Monkey Day 2022: 5 interesting facts about our cousins
These facts are 'ape-solutely' mind-boggling! December 14 marks Monkey Day, which is an unofficial international holiday raising awareness about modern threats to monkeys. In addition to this, the day also focuses on other non-human primates such as apes, lemurs, and tarsiers. To commemorate this occasion, here are five interesting facts about monkeys that will blow your mind away. Check them out!
Monkeys strengthen relationships using grooming techniques
Often seen as a part of their hygiene, monkeys love to pick bugs, dirt, and debris off their counterparts. However, this has to do more with showing love, affection, and care. Their grooming rituals help them socialize and develop bonds with one another. Vervet monkeys, for instance, comb each other's pelts which makes their fur thicker and also increases its insulation value.
Monkeys choose trees quite carefully when it comes to sleep
Monkeys sleep on trees during the night and they choose their spots very thoughtfully. They usually choose trees that are tall, isolated, and ones whose branches do not touch each other. This also helps them steer clear of predators. Sometimes, they even select the trees closer to human civilization, due to the easy access to food and water.
Not just bananas, monkeys eat birds, rodents, and invertebrates
You may have known that monkeys only eat bananas. However, that's not the only thing they love to chow down on. Monkeys are mostly omnivorous and eat nuts, flowers, fruits, vegetables, bark, and roots. They also eat birds, rodents, invertebrates, and pretty much everything that's available in their natural habitat. In fact, most monkeys haven't tasted bananas since they don't grow in the wild.
Apes, chimpanzees, and gorillas are not monkeys
Monkey is often used as a generic term for all the members of the primates family. However, monkeys are poles apart (or evolutionary branches apart in this case) when it comes to their other counterparts. Monkeys have tails whereas apes, chimpanzees, and gorillas do not. In fact, the latter three are bigger in size than the former and are more intelligent too.
Some monkeys have opposable thumbs
If you thought that we humans are the only species in the world with opposable thumbs, you are mistaken. Monkeys too have opposable thumbs and can rotate them in different directions. Interestingly, it is a very rare physical feature as monkeys don't need thumbs to survive. With opposable thumbs, they can use tools and even play video games if trained!
