Where do monkeys live: their habitat. Primate squad: classification, characteristics, signs, range and conservation status Where monkeys sit

Monkeys are called four-armed mammals for a reason. Most representatives of this species live in the crowns of trees, deftly moving from branch to branch. In dense equatorial forests there are primates that never come down to earth. For example, the royal Gverets, who live in Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia, spend their whole lives in the crowns of trees. They are excellent jumpers and cover great distances jumping from branch to branch.

Monkeys of large and medium size often descend from trees to the ground. Some, such as baboons, live exclusively on the ground, completely ignoring trees. They are going to large groups and, moving together, they are able to withstand even such large predators as leopards and lions.

Most monkeys live in warm climates and do not tolerate cold well. However, some species have adapted to living in the cold. Thus, Japanese macaques live on the northern island of Honshu, where the average winter temperature is -5 ° C, and snow cover can lie up to four months a year. The bodies of these animals are covered with thick and long hair, which reliably protects them from cold winds. In addition, snow macaques have learned to take advantage of the geological features of the Japanese islands - they spend most of their time basking in the water of hot springs. Also, some species of monkeys living in the mountains of China and South America successfully endure sub-zero temperatures.

Monkey habitat

Primates are mainly found in the tropics and subtropics of Africa, South America and southeast Asia. Africa is almost completely inhabited by various species of monkeys, excluding the Sahara desert. Among the many primates found on the continent, of particular interest are the large great apes: chimpanzees and gorillas. On the island of Madagascar, contrary to popular belief, there are no primates. But their more primitive "relatives" - lemurs - live here.

In Asia, the habitat of monkeys includes the entire Indo-Malay region, most of China, the south of the Korean Peninsula, numerous islands of the Indian and partly the Japanese islands. Orangutans, large great apes, are found in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

IN South America the greatest diversity of primate species is found in the Amazon basin. Here you can meet the smallest monkeys from the marmoset family. The forests of Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela are also inhabited by howler monkeys, saimiri and different kinds capuchins.

The primate order is divided into two suborders and 16 families:

Suborder Wet Nose ( Strepsirrhini) includes the following families:

• Dwarf lemurs ( Cheirogaleidae);
• Lemurs ( Lemuridae);
• Lepilemory ( Lepilemuridae);
• Indriaceae ( Indriidae);
• Hand-legged ( Daubentoniidae);
• Loriaceae ( Loridae);
• Galagic ( Galagonidae).

Suborder Dry-nosed ( Haplorrhini) consists of the following families:

• Tarsiers ( Tarsiidae);
• Igrunkovye ( Callitrichidae);
• chain-tailed monkeys ( Cebidae);
• night monkeys ( aotidae);
• Sakov ( Pitheciidae);
• Spider Monkeys ( Atelidae);
• Monkey ( Cercopithecidae);
• Gibbons ( Hylobatidae);
• hominids ( Hominidae).

Evolution

Fossils of early primates are from the early (56 to 40 million years ago) or possibly the late Paleocene (59 to 56 million years ago). Although they are an ancient group and many (especially the broad-nosed or New World monkeys) have remained fully arboreal, others have become at least partially terrestrial and have reached high level intellect. There is no doubt that this particular detachment includes some of the.

Lifespan

Although humans are the longest-lived primates, the potential lifespan of chimpanzees is estimated at 60 years, and orangutans sometimes reach that age in captivity. On the other hand, the lifespan of lemurs is about 15 years, while that of monkeys is 25-30 years.

Description

Roxellan rhinopitecus

Despite notable differences between primate families, they share several anatomical and functional characteristics reflecting them general detachment. Compared to body weight, the primate brain is larger than that of other mammals and has a unique spur-like groove that separates the first and second visual areas on each side of the brain. While all other mammals have claws or hooves on their fingers, primates have flat nails. Some primates have claws, but the thumb still has a flat nail.

Not all primates have equally nimble hands; only narrow-nosed monkeys (marmosets and hominids, including humans), as well as some lemurs and lorises, have an opposable thumb. Primates are not the only animals that grasp various objects with their limbs. But since this characteristic is found in many other arboreal mammals (such as squirrels and opossums), and since most modern primates are arboreal, it is assumed that they evolved from an ancestor that was arboreal.

Primates also have specialized nerve endings on their limbs that increase tactile sensitivity. As far as is known, no other placental mammal has them. Primates have fingerprints, but so do many other arboreal mammals.

Primates have binocular vision, although this feature is by no means limited to primates, but it is general characteristics observed among . Therefore, it has been proposed that the ancestor of primates was a predator.

Primate teeth differ from those of other mammals by having low, rounded molar and premolar teeth that contrast with the long, sharp teeth of other placental mammals. This difference makes it easy to recognize primate teeth.

Size

Members of the primate order show a range of sizes and adaptive diversity. The smallest primate is the mouse lemur ( Microcebus berthae), which weighs about 35-50 grams; the most massive primate is, of course, the gorilla ( Gorilla), whose weight varies from 140 to 180 kg, which is almost 4000 times the weight of the mouse lemur.

Geographic range and habitat

Primates occupy two main vegetation zones: and. Each of these zones created appropriate adaptations in primates, but among tree species, perhaps more variety of bodily forms than among the inhabitants of the savannah. Arboreal primates have many of the same characteristics that likely evolved as adaptations to life in trees. Several species, including our own, have left their trees to become terrestrial.

Non-human primates are widespread in all tropical latitudes, India, Southeast and. In Ethiopia, gelada (genus Theropithecus) is found at altitudes up to 5000 meters. The gorillas of the Virunga Mountains are known to pass through mountain passes at over 4,200 meters. Red Howlers ( Alouatta seniculus) Venezuelans live at an altitude of 2500 meters in the mountains of the Cordillera de Merida, and in northern Colombia, the Mirikins (genus Aotus) are found in the tropical mountain forests of the Central Cordillera.

The gestation period varies among primate species. For example, mouse lemurs have a gestation period of 54-68 days, lemurs 132-134 days, macaques 146-186 days, gibbons 210 days, chimpanzees 230 days, gorillas 255 days, and humans (on average) 267 days. Even in small primates, the gestation period is significantly longer than in other mammals of equivalent size, reflecting the complexity of primates. Although there is a general evolutionary trend in primates towards an increase in body size, there is no absolute correlation between body size and the length of the gestation period.

The degrees of puberty and maternal dependence at birth appear to be closely related. Newborn primates are not as helpless as kittens, puppies or rats. With few exceptions, the young primate is born with open eyes and fur. Cubs should be able to cling to their mother's fur; only a few species leave their babies in shelters while feeding. The young of the highest primates are able to cling to their mother's fur unaided; however, humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas must support their newborns, and humans do so the longest.

Once the primate infant has learned to support itself by standing on its two (or four) legs, the physical dependency phase is over; the next stage, psychological addiction, lasts much longer. The human child is attached to the mother for a much longer time than the non-human primate. The adolescent period of psychological maternal dependence is 2.5 years in lemurs, 6 years in monkeys, 7-8 years in most hominoid, and 14 years in humans.

Behavior

Primates are among the most social animals, forming pairs or family groups. On social systems three main ecological factors are affected: distribution, group size, and predation. As part of social group there is a balance between cooperation and competition. Cooperative behavior includes social grooming, food sharing, and collective defense against predators. Aggressive behavior often signals competition for food, sleeping quarters, or helpers. Aggression is also used to establish dominance hierarchies.

It is known that several species of primates can cooperate in the wild. For example, in national park Tai, in Africa, several species coordinate behavior to protect themselves from predators. These include Diana monkey, Campbell's monkey, lesser white-nosed monkey, red colobus, king colobus, smoky mangobey. Among the predators of these monkeys is the common chimpanzee.

Primates have developed cognitive abilities: some make tools and use them to obtain food and for social display; others have complex hunting strategies requiring cooperation, influence and dominance; they are status conscious, manipulative and deceitful; these animals can learn to use symbols and understand human language.

Some primates rely on olfactory cues for many aspects of social and reproductive behavior. Specialized glands are used to mark territories with pheromones that are picked up by the vomeronasal organ. Primates also use vocalizations, gestures, and emotions to convey a psychological state. Like humans, chimpanzees can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar faces.

Primate conservation

While many primates are still abundant in the wild, populations of many species are in sharp decline. According to International Union Conservation Agency (IUCN), more than 70% of primates in Asia and approximately 40% of primates in South America, the African mainland and the island of Madagascar are listed as endangered. A number of species, especially the gorilla, some of the Madagascar lemurs, and some species from South America, are in serious danger of extinction as their habitats are being destroyed and poaching is rampant.

However, some endangered species have increased in numbers. A concerted captive breeding effort has been successful, and reintroduction into the wild is also practiced in Brazil.

No animal arouses as much interest in people as monkeys. And all because they are our closest relatives, both physiologically and intellectually. Monkeys make up a separate infraorder of the Apes in the order of Primates. Among primitive animals, their close relatives are tarsiers, lemurs, tupai, lorises, mites, and insectivorous mammals are distant. This relationship debunks one of the most enduring myths about monkeys as the most perfect creatures on the planet. In reality, they have only a developed intellect, which is due to the specifics of the environment of their existence, but the physiology of monkeys is at a rather primitive level.

Crested macaque, or crested baboon (Macaca nigra) - the first species of monkeys that entered the history of mankind as the author of a selfie.

The body sizes of these animals vary widely: the smallest monkey - the pygmy marmoset - weighs only 100-150 g, and the largest are gorillas, whose weight can reach 140-200 kg. Male orangutans almost keep up with them, whose weight in rare cases can reach up to 180 kg (their females are much smaller).

Dwarf marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea).

It is clear that such a difference in size could not but affect appearance. If you look for common features in monkeys, then they are united by a rounded skull that contains a large brain; small size fixed ears; superciliary arches outlining the eye sockets; large eyes adapted to see in daylight; short movable neck; muscular long limbs. It is characteristic that all monkeys have a clavicle - a bone that allows their forelimbs to move in different directions, unlike the paws of terrestrial tetrapods, which are able to move mainly in the "back and forth" direction.

In primitive New World broad-nosed monkeys, the facial part of the skull is relatively poorly developed, so their muzzles are flat. In the more advanced narrow-nosed monkeys of the Old World, the jaws protrude noticeably forward, for example, in baboons that do not disdain hunting, this gives an almost dog-like appearance.

The male hamadryas (Papio hamadryas) yawns to show off his teeth to rivals. Such a grin is often used by baboons to bloodlessly strengthen discipline.

broad-nosed and narrow-nosed monkeys they are called not so much by the size of the nose, but by the direction of the nostrils: in the broad-nosed they are set apart, and in the narrow-nosed they are directed forward. In males, the nose is similar to a cucumber - it acts as a resonator, while in females of this species, the noses are short and upturned.

Male proboscis, or kahau (Nasalis larvatus).

Very short noses with nostrils directed almost upwards in rhinopithecines.

Male black rhinopithecus (Rhinopithecus bieti).

Compared to other animals, monkeys have well-developed facial muscles, since their grimaces perform a communicative function. The vision of these primates is binocular and color, which allows you to quickly determine the distance to objects and accurately identify them. Such vision is vital for the inhabitants of high crowns, feeding on a variety of fruits, leaves, and sometimes small animals.

The front paws of monkeys are five-fingered, with the first (thumb) toe set aside, which allows them to wrap around tree branches and manipulate objects. To obtain food, monkeys use tools, such as stones, twigs, rolled leaves, with which they break nuts, pull out ants, scoop up water, etc.

Brown black-headed capuchin, or faun (Cebus apella) uses a heavy stone to crush the shell of a hard nut.

However, in some tree monkeys, the first toe can be reduced, in which case the paw is used as a hook, that is, the animal hangs on a branch, holding on to it with all four fingers. The hind legs of monkeys also have a set finger: on the one hand, this allows them to more effectively hold on to branches, and on the other hand, it does not interfere with walking and running on the ground. By the way, monkeys move, leaning on the entire surface of their palms and soles, and only great apes (orangutans, gorillas, gibbons, chimpanzees) bend their fingers on their palms while walking, leaning on their back side.

Monkey fingers end in nails; in small tree monkeys, they sometimes have an arched shape, which makes them look like claws from the outside.

The tail is perhaps the most variable organ of monkeys. In anthropoid primates and macaques, it is completely absent, in pig-tailed macaques it is short and does not play any role in movement, in other species it is long, but functions differently. For example, the monkeys of the Old World use it as a balance while jumping (and the monkey hussars also rely on it when they stand), but among the broad-nosed monkeys there are many species with an extremely tenacious tail. Its underside is bare and has papillary lines like fingerprints, and the tail itself is very flexible and strong. All this allows its owner to wrap his tail around the branches, literally feeling their surface, and also hang on it. It is not for nothing that woolly, reddish and spider monkeys are sometimes called five-armed, implying that the tail replaces them with an additional limb. True, in the smallest monkeys (marmosets, marmosets, tamarins) a long tail not at all muscular, these species use it like squirrels, like a steering wheel when jumping.

Red-haired monkey (Brachyteles hypoxanthus) with a cub moves over an air bridge between trees.

Monkeys are characterized by thick hair without undercoat, but at the same time their palms, feet and partly their face are always bare. In some species, other parts of the body are also naked: in geladas, the skin on the chest, in all baboons, ischial calluses, in uakari, the skull.

Baboon or yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) showing black ischial calluses. In other species of baboons, these body parts are usually red in color.

skin color at different types it can be flesh-colored, bright red, blue, black, or even multi-colored, like a mandrill.

The unusual skin texture of the Nemean thin-bodied (Pygathrix nemaeus) makes it look like a doll.

The coat of monkeys is often colored black, brown, gray, a few species are characterized by variegated coloration.

Nemean thinbodies are also among the most brightly colored monkeys.

Many species have decorations in the form of elongated hair growing on the head, face, neck, shoulders and forming, respectively, a lush head of hair, a beard and mustache, a “hood”, a mane. Such ornaments may be peculiar only to males (for example, the mane of baboons) or to both sexes (for example, the mustache of the imperial saguina).

Imperial saguins (Saguinus imperator).

In general, monkeys are characterized by sexual dimorphism, which is reduced to a brighter color and larger size of males. However, it is expressed differently in different species. As a rule, the strongest differences between males and females can be observed in polygamous species with a strong dominance of the leader (baboons, proboscis), less clear - in gregarious monkeys with less aggressive males (gorillas, macaques), and very insignificant - in monkeys living in pairs. , where the male and female equally take care of the offspring (marmosets, marmosets, tamarins).

Family of Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana).

All monkeys are heat-loving animals that live in the equatorial, tropical and subtropical zones Asia, Africa, South and Central America. In Europe, monkeys are known only in the extreme southwest of the continent - at Cape Gibraltar. Magots live here, but they also came to Europe with the help of a man with his historical homeland- North Africa. The other extreme northern habitat of these primates is on the Japanese Islands. Here, Japanese macaques have managed to populate even islands with a temperate climate, where a lot of snow falls in winter. True, it is not the skin that helps them overcome frosts, but their intellect - these monkeys have learned to warm themselves in hot springs, where they spend almost the entire winter day.

Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), warming themselves in the water, are simultaneously engaged in daily activities: they eat, sort each other's wool. This group indulges in a midday nap.

The favorite habitats of monkeys are dense forests with many fruit trees. Few species have mastered dry woodlands (monkeys), savannahs (baboons), rocky slopes (magots, geladas).

A flock of langurs hide from torrents flowing down a rocky slope in the Thar Desert. Most monkeys do not like water and even swim only when absolutely necessary.

All monkeys are herbivorous to some degree. Some of them adhere to an exclusively vegetarian diet, eating the fruits of trees, leaves, young shoots, seeds, such species include orangutans, gorillas, and howler monkeys. Others replenish protein reserves in the body, periodically eating eggs and chicks, small lizards, crabs. These species include macaques, monkeys, marmosets. Finally, meat plays a significant role in the diet of baboons, sometimes these monkeys even catch such large animals as cubs of gazelles and small antelopes.

A baboon with a baby gazelle he killed.

The nature of the diet leaves its mark on the way of life. Herbivorous marmosets, marmosets and gibbons live in pairs or small families, including close relatives (older children, grandparents). These monkeys are very peaceful, they do not like fights, they mark the territory either with urine (marmosets) or with special songs (gibbons).

The jointed gibbon, or siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) performs a morning song. The bag under his throat serves as a resonator for him, amplifying the sound.

Very calm herbivorous orangutans living alone, and gorillas with small harems. But these species, on occasion, can fend for themselves. Schooling species have a higher level of aggression. For example, howler monkeys protect their possessions and females with deafening cries, and the voices of these monkeys are the loudest sounds made by animals!

Black howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) guard the borders of their territory.

Moderately pugnacious omnivorous monkeys, macaques, even more aggressive baboons. Flocks of these monkeys have a leader male, to whom all the rest obey. Young males can get along with him only under the condition of full submission, otherwise they will have to learn the strength of his bites on their own skin. Females play the role of disenfranchised concubines, the fate of each of them depends on the taste of the leader: the favorites receive maximum care and food, the rest are forced to be content with the remnants from the table of the stronger and more successful. In chimpanzees, intra-pack aggression is removed either by sexual contact or by organized warfare against another pack. In the latter case, the winners can taste the meat of the vanquished. By the way, chimpanzees are the only monkeys that prey on other monkeys. And it's not only about clan differences, but also about monkeys, regularly falling into the teeth of large "brothers".

Two male baboons got into a fight. Teenagers felt whose will take, and immediately supported the strong. Although their participation in the battle is symbolic, such training will allow them to gain the necessary experience and confidence in order to claim leadership themselves in the future.

Regardless of the level of relationships within the flock, the communication of monkeys is accompanied by complex forms of behavior. These animals are not alien to such feelings as friendship, love, envy, resentment, rancor, cunning, anger, grief and empathy.

This female chakma, or bear baboon (Papio ursinus), has lost a cub, but even after his death she continues to carry the baby's body on her back until the corpse is completely decomposed.

In case of danger, their calls not only indicate an approaching threat, but accurately identify it: there are separate signals indicating a leopard, poisonous snakes, python, monkey-eating eagle, armed and unarmed man. Thus, monkeys have a primitive speech, in which at least nouns are present. In captivity, monkeys cannot reproduce human speech due to the difference in the structure of the vocal cords, but they are quite capable of mastering the language of gestures or signals.

Gorilla Koko, who knew sign language, explained to her caretakers that she wanted to have a cub. But since scientists did not allow her to mate, their ward was allowed to adopt a kitten. Koko was very attached to the adopted baby and cried when she had to be separated from him.

Monkeys do not have a specific breeding season. Mating takes place all year round. The female usually gives birth to one baby, rarely two (twins are more common in tamarins). A newborn is born sighted, covered with short hair, but helpless. At first, he hangs on his mother's stomach, later he moves onto her back. Childbirth occurs in a flock and attracts increased attention to the young mother, her social status rises for a while. Male marmosets and tamarins give birth to females and even eat the placenta, subsequently they take an active part in raising offspring: they carry the baby on themselves, and give it to their mothers only for feeding. Males of other monkeys take care of the young, allowing babies and teenagers more than ordinary members of the pack are allowed, but they do not show much attention to their own children. The childhood of monkeys is relatively long, which is due to complex forms of behavior - in order to gain the necessary experience, babies will have to long time watch adults and play with each other.

Baby gorillas and chimpanzees study together the world. Although such a meeting is impossible in nature, in captivity the kids quickly found a common language.

Large monkeys have no natural enemies, only chimpanzees, as mentioned above, can die from the paws and stones of a neighboring flock. Things are different in medium and small monkeys. Their enemies are primarily wild cats (leopard, jaguar, less often - a lion or a tiger), all kinds of snakes, especially pythons and boas. At a watering place, they can fall into the mouth of a crocodile. In South America and on the islands of the Philippine archipelago, monkey-eating eagles prey on monkeys. Their name eloquently makes it clear that they have achieved perfection in catching primates. However, danger from the air can lie in wait for monkeys in other parts of the world, where they can be attacked by kites, hawks and crowned eagles.

A crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) caught a monkey.

Monkeys are prone to human infections such as tonsillitis, influenza, tuberculosis, herpes, hepatitis, rabies, measles, so in areas of mass tourism they are protected from contact with strangers.

This baby gorilla was rescued from the hands of animal dealers in the Congo. While the orphan is getting used to a new home, the workers of the rehabilitation center wear masks so as not to infect the baby with human infections.

But human impact on these animals is not limited to passive transmission of infections. For a long time, people hunted monkeys: the natives ate their meat, more developed peoples simply destroyed them as pests. Agriculture raiding fields and plantations, the white colonizers killed the Gverets for their beautiful fur, the paws of the gorillas were used to make souvenirs. Finally, with the advent of the "love of animals" fashion, many species of monkeys have become desirable pets. This demand began to be satisfied by thousands of poachers around the world, catching monkeys in nature for resale. As a result, many species of monkeys are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the International Red Book.

In the language of the indigenous people of Africa - the Luba tribe - "chimpanzee" means "human-like". The veracity of this statement has been scientifically proven. Scientists estimate that the evolutionary paths of chimpanzees and humans diverged only 6 million years ago. And today it is the brightest and most amazing representative of the genus of anthropoid primates, genetically and biochemically the closest to Homo sapiens. For example, the similarity between our DNA is almost 90%.

Description of the chimpanzee

But the "humanity" of chimpanzees is not limited to the similarity of DNA.

Appearance

Chimpanzees, like humans, have blood types and individual fingerprints.. They can be distinguished by them - the pattern never repeats. Chimpanzees are different in size from humans. The largest males do not exceed 1.5 meters in height. Females are even lower - 1.3 meters. But at the same time, chimpanzees are very strong physically and have well-developed muscles, which not every Homo sapiens can boast of.

The structure of the skull is distinguished by pronounced superciliary arches, a flat nose and a strongly protruding jaw armed with sharp teeth. The cranium is made by nature with a margin - the brain occupies only half of its volume. Front and hind legs chimpanzees are the same length. An outstanding feature of the structure of their paws is the thumb, which is located at a distance from the rest and allows the monkey to deftly manage small objects.

The entire body of a chimpanzee is covered with hair. Nature made an exception for the face, palms and soles of the monkey's feet. Adolescent chimpanzees have a small patch of dark thick fur white color- in the region of the coccyx. As the monkey matures, the hairs darken and turn brown. This feature allows chimpanzees to distinguish still children from adults and treat them accordingly. It has been noticed that monkeys with white "islands" on the coccyx get away with a lot, that is, from their paws. Adult primates do not punish them for pranks and do not require much. But as soon as the white hairs disappear, childhood ends.

Chimpanzee species

Chimpanzees belong to the genus great apes and are related to gorillas and orangutans. There are two types of chimpanzee - the common chimpanzee and the bonobo chimpanzee. Bonobo is often referred to as the "pygmy chimpanzee", which is not entirely true. Bonobo is not a dwarf per se, just the structure of his body differs from an ordinary chimpanzee in great grace. Also, this species, the only one of the monkeys, has red lips, like a person.

The common chimpanzee has subspecies:

• black-faced or chimpanzee of which - differs in freckles on the face;
• western chimpanzee - has a black mask on the face in the shape of a butterfly;
• shveyfurtovsky - has two hallmarks: light complexion, acquiring a dirty shade with age, and longer hair than relatives.

Character and lifestyle

Chimpanzee is a social animallives in groups of up to 20-30 individuals. The male chimpanzee leads the group, the female leads the bonobos. The leader is not always the strongest primate of the group, but he must be the most cunning. He needs to be able to build relationships with relatives in such a way that they obey him. To do this, he chooses a company of close associates, such as guards, on whom he can rely in case of danger. The rest of the competing males are kept in fear of obedience.

When the leader “fails” due to old age or injury, a younger and more promising “commander” immediately takes his place. Females in the pack also obey a strict hierarchy. There are female leaders who are in a special position. Males pay increased attention to them, and this secures their status of being chosen. Such chimpanzees get the most tidbits and the most a large number of boyfriends during mating.

This is interesting! Bonobo, due to the lack of aggression in character, all conflicts within the group are resolved peacefully - by mating.

Female chimpanzees are considered to be more obedient, but less intelligent than males in training and training. But they express great affection for a person and do not harbor the threat of aggressive disobedience, unlike males, who are “led astray by the righteous” instinct of dominance. The social way of life makes it easier for chimpanzees to hunt, protect offspring, and helps to accumulate useful skills in a group. They learn a lot from each other while living together. Scientists have proven that lonely monkeys have reduced overall health indicators. Worse appetite than collective relatives, and slowed metabolism.

Chimpanzees - forest dwellers. They need trees. They build nests on them, find food, run away from the enemy, grabbing branches, from the enemy. But, with equal success, these monkeys also move on the ground, using all four paws. Upright walking, on two legs, is not typical for chimpanzees in the natural environment.

It has been observed that chimpanzees lose out to orangutans in tree climbing agility, but outperform gorillas in keeping their nests clean. The design of chimpanzee nests is not distinguished by elegance and is made unpretentiously - from branches and sticks, gathered together in a chaotic manner. Chimpanzees sleep only in nests, in trees - for safety reasons.

Chimpanzees know how to swim, but they don't like it. They generally prefer not to get wet unless absolutely necessary. Their main pastime is eating and relaxing. Everything is slow and measured. The only thing that violates the vital harmony of the monkeys is the appearance of the enemy. In this case, the chimpanzees raise an unbelievable cry. Chimpanzees are capable of making up to 30 types of sounds, but they cannot reproduce human speech, since they “speak” on exhalation, and not on inhalation, like a person. Communication within the group is also aided by body language and body posture. There is also facial expressions. Chimpanzees can smile and change facial expressions.

Chimpanzees are smart animals. These monkeys are fast learners. Living with a person, they easily adopt his manners and habits, sometimes demonstrating amazing results. It is known that the sailor's monkey coped with the anchor and sails, was able to kindle the stove in the galley and keep the fire in it.

Living in a group, chimpanzees successfully share their experiences. The young learn from mature primates simply by observing their behavior and copying it. These monkeys in their natural habitat themselves thought of using sticks and stones as tools for obtaining food, and big leaves plants - like a scoop for water or an umbrella in case of rain, or a fan, or even toilet paper.

Chimpanzees are capable of admiring a flower that does not represent nutritional value, or a close examination of a crawling python.

This is interesting! Unlike humans, a chimpanzee will not destroy useless and harmless objects and living creatures for him, rather, on the contrary. Chimpanzees have been known to feed turtles. Just!

how long does a chimpanzee live

In harsh conditions wildlife Chimpanzees rarely live past 50 years of age. But in the zoo, under human supervision, this monkey is released up to 60 years.

Range, habitats

Chimpanzees are inhabitants of Central and West Africa. They choose tropical rain and mountain forests, with big amount vegetation. Today, bonobos can only be found in Central Africa - in the humid forests between the Congo and Lualaba rivers.

Populations of common chimpanzees have been registered in the territory of: Cameroon, Guinea, Congo, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and a number of other states of equatorial Africa.

Monkeys are heat-loving animals, and they live mainly in countries with a hot climate - in Africa, Asia and South America. In some countries, there are so many monkeys that they have become a real disaster. In India, where monkeys are considered sacred, there are more than 40 million of them. Mostly rhesus monkeys. They are constantly plundering crops in the fields, in orchards and orchards, and robbing warehouses. Monkeys have become so bold that they climb into houses, spoil things and food, sometimes steal small animals and even children. It is estimated that in a year these robbers eat so much food that they could feed 10 percent of the Indian population - about 50 million people!

In some African countries, dog-headed baboon monkeys cause a lot of trouble to farmers by raiding plantations. Monkeys are scared away, shot, but all in vain. Moreover, baboons well distinguish a person dangerous to them from a non-dangerous one and notify each other about it. They let unarmed people and even a man with a stick very close to him. But as soon as a man with a carbine appears in the distance, the monkeys take to their heels.