Some, such as marmosets and tamarins, have twin or triplet births, while other species such as ring-tailed lemurs and tapirs have single births. Monkeys are very intelligent and are adept at problem-solving. They communicate with facial expressions and body movements, and they can make a wide range of sounds, from the soft whimpers of squirrel monkeys to the deep howls of howler monkeys.