The most developed, most intelligent monkeys are anthropoids. So the word begs - humanoid. And all because they have a lot in common with our species. You can talk a lot about great apes, for a long time and with enthusiasm, simply because they are really close to our species. But first things first.

In total, these animals are distinguished by 4 types:

• gorillas,
• orangutans,
• chimp,
• bonobos (or pygmy chimpanzees).

Bonobos and chimpanzees are very similar to each other, but the remaining two species are not at all similar to each other or to chimpanzees. However, all great apes There are many things in common, for example:

• they don't have a tail
• similar structure of the hands of the upper limbs and human hands,
• the volume of the brain is very large (at the same time, its surface is full of furrows and convolutions, and this indicates high level the intelligence of these animals)
• there are 4 blood types,
• bonobo blood in medicine is used for transfusion to a person with suitable group blood.

All these facts speak of the "blood" relationship of these creatures with people.

Both species of gorilla and chimpanzee live in Africa, and this continent, as you know, is considered the cradle of all mankind. The orangutan, according to scientists, our most genetically distant relative among the great apes, lives in Asia.

common chimpanzee

Chimpanzee social life

Chimpanzees live, as a rule, in groups, on average 15-20 individuals. The group, which is headed by one male leader, includes females, males of all ages. Groups of chimpanzees occupy territories that the males themselves protect from intrusions of neighbors.

In places where there is enough food for the comfortable living of the group, chimpanzees are sedentary. However, if there is not enough food for the whole group, then they wander in search of food for quite long distances. It happens that the territories of residence of several groups intersect. In this case, they unite for a while. It is interesting that in all conflicts, the advantage is given to the group that contains more males and which, in this regard, is stronger. Chimpanzees do not create permanent families. This means that any adult male has the right to freely choose his next girlfriend from adult females, both of his own and of the joined group.

After an 8-month gestation period, a female chimpanzee gives birth to one completely helpless cub. Up to a year of life, the female carries the baby on her stomach, after which the baby independently transplants to her back. For a whole 9-9.5 years, the female and the cub are practically inseparable. His mother teaches him everything that she herself can, shows him the world and other members of the group. There are cases when teenagers are given to their " kindergarten". there they frolic with their peers under the supervision of several adults, usually females. When the baby is 13 years old, the chimpanzee enters the period of adulthood and begins to be considered independent members of the pack. At the same time, young males begin to join the struggle for leadership,

Chimpanzees are quite aggressive animals.. Conflicts often occur in the group, which develop into even bloody fights, which often end fatal. Build relationships with each other great apes allows a wide range of facial expressions, gestures and sounds with which they convey their approval. These animals express friendly feelings through sorting out wool from each other.

Chimpanzees get their food on the trees, and on the ground, and there, and there, feeling in their place. Their food includes:

• plant food,
• insects,
• small living creatures.

In addition, hungry chimpanzees as a group can go hunting and capture, for example, a gazelle for joint food.

Skillful hands and a smart head

Chimpanzees are extremely smart, they are able to use tools, and deliberately choosing the most handy tool. They are even able to improve it. For example, to climb into an anthill, a great ape uses a twig: it selects a twig of the right size and optimizes it by breaking off the leaves on it. Or, for example, they use a stick to knock down a high-growing fruit. Or to hit her opponent during a fight.

To break a nut, the monkey puts it on a flat stone specially selected for this purpose, and with another, sharp stone, breaks the shell.

To quench their thirst, the chimpanzee uses a large leaf and uses it as a ladle. Or he makes a sponge from a pre-chewed leaf, lowers it into a stream and squeezes the water into his mouth.

When hunting, great apes can stone their prey to death, a hail of cobblestones will also await a predator, for example, a leopard, who dares to open a hunt for these animals.

In order not to get wet when crossing a pond, chimpanzees are able to build a bridge out of sticks, and they will use wide leaves as an umbrella, a fly swatter, a fan, and as toilet paper.

Gorilla

Good giants or monsters?

It is easy to imagine the feelings of the person who first saw a gorilla in front of him - a humanoid giant, frightening aliens with menacing cries, beating his chest with his fists, breaking and uprooting young trees. Such encounters with forest monsters gave rise to horror stories and tales of the fiends of hell, whose inhuman strength carries a mortal danger, if not for the human race, then for his psyche.

Unfortunately, this is not an exaggeration. Such legends that pushed the public to the fact that these humanoid creatures have become too perverted in due time caused an almost uncontrolled, panic extermination of gorillas. The mind was threatened total extinction, if it were not for the labors and efforts of scientists who took under their protection these giants, about whom in those years people knew almost nothing at all.

As it turned out, it seemed these creepy monsters- the most peaceful herbivores who eat only plant foods. Besides they are almost completely non-aggressive, but demonstrate their strength and, moreover, use it only when there is a real danger and if someone comes to their territory.

Moreover, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, gorillas try to scare off offenders, it doesn’t matter if the other is a male, a ruler of another species, or a person. That's when everything kicks in. possible means for intimidation:

• cries,
• pounding your chest with your fists,
• cutting down trees, etc.

Features of the life of a gorilla

Gorillas, like chimpanzees, live in small groups, but their numbers are usually smaller - 5-10 individuals each. Among them is usually the head of the group - an older male, several females with cubs of different ages and 1-2 young males. The leader is easy to recognize: It has a silver-gray coat on its back.

By the age of 14, the male gorilla becomes sexually mature, and instead of black hair, a light stripe appears on his back.

An already mature male is huge: it has a height of 180 cm and sometimes weighs 300 kg. The one who turns out to be the eldest of the silver-backed males becomes the leader of the group. On his powerful shoulders rests the care of all family members.

The main male in the group gives signals to wake up at sunrise, and to sleep at sunset, he chooses the path in the thickets, along which the rest of the group will go in search of food, regulates order and peace in the group. He also protects all of his people from threatening dangers, of which there are a huge number in the rainforest.

The younger generation in the group is raised by their own mothers. However, if the baby is suddenly orphaned, then it is the leader of the pack who takes them under his wing. He will wear them on his back, sleep next to them and make sure that their games are not dangerous.

When protecting orphaned cubs, the leader can even go out to duel with a leopard or even with an armed man.

Often the capture of a baby gorilla entails not only the death of his mother, but also the death of the head of the group. The remaining members of the group, deprived of protection and care, young animals and helpless females are also on the brink of the abyss, if one of the lone males does not take responsibility for the orphaned family.

orangutans

Orangutan: features of life

"Orangutan" is Malay for "forest man". This name refers to large great apes that live in the jungle on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. Orangutans are one of the amazing creatures on earth. They differ in many ways from other great apes.

Orangutans lead an arboreal lifestyle. Although their weight is quite significant, 65-100 kg, they climb trees remarkably even at a height of up to 15-20 m. They prefer not to go down to the ground.

Of course, due to the gravity of the body, they cannot jump from branches to branches, but at the same time they are able to confidently and quickly climb trees.

Almost around the clock, orangutans eat by eating

• fruit,
• foliage,
• bird eggs,
• chicks.

In the evenings, orangutans build their own dwellings., and each - his own, where they settle down for the night. They sleep, holding on to a branch with one of their paws, so as not to break down in a dream.

For every night, orangutans settle in a new place, for which they again build a “bed” for themselves. These animals practically do not form groups, preferring a solitary life or life in pairs (mother - cubs, female - male), although there are cases when a pair of adults and several cubs different ages almost form a family.

The female of these animals gives birth to 1 cub. His mother takes care of him for about 7 years, until he is old enough to live on his own.

Until the age of 3, the orangutan cub feeds only on mother's milk, and only after this period the mother begins to give him solid food. She chews leaves for him, thus making vegetable puree for him.

She prepares the baby for adulthood, teaches him to climb trees correctly and build a home for himself to sleep. Baby orangutans are very playful and affectionate, and they perceive the whole process of education and training as an entertaining game.

Orangutans are very smart animals. In captivity, they learn to use tools and are even able to make them on their own. But in the conditions of free life, these great apes rarely use their abilities: the incessant search for food does not give them time to develop their natural intelligence.

Bonobo

Bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee, is our closest relative

About our own existence close relative- bonobo - few people know. Although the set of genes in the pygmy chimpanzee matches the set of human genes by as much as 98%! They are also very close to us in the basics of social-emotional behavior.

They live in Central Africa, in the northeast and northwest of the Congo. They never leave the branches of trees, and move very rarely on the ground.

Characteristic features of the behavior of this species - joint hunting. They can wage war among themselves, then the presence of power politics is revealed.

Bonobo lacks sign language so characteristic of other beings. They give each other vocal signals and they are very different from the signals of the second species of chimpanzee.

The voice of the bonobo consists of high, sharp and barking sounds. For hunting, they use various primitive objects: stones, sticks. In captivity, their intellect gets the opportunity to grow and prove themselves. There, in the possession of objects and the invention of new ones, they act as real masters.

Bonobos do not have a leader like other primates. Distinctive and characteristic feature pygmy chimpanzee is also what at the head of their group or the whole community is a female.

The females stay in groups. They also include cubs and juveniles under 6 years of age. Males keep aloof, but nearby.

Interestingly, almost all aggressive outbursts in bonobos are replaced by elements of mating behavior.

The fact that they are dominated by females was revealed by scientists in an experiment when combined with groups of monkeys of both species. In groups of bonobos, the females are the first to start eating. If the male disagrees, then the females join forces and expel the male. While eating, fights never occur, but at the same time, mating is sure to happen just before eating.

Conclusion

According to many wise books, animals are our smaller brothers. And we can say with confidence that the great apes are our brothers - neighbors.

In any zoo, monkeys are the most popular. If you stand and watch these animals, you will soon be convinced that the behavior of monkeys is very similar to ours.

Monkeys are large and small. The smallest monkey is the dwarf marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea), the length of its head and body is about 15 cm. The largest is the gorilla: it grows up to 1.85 m. The tail may be completely absent; however, some monkeys also have a tail that is longer than their body. For example, the body of a gulman (Presbytis entellus) is 50-70 cm long, and the tail is 65-100 cm. Its close relative, the golden-chocolate snub-nosed monkey, has a body length of 50-80, and the tail is up to 104 cm. The marmoset is not only the smallest, but and the lightest monkey; it weighs only 100 g. And the heaviest of the monkeys is the gorilla. An adult male gorilla can weigh up to 275 kg, that is, approximately 3000 times more than his little relative.

The brains of monkeys are well developed. Many have a round head or a forward muzzle. The eyes are directed forward; ears are most often similar to human ones. The facial muscles are well developed, so the monkeys have facial expressions. A particularly important feature in monkeys is their arms and legs, which they cleverly use. The tail often serves as another tool for grasping. Under the guidance of researchers, some monkeys even learn to perform complex actions - often requiring a certain understanding.

Monkeys live in pairs and in small or large groups. They can breed throughout the year. They usually have only one cub, which they raise for a long time. The maximum age of monkeys is from 10 to 40 years. Biologists divide monkeys into two large groups- on monkeys from the New and Old Worlds. Monkeys from the New World live exclusively in Central and South America. These include about 50 species medium size. They all live in trees and are active during the day. New World monkeys include durukuli (Aotus), uakari (Cacajao), saki (Pithecia), saimiri (Saimiri), woolly (Lagothrix), howler monkeys (Alouatta), capuchins (Cebus) and arachnids (Ateles). The largest of them is arachnid, reaching a length of more than 60 cm and having an almost meter-long grasping tail.

Monkey gycap

Monkeys from the Old World are common in Africa and in southern regions Asia. In the extreme south of Spain lives the only barbary monkey in Europe. About 80 belong to the Old World monkeys. different types, among them rhesus macaques (M. mulatto.), baboons, hussar monkeys, langurs (Presbytis) and proboscis (Nasalis). The monkeys from the Old World include two more important groups: small great apes - gibbons and great great apes - orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees. Along with monkeys from the New and Old Worlds, biologists also include semi-monkeys in this order. They represent a transitional stage between insectivorous mammals and apes proper.

The lower primates, or semi-monkeys living in Africa, Southeast Asia and Madagascar, form 6 families: blunt-like, lemurs, indrisids, bats, lorizids and tarsiers. The semi-monkeys include animals with such exotic names like maki, catta, sifaki, indri, loris, potto or galago. The smallest of the half-monkeys - mouse lemur, whose body length is 11 cm, weight 50 g. The largest is the indri, which, when it stands on its hind legs, reaches a height of 93 cm. Almost all semi-monkeys - forest dwellers, feed on plants. During the day they sleep, and at night they go in search of food; They have very large eyes and a highly developed sense of smell.

Gorillas, especially old males, inspire respect in any observer. However, despite their size and strength, they are peaceful inhabitants of the forests, feeding exclusively on plants. Animals are kept by families under the leadership of an old male with a silver stripe on his back. The day for gorillas begins with the fact that they immediately start eating after waking up and eat for 2-3 hours. Towards noon they settle down to sleep again, sometimes waking up to eat again. Toward evening, the gorillas again go in search of food. With the onset of twilight, the leader begins to build his nest for the night. Others follow his example. Unfortunately, the future of these large apes looks sad. How many gorillas are left in the forests, no one knows, estimates differ: some naturalists say that several hundred, others - several thousand.

Mandrill belongs to the monkey family, its close relatives are baboons. He lives in dense forests and roams there in groups consisting of one adult male and several females with cubs. The group can consist of 20 animals.

On the muzzle of the male mandrill, a bright red and blue pattern is noticeable. Such a motley muzzle is clearly visible among the dense trees. And it is important that all members of the group stick together.

Monkeys are medium-sized representatives of the Old World monkeys. They have a very long tail, a moderately elongated and rounded muzzle, and small and round ears. The coat is thick and long. Often sideburns or a beard are formed around the muzzle. There are 15 species of monkeys, and they all live in Africa. The most common species is the green monkey.

"Orangutan" means "forest man" in Malay. Orangutans were first described by Western researchers in early XVIII century. They arrived in Europe in 1776. However, about the life of orangutans in nature for a long time almost nothing was known. Everything has changed quite recently. Since the 1970s, extensive research programs have been carried out. The great ape roams the dense tropical forests of Asia and, unlike the gorilla and chimpanzee, lives alone.

frolic baby orangutan

With age, large growths in the form of rolls of fat grow on the cheeks of oratugpan males. The orangutan rarely descends from the trees. With the help of long arms, he deftly jumps from branch to branch. With the onset of evening twilight, he builds himself a large nest of leaves, and often with a roof from the rain, on a fork in the boughs. This sleeping nest is only used for one night. The next morning, the orangutan gets up and slowly moves on. Finding a tree with fruits, he climbs it and has lunch. Sometimes he settles down and takes a nap.

The existence of orangutans is under threat today. Forests in Indonesia are being cut down and the "forest man" is rapidly losing its habitat. If serious measures are not taken, then soon orangutans will remain only in zoos. Reserves settling in wet tropical forests, help protect many other species of animals and plants that are threatened with extinction.

Baboons are monkeys with a long muzzle, which justifies their name "dog-headed". They stay mainly on the ground and only in danger climb trees or rocks. Powerful fangs allow adult males to defend themselves from enemies. Even leopards are afraid of them.

For the time of sleep, baboons retire to the trees, and at dawn they descend again to search for food. They bypass their territory, doing 5-20 km per day. By evening, they again go to rest in the trees. If there are no trees, then they sleep on the eaves of sheer cliffs.

Baboons live in large herds of 40-80 individuals, but sometimes you can find a herd consisting of 200 individuals. The basis of the herd is females with cubs, an adult male looks after him. He tolerates growing males in his herd, but keeps them in obedience.

The largest of the baboons is the chakma, or bear baboon (Pargo ursinus). In this species, the body length of males reaches 1.15 m, and the weight is 30 kg. Chakma lives in South Africa.

Its close relative is the baboon hamadryas (P. hamadryas), which lives in Ethiopia, northern Somalia, northeastern Sudan and southwestern Arabia. In ancient times, hamadryas were also found in the Nile Valley. The ancient Egyptians highly revered him and dedicated him to the sun god Ra, and animal corpses were often mummified. Sexually mature males of hamadryas are decorated with sideburns and a silvery mantle (mantle) with a hair length of up to 25 cm. That is why they are sometimes called "cloaked baboons".

Chimpanzees belong to the family of great apes, their closest relatives are the gorilla and the orangutan. Like both of these species, chimpanzees also live in the forest. They roam their territory in small groups. In the morning, the monkeys eat for two hours, then rest for half a day, and in the evening they again go in search of food. Chimpanzees spend the night in nests, which are built each time new ones.

Barbary monkey, or magot (Masas sylvanus)

Value	60-70 cm body length. Shoulder height 45-50 cm. Weight: females up to 12 kg; males up to 15 kg
signs	A bare, wrinkled face, reddish, thick whiskers on the cheeks, short ears. There is no tail. The fur is thick, long, light brown
Nutrition	Fruit, leaves, grass and roots; in addition, insects, worms, scorpions and small vertebrates
reproduction	Pregnancy 146-180 days; 1 cub, rarely 2; newborn weight about 450 g
habitats	Shrubs on rocks and hills at an altitude of 600-2000 m; Algiers, Morocco; in Europe it is found only in Gibraltar in southern Spain (presumably they were brought there)

Everything about everything. Volume 3 Likum Arkady

Is a chimpanzee a monkey?

A chimpanzee is a monkey, but special, the most intelligent of all monkeys! Monkeys belong to the most highly organized order of mammals, called primates, which includes humans. The whole body of monkeys is covered with hair, they usually live in trees and instead of claws on each of the five fingers of the hind and front paws they have nails.

All monkeys can be divided into 4 main groups: lemurs, Old World monkeys (baboons, etc.), New World monkeys (spider monkey, howler monkeys, etc.) and great apes (gorilla, orangutan, chimpanzee and gibbon) . Of the three great apes: the gorilla, the orangutan, and the chimpanzee, the chimpanzee is the most human-like. This monkey is smaller than both the gorilla and the orangutan, but more “intelligent” than them. The body of a chimpanzee, devoid of a tail, is very similar to a human.

True, chimpanzees have 13 pairs of ribs, while humans usually have 12 pairs. The dark skin of the chimpanzee is covered everywhere except on the palms and face with coarse black hair. Chimpanzees live in small groups in forests. Central Africa, east of Sierra Leone to Lake Victoria. They are very easy to tame and take root well in the zoo. Sometimes they become so attached to their favorite caretakers that they even cry and call them when they are sick!

Chimpanzee scholars claim that there are at least 20 different sounds that can be classified as "chimpanzee language". On the ground, chimpanzees move on four legs, leaning on the ground with their knuckles to support the body. A male chimpanzee can weigh up to 70 kg and reach a height of 1.5 m, although most chimpanzees are slightly smaller.

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Chimpanzees are often mistaken for a type of monkey, which is what they are called in books, movies, and commercials. However, chimpanzees are not great apes: they belong to the family of mammals known as hominids. Other hominids are gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, and humans.

Hominids form one half of the hominin superfamily, the other half are gibbons, which include gibbons and siamangs.

The main difference between chimpanzees and monkeys is that almost all monkeys have a tail, which they use as a fifth appendage. And, despite the fact that monkeys are quite smart animals, but compared to most hominids, their mental capacity weak, because hominids have a much larger brain in relation to the body and more skillfully use improvised objects.

In addition, the growth of the largest monkey, the mandrill, does not exceed 91 cm, while chimpanzees grow up to 170 cm. Chimpanzees also have much longer duration life, sometimes comparable to a human.

The most significant difference between chimpanzees and apes is in genetics: humans, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas are genetically closely related species. Some scientists believe that humans and chimpanzees share 96-99% of their DNA. Monkeys are more distant from humans - in percentage terms total genes does not exceed 93%.

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Surely it is no secret to anyone that for a long time in scientific circles the monkey was considered our closest relative, and the origin of man was from the monkey. Now this scientific theory questioned, not all scientists believe that we, the so-called "homo sapiens" descended from monkeys. However, scientific disputes on this subject are still ongoing, but our article is not about this, but about those amazing creatures, our smaller brothers, who, among the entire diverse animal world of planet Earth, really, in their structure, are most similar to us humans.

Monkey: description, structure, characteristics. What does a monkey look like?

Let's start with the fact that the very origin of the name "monkey" is very curious. Until the 16th century, we called the monkey "opica", by the way, the Czechs still call it that. After the Russian traveler Athanasius Nikitin returned from his famous trip to India, he brought into use the Persian name "abuzina", meaning literally "father of fornication". Subsequently, the Persian "abuzina" was actually transformed into a "monkey".

The body length of a monkey, depending on its species, can range from 15 cm (for a pygmy igunka) to 2 m (for a gorilla). Also, the mass of a monkey can be from 150 grams in the smallest representatives of the species, up to 275 kg - this is how much huge gorillas weigh.

Many monkeys lead an arboreal lifestyle, that is, they mainly live in trees and, as a result, have a long back, a shortened narrow chest, thin hip bones. But orangutans and gibbons have a wide chest and massive pelvic bones.

Some monkeys have a very long tail, the length of which can even exceed the size of the body, the monkey's tail acts as a balancer when moving between trees. But the monkeys living on the ground have a very short tail. As for monkeys without a tail, all "humanoid" monkeys do not have it (as well as people do not have it).

The body of monkeys is covered with hair of different colors, depending on the species, it can be light brown, red, black and white, gray-olive. Some adult monkeys can turn gray with age, and male monkeys can go bald, again almost like people.

Monkeys have mobile, well-developed upper limbs, very similar to our hands, each with five fingers, and monkeys living in trees have short and large fingers, which allows them to fly comfortably from branch to branch.

Monkeys have binocular vision, many of them have black pupils of the eyes.

The teeth of monkeys are also similar to those of humans, narrow-nosed monkeys have 32 teeth, and broad-nosed monkeys have 36.

The brain of the monkey is also very well developed; among other representatives of the animal world, only dolphins could compete with monkeys in terms of intelligence. Great apes have entire regions of the brain responsible for meaningful actions.

Monkeys communicate with each other using a special signal system, consisting of facial expressions and sounds. The most "talkative" among them are monkeys and capuchins, they have rich facial expressions, are able to express a wide range of feelings.

Where do monkeys live

Monkeys live on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica, of course. In Europe, they live only in Gibraltar, in South-East Asia, Africa (excluding Madagascar), Central and South America, Australia.

Monkey lifestyle

monkeys live small families and according to their way of life they are divided into tree monkeys living on trees and terrestrial ones living on the ground. Monkeys usually lead sedentary life and rarely leave their territory.

Sometimes there are clashes between male monkeys, with the goal of deciding the answer to the question “who is the main male here”, although often such clashes are limited to a demonstration of the strength of each male and do not reach a real fight.

How long do monkeys live

On average, the life expectancy of monkeys is 30-40 years. However, great apes live longer, they can live up to 50 years.

What do monkeys eat

Monkeys are omnivorous animals, and their diet depends on one or another species and also on the habitat. Tree monkeys eat everything that can be obtained on trees - fruits, nuts, and sometimes insects are different.

Terrestrial monkeys eat rhizomes and shoots of plants (for example, ferns are a favorite delicacy of the gorilla), fruits (figs, mangoes, and, of course, bananas). Also, some monkeys know how to fish, eat mollusks, rodents, grasshoppers, beetles and other small animals with pleasure.

Although there are species of monkeys that eat only one, certain food, for example, Japanese short-tailed macaques are pure vegetarians and feed exclusively on tree bark, and the crab-eating macaque, as its name implies, eats crabs.

Monkey Enemies

Unfortunately, the monkeys themselves have many enemies in natural conditions who is not averse to feasting on these primates. The most sworn enemies of monkeys are leopards, which are also capable of climbing trees well and other predatory "" - lions, cheetahs.

Types of monkeys, photos and names

In general, all types of monkeys can be divided into:

• broad-nosed monkeys - this includes monkeys that live on the American continent,
• narrow-nosed monkeys - all other monkeys that live in Africa, Asia, Australia and European Gibraltar.

Regarding different types of monkeys, zoologists have separately distinguished the types of anthropoid apes, types of small monkeys, etc. In general, there are more than 400 species of these primates in nature, below we will describe the most interesting of them.

It is a member of the spider monkey family. It is named so due to the fact that it makes characteristic sounds that can be heard at a distance of up to 5 km. The males of the black howler are covered with black hair and fully justify their name, but the females of the black howler are not black at all, their coat is yellow-brown or olive. The length of this monkey is 56-67 cm, with a weight of 6.7 kg. The black howler lives in South America, on the territory of countries such as Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia.

Belonging to the chaintail family, the capuchin is an arboreal monkey that lives in trees. The weight of a capuchin is 3 kg. Has a brown or gray-brown color. A very curious feature of this species of monkeys is their habit of rubbing themselves with poisonous centipedes () to protect themselves from blood-sucking insects. Mourning capuchins live in crowns rainforest Brazil, Venezuela.

Own unusual name received thanks to the gray with shades of blue color and a white stripe of wool that passes over the eyebrows like a crown. The body length of the crowned monkey is 50-60 cm and weighs 5-6 kg. Monkeys live in African forests from the Congo Basin to Ethiopia and Angola.

Belongs to the great apes of the gibbon family. It has a length of 55-65 cm and a weight of 5-6 kg. The coat color of the white-handed gibbon can be black, sand or brown, but its hands are always white, hence the name. These gibbons live in the tropical forests of China and the Malay Archipelago.

eastern gorilla

Gorilla is the most big monkey in the world. The average size of a gorilla is 185 cm with a body weight of 180 kg. Although sometimes there are also larger gorillas, weighing all 220 kg. These huge monkeys are distinguished by a large head, broad shoulders, and an expanded chest. The color of the gorilla's coat is black; in old age, gorillas, like people, can turn gray. Despite their formidable appearance, gorillas prefer to eat grass, plant shoots, rather than hunt for game. Gorillas live in the equatorial forests of Central and West Africa.

He is also a white-headed saki, in our opinion, this monkey has the strangest appearance - the black color of his coat contrasts brightly with the white color of his face. The size of pale saki is 30-48 cm and weighs 2 kg. This is a tree monkey living in the forests of Brazil, Venezuela, Suriname.

He is a flattened baboon, is a species of narrow-nosed monkeys who spend their entire lives exclusively on earth. It is also a rather large monkey, the body length of the hamadryas is 70-100 cm, weight 30 kg. It also has an unusual appearance - long hair on the shoulders and chest forms a kind of fur cape. The hamadryas lives both in Africa and Asia in a number of countries, such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen.

The nosy monkey, she is also a kahau, belongs to the monkey family. A striking feature of this monkey is large sizes nose, which the monkeys even have to hold with their hands during the meal. It has a yellow-brown color. The size of the nose is 66-77 cm with a weight of 15-22 kg. It also has a long tail, which is equal in size to the length of their body. These unusual look monkeys exclusively on the island of Borneo.

Living in the northern part Japanese island Honshu this monkey is real calling card these places. The size of the Japanese macaque is 80-95 cm, weight 12-14 kg. These monkeys have bright red skin, which is especially noticeable on their face and buttocks, devoid of wool. Macaques living in northern Japan experience the cold winter months in special thermal springs, warming themselves in their hot waters (and at the same time attracting crowds of tourists from all over the world).

The Sumatran orangutan is a rather large monkey, its size reaches one and a half meters and weighs 150-160 kg. In terms of size, the orangutan takes an honorable second place after the gorilla. It has a well-developed musculature, a massive body covered with red hair, climbs trees perfectly. The muzzle of the orangutan has fatty rollers located on the cheeks, and the beard and mustache give it a very funny look. The charismatic Sumatran orangutan lives exclusively on the island of Sumatra.

For some reason, monkeys are most associated with the chimpanzee, which is the most characteristic representative of the monkey kingdom. Chimpanzees are also relatively large monkeys, their body length is 140-160 cm and weighs 65-80 kg, that is, they are like people in their size. The body of a chimpanzee is covered with black fur. It is also very curious that these anthropoid apes are the only ones who thought of creating a semblance of tools that facilitate the process of obtaining food, they are able to sharpen the ends of sticks, turning them into imitation spears, they can use stone leaves as traps for insects, etc. Without a doubt, it is chimpanzees are the most intelligent among the monkeys, and if Darwin's theory is right, then it is they who are in the closest kinship with us people. Chimpanzees live mainly in Central and West Africa.

And finally, it was impossible not to mention the pygmy marmoset - the smallest monkey in the world. Its length is only 10-15 cm, weight - 100-150 grams. Live in forests South America feeding exclusively on tree sap.

Reproduction of monkeys in nature

Reproduction of monkeys occurs throughout the year and for each species has its own individual characteristics. Puberty in monkeys, it usually occurs by the age of 7-8 years. Some species of monkeys are monogamous and create permanent families for life, others, such as capuchins, on the contrary, are polygamous, so female capuchins mate with several males, males do the same.

The pregnancy of a monkey can last from 6 to 8.5 months, again depending on the species. Usually one cub is born at a time, but there are species of monkeys that can give birth to twins.

Little monkeys, like real primates, are fed by their mothers. breast milk, and the period of feeding is also different for different monkeys. The female gorilla feeds her cubs the longest - this period lasts up to 3.5 years.

Keeping monkeys at home

Despite the fact that monkeys are wild creatures, nevertheless, they are very easy to train, get used to captivity, and under favorable conditions feel quite comfortable in zoos. The truth is to keep a monkey at home is not the most best idea, they are terrible mischief-makers and fidgets, and if you have already decided to get a pet monkey, then you should get ready that it will make real chaos in your house. To prevent it, the monkey can be kept in some spacious cage.

You can feed the monkey with fish, chicken or turkey meat, boiled eggs, vegetables, nuts, fresh fruits.

• Some species of monkeys are very clean and care for their appearance take almost the whole day.
• During the development of astronautics, 32 monkeys have already managed to visit space.
• Spider monkeys have such a developed and strong tail that they can easily hang on a tree branch with just one help.
• A group of American scientists managed to teach a female gorilla a certain number of words from the language of the deaf and dumb, after which she was able to quite successfully communicate with people.

monkeys video

And finally, interesting documentary about monkeys from the Discovery Channel - "Monkeys on the Warpath"

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