Monkey is a word that’s sometimes used to refer to apes, particularly chimpanzees and gibbons. In fact, author Terry Pratchett points this out in his Discworld novels, where the librarian of the Unseen University is an orangutan who gets very angry when he is referred to as a monkey!
More often, monkey is used to describe primates in general. Monkeys live in a wide variety of habitats and eat anything they can get their hands on, including leaves, fruit, seeds, nuts, flowers, insects, birds’ eggs, and animal meat. They have long, strong arms to grasp branches and tree trunks with as they move through their habitats. They also have prehensile tails to help them hold on as they swing from tree to tree. Some monkeys, such as howler and colobus monkeys, have special cheek pouches that expand to hold large amounts of food for later consumption. Others, such as geladas, have multi-chambered stomachs that allow them to digest leaves like ruminants do.
Many kinds of monkeys are social animals and live in groups, called troops. The leader of a troop is a male, and females and non-breeding males share the group’s territory. Breeding occurs when a pair of monkeys come together to make young.
Grooming is a way that monkeys express affection and make peace with each other. It also helps them keep their fur clean of dirt and parasites. Monkeys can even groom each other when they are sick or hurt.