Hello readers! This is the first ever blog of STEMpletons. Naturally, it has to be about our mascot animal… The Monkey!
The playful antics and expressive faces of the monkeys have always entertained humans. However, being the closest relatives of human beings in the animal kingdom, they reveal unique things about our behaviors and social structures.
Monkeys are found primarily in tropical rainforests, and they are arbitrarily divided into two major groups: Old World monkeys of Africa and Asia, and New World monkeys of Central and South America. The Old World monkeys include baboons and macaques, which have narrow noses with downward-facing nostrils and lack prehensile tails. New World monkeys, which include the spider monkeys and capuchins, have wide noses with side-facing nostrils and many species have prehensile tails.
Social monkeys, usually in troops that range from a few individuals up to several hundred, are highly social. This is evident in their complex social structures, normally characterized by hierarchies, complicated relationships, rich, and varied communication in the form of vocalizations, facial expressions, and body language.
You know what’s super cool about monkeys? Their usage of tools! I mean, take capuchins, for example; people have seen them using rocks to bash open nuts, which was something all of us thought only we humans did. It just shows how clever they are and how smart their brains really are!
Diets can be all kinds for different species, but generally, fruits, leaves, insects, and even small animals occasionally are consumed. For instance, howler monkeys basically are leaf-eaters, while squirrel monkeys balance out with a pretty fair amount of protein from insects.
It is quite important because many species of monkeys are endangered for many reasons that involve habitat destruction and hunting. By taking care of these cool animals, we save their lives and also keep the ecosystems they inhabit in a state of balance.
So, to put it all in a nutshell, monkeys aren’t just meant for entertaining us; they are so crucial in nature and teach us so much about how social stuff works, their intelligence, and why conservation matters. So, the next time you see a monkey, whether in the wild or at the zoo, just take a moment to appreciate the cool world of our primate buddies.
Works Cited
- Monkeys – Smithsonian National Zoo, https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/monkeys.
- Primate Diversity – American Museum of Natural History, https://www.amnh.org/research/paleontology.
- Monkeys – World Wildlife Fund (WWF), https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/monkey.
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