Are you curious to learn some weird and wonderful facts about monkeys?
If so, excellent! You are in exactly the right place my friend…
It’s time to chat about monkey facts.
Let’s dive right in…
Facts About Monkeys
1 – Monkeys are the only primates that can’t jump
2 – The word “monkey” is derived from an old French word for “little demon.” Or some say, the word “monkey” comes from the Arabic word for “imp,” which is a reference to their mischievous nature.
3 – In some cultures, monkeys represent greed or foolishness because of their tendency to steal food and other items. In other cultures, monkeys are seen as symbols of good luck.
4 – Some monkeys have tails while others do not; tailless monkeys usually sit upright on all fours while those with tails tend to walk on two legs more often.
5 – There are two types of monkeys – Old World monkeys (African) and New World monkeys (South American). In general, there are over 200 different species of monkey in total (including both living and extinct).
More Facts About Monkeys
6 – A group of monkeys is called a troop or troupe while a single monkey is called an individual or simian.
7 – The biggest difference between a monkey and an ape is that apes walk on all fours while most monkeys walk upright on their hind legs or knuckles.
8 – Monkeys live in trees because they can’t sweat to cool themselves off like humans do so they need shade and air circulation to stay cool.
9 – Old world primates often eat fruit but new world primates also eat insects, leaves, flowers, seeds, nuts, eggs of other birds or reptiles as well as human food scraps left behind by people living near them.
10 – New world primates usually sleep at night while old world primate sleep during the day when it’s hot out; this is called being cathemeral which means active at any time of day or night depending on temperature changes.
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11 – Monkeys are the only non-human primates that can swim.
12 – A monkey’s tail is a lot like our arm, it has joints and muscles.
13 – Some monkeys have been known to live up to 50 years in captivity.
14 – Moneys have opposable thumbs. The list of primates with fully opposable thumbs include all the Great Apes like humans, gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees in addition to Old World monkeys such as baboons.
15 – The first documented use of the phrase “monkey see, monkey do” was in 1786 by John Ray (1627-1705).
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16 – Some species of monkeys have been known to use tools such as rocks or sticks to get food they can’t reach with their hands.
17 – They’re extremely social animals that live in groups called troops consisting mostly of females who care for their young together and males who only come around during mating season (usually).
18 – The smallest primate is the pygmy marmoset and the largest is the mountain gorilla.
19 – Monkeys are not apes. Most monkeys live in trees and eat fruit, leaves, and insects.
20 – All female monkeys carry their babies in their belly, but some give birth while hanging upside down (such as spider monkeys).
More Facts About Monkeys
21 – The first monkey was brought into North America by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to Hispaniola in 1494.
22 – Some monkeys have a prehensile tail which is an adaptation that helps them grab onto branches while they swing through trees.
23 – Some primates have been observed using stone tools to crack open nuts or fruits on hard surfaces or sharp edges of rocks that they could not bite through with their teeth.
24 – Some people think that monkeys are related to humans because they share 98% of our DNA.
25 – Each monkey has its own unique social behavior that may include grooming or playing with each other.