Did you know that there are 264 species of monkeys in the world? That means 264 different kinds of monkeys; monkeys that look different, live in different places and have different habits. Monkeys live on three continents Asia, Africa and South America. domain registrations Come with me and let’s explore some of the monkeys of the world.
Spider Monkeys
Spider monkeys live in tropical rainforests in northern South America and Central America. They are called spider monkeys because their really long arms, legs and tails are like spider’s legs. They use their tails to swing in the tops of trees and spend most of their time there. Monkeys that live in South America are called New World monkeys. They can use their tail to grasp and grab things kind of like another hand. Monkeys that live in Africa and Asia are called Old World Monkeys, they cannot use their tail like this.
Spider Monkeys hang out in big groups called troops during the day. They “talk” to each other loudly with a lot of screeching, barking and other sounds. Can you make a loud monkey sound?
Baboons
Come with me now to Africa to visit the baboons. Baboons are one of the biggest monkeys. There are five different kinds of baboons and they live all across the forests and grasslands of Africa. A few can even be found across the Red Sea in Arabia. Baboons spend most of their time walking around on the ground and only sleep in the trees at night. The spend time in troops of hundreds of baboons. This is for protection. They can help each other watch for other animals such as lions, cheetahs and wild dogs. Baboons are omnivores, which means they eat plants and meat. They can travel up to four miles a day looking for food and water.
Proboscis Monkey
Proboscis monkeys live on the Island of Borneo. They like to live in low forests and swamps. The most unique thing about the Proboscis monkey is its nose. They have huge noses that can be up to seven inches long! Proboscis monkeys also have big round bellies. They like to eat roots and insects. These long nosed monkeys also love to swim. They use water to cool off or just play!
Pygmy Marmoset
The world’s smallest monkey is called the Pygmy Marmoset. It grows only 5 inches tall, that’s about as tall as a cell phone. It lives high in the treetops of South American forests. It can be hard to spot because it lives so high and is so tiny. It likes to eat the sap from trees and some insects.
A Pygmy Marmoset can make sounds so high pitched a person can’t even hear it. It can also jump as far as 16 feet, that’s about as much as three grown ups stacked on top of each other!
Mandrills
Mandrills are the largest of all the monkeys. They are an Old World monkey and live in Africa. These monkeys can weigh up to 110 pounds and grow up to three feet tall. Even though mandrills are the biggest monkeys they are the most well known for their bright colors. They look like they have bright yellow beards. They also have bright yellow in the ruff around their neck and tufts around their head. They have blue ridges on their nose with a brilliant red stripe running down the center. They also have pink bottoms. It is amazing to see this much color on one animal! Mandrills live in huge groups called hordes. The biggest horde ever seen had as many as 1300 mandrills in it.
What Makes Monkeys Different?
Monkeys belong to a big family of animals called primates. But, they are different from other primates that are called apes. Apes include gorillas and chimpanzees. Monkeys are different because they have tails and apes don’t. Next time you go to the zoo look to see which primates have a tail and which ones don’t. What is your favorite primate? Do you wish you could swing from a tree like a monkey? Click here for a song that can help you remember your favorite monkey facts!
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