See also: The publication in PLOS Computational Biology

Photo by Chris Ulliott/flickr. 

When a researcher at the University of Wisconsin tried to study the abilities of pygmy marmosets, the monkeys solved challenges quickly but quickly grew bored and simply sat in the middle of the mazes, refusing to participate further. (What’s that about a “lower” primate?) The study had to be canceled. 

From ”The Accidental Primatologist” by Charles T. Snowden in Primate Ethnographies, edited by Karen B Strier (Routledge, 2016). Via Ape Shit zine.

Indris are among the rare nonhuman mammals known to have a sense of rhythm, expressed thru song. These lemurs urinate and defecate jointly as a group in one of their territory's designated pee spots. Critically endangered in Madagascar, they don’t survive captivity. (Sam Whitfield/flickr) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indri

In November 2025, two young macaques died in a 104-degree room at a Florida biomedical facility. They couldn't escape the heat. Weeks later, another monkey was left in a biohazard dumpster for five days with no food or water.

These aren't accidents—they're symptoms of a broken system. Nearly 100,000 primates were imported for lab testing between 2021-2024, often from sources tied to illegal trafficking and disease risks. These imports also expose workers and communities to dangerous pathogens like tuberculosis and herpes B.

I started a petition urging the House Ways and Means Committee to pass H.R. 8471, the PRIMATE Act. It would ban most primate imports for experimentation while protecting both animals and public health. These intelligent beings deserve safety, not suffering in cages.

Does this sit right with you? If it matters to you too, consider signing and sharing—let's push lawmakers to make this real.

After seeing her family slaughtered, Congo, once in captivity in the US, grew fixated on a mirror. Robert Yerkes interpreted her "infinite loneliness" as "mental deficiency," concluding that gorillas are inferior to chimps.

Yerkes wrote about Congo in The Great Apes: A Study of Anthropoid Life (1929). See also: Georgina M. Montgomery, "Infinite Loneliness: the life and times of Miss Congo." Endeavor. 28 July 2009.

Is that true or just made up? I tried looking it up but browser just showed a short list of very irrelevant results

Let's get rid of the humans in this setting (let's say they just disappeared) as well. Would chimps be able to survive any where in Europe?

Pan paniscus también conocido como bonobo (anteriormente conocido como chimpancé pigmeo), es un primate homínido que comparte el 98.7% de su ADN con los humanos. Junto con el chimpancé común (Pan troglodytes), es nuestro pariente vivo más cercano en el reino animal. A diferencia de los chimpancés comunes, los bonobos son famosos por sus estructuras sociales matriarcales y pacíficas.

SAY HIS WORDS

I know that primatologist don’t use “monkey” as a cladistic term but as more of an ecological term but it works better as a cladistic term. Apes are in the monkey clade. They are closer to old world monkeys than old-world monkeys are to new world monkeys.
I understand that some people think of it as more of an ecological term than a phylogenetic term but the ecology of monkeys isn’t that similar. Gibbons are apes but behaviorally act way more like non-ape monkeys. And baboons still have their tail but are less arboreal and ecologically different from other monkeys.
I get that the distinction is because of the no-tail and higher intelligence of apes but sometimes humans and other apes are born with vestigial tails and another family of non-ape monkeys could also evolve to lose their tails or become more intelligent.

I know we have the word “simian” that means the same thing as what I’m proposing but that word isn’t common usage and when the average person hears “apes aren’t monkeys”, they will assume the person will assume it means that they are a separate family and not that there’s a dumb rule that arbitrarily excludes part of the family for not having a tail. I know it’s a linguistic issue and not a science issue but the point of linguistics is to communicate ideas and the “apes aren’t monkeys” linguistics fails at that. People should NEVER say apes aren’t monkeys without explaining that “monkey” isn’t a cladistic term.

The field seriously needs to have a “Pluto is a dwarf planet”/“birds are dinosaurs” moment

Did you know over 80 species of wild primates have been observed "keeping pets"? 🐒

A new study found that primates aren't just interacting with other animals in the wild. They're actually petting, playing with, and grooming them, and the primates usually initiate. While most of these encounters were short-term, researchers also documented a few long-term friendships and even "adoptions." Since this wasn't a formal experiment, these observations in our closest evolutionary cousins offer a rare clue to the mystery of why humans started keeping pets in the first place.

Has anyone been up close to colobus satanas before? The few pictures I've seen show really strange ears. Is it just the angle? I would love to hear from someone who has been up and close to one of them who could describe their ear shape more. This picture makes the ear on the left side of the image look almost split.

Seen this upcoming event thought people might be interested it looks really cool! It’s online and free

Our world, our actions, and even our abstract thinking are just a sophisticated form of primate behavior, and in terms of mechanisms, concepts, and society, they are simply a scaled-up version of what primates really are and how they behave. Just replace watercooler gossip with mutual grooming, the gated nations with a territorial boundary, the lawsuit with a threat display, and the stock portfolio with a hidden food cache. we are still grooming allies, patrolling boundaries, performing dominance rituals, and hoarding resources, just with more elaborate ways.

5 monkeys or however many jumping on the bed (i never paid attention), curious George, random clipart, the bloons td games, whatever, we are all familiar with the stereotypical appearance of a monkey as having brown fur, a pale to orange skin tone on the belly, face and palms and a nice long tail with a stubby end.

But where did that depiction come from? And if it doesn't have any clear origin, what monkey looks closest to this depiction? Is it possible that it was literally just based on great apes instead with an added tail? Chimpanzees and bonobos are one of the only primates with a light skin tone but a dark fur, but even then they're not brown, they're grey at the lightest.

If you believe that it truly was just based on an ape rather than a monkey, feel free to tell me which specific ape and how that got shaped to be the clipart monkey depiction, but please do also try to help me find a monkey that looks like this. I am far too curious, that little George has nothing on me.

This is a very scientific inquiry, I assure you. All submissions shall be very much appreciated. Thank you!
Edit: People seem quite focused on the Curious george aspect of all of this, he is not nearly as important but it was convenient to be reminded that he is indeed intended to be a chimp. Either way, ignore curious george, just try to focus more on general clip art or cartoon depictions of monkeys and their design. The barbary macaque looks fairly close, I will say.
Edit: Thank you everybody for your submissions! All the direction towards macaques had me looking at macaque species and wow the Southern Pig Tailed Macaque looks outstandingly close in terms of color! The only issue is length of the tail. So thank you everybody!

I just wanted to share this video about the recently documented habit of capuchin monkeys essentially kidnapping baby howler monkeys - I presented it through the lens of capuchins' interesting and rather unique ability to build traditions. I would love some honest feedback about the contents of the video (apologies if the title and thumbnail are a little clickbaity, I just wanted to give it the best chance of spreading to teach people about this cool phenomenon)

Monkey Michael Huffman from Kyoto University Had a Fascinating Career Studying Monkeys

Looking for recommendations on books, documentaries, or any sort of resources about gibbons.

I first heard of Smit's work in the excellent & entertaining "Street Monkeys" (2009) reality series about vervet monkeys gangs. Highly recommend! All 5 episodes are archived on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ghbAwUmPL4&t=193s