A monkey is any member of the order primates (informally, simians) not belonging to the apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas, and in some places, lemurs and loris also qualify as monkeys. But the term is generally reserved for nonape monkeys — especially those in the New World and Old World that do not have prehensile tails.
In the wild, monkeys live in groups called troops that usually consist of several females with young and a single male (such as in hamadryas baboons, mandrills, most guenons, and langurs) or multiple males in a harem (as in savannah baboons and macaques). Within these social groups, adult monkeys are often very close to each other; they groom each other daily, and infants receive much of their care from their parents.
Monkeys are intelligent and social animals, with some showing human-like emotions and behaviors. Their anatomy and genetics are so similar to ours that they are popularly studied in laboratories, for example, to learn more about how the brain works and to develop medicines.
Some monkeys are used as pets, but this is against the law in most large cities and many states in the United States and carries significant health risks for both the monkeys and humans. Those at the TNPRC are used only for biomedical research, and our researchers work hard to make sure that these animals’ needs are met as thoroughly as possible during their stays with us. We have numerous regulatory safeguards to ensure that we use as few monkeys as possible, that our procedures are as minimally invasive as possible, and that the animals’ physical and emotional well-being is maintained throughout the duration of each study.