Monkey business
Primates are an intriguing group of animals. Fast and fearsome yet emotional and thoughtful. From the gigantic gorillas to the little lemurs, it’s believed that monkeys and humans share common ancestors. They need us now more than ever now and it’s only by understanding them that we can help safeguard their future. Take a look at some of them.
Bearded capuchins
Found in the cliff-top caves in Brazil, these monkeys have a daily descent of 200 metres just to find something to eat. As an alternative, they feed on lizards, who are a good source of protein and water. Capuchins use tailor-made stick-like tools to hunt for lizards in the narrow cracks in a rock where the reptiles hide. They have an even more ingenious strategy of using a stone tool that gives them access to a superfood: wild cashews. The nuts inside are rich in fats and minerals, but the shells are almost impossible to break. Then capuchins place these tough nuts on pitted stones and hit them hard with other large rocks. Capuchins have been using these tools for at least 3000 years and hence have managed to survive in such inhospitable environment.
Lar Gibbons
The forests of Southeast Asia are home to the world-class animal acrobats, Lar Gibbons. Interestingly, the gibbons’ arms are twice as long as their legs. And they cover big distances quickly. They use their arms to swing from branch to branch very fast. So, their body acts as a pendulum giving them enough momentum to clear a gap of 10 metres. Gibbons are bipedal and walk across tree limbs on two feet. They hold their arms high in the air for balance when they walk or run along the ground or on branches. They are born with all the tools they need to be this ‘high’ in life, but need practice to learn how to do it. For them, play is the best form of practice. The more they play, the faster their skills develop.
White-cheeked Spider Monkeys
On the tree tops of the Amazon Basin live the white-cheeked Spider Monkeys, who have an extra limb in their tail. Their tails are as good as any arm and allows them to go where other monkeys can’t. The tributary of the Amazon is always flooding and the currents are so strong that it can even uproot trees and wash away any who stray too close. But the Spider Monkey’s tail acts as a safety rope and helps support all its weight. When threatened by a predator, these monkeys try to ward off the enemy by barking. If the predator doesn’t leave, they hang by their tails and shake the tree branches with all four limbs, which scares the predator away.
Bushbabies
These nocturnal primates are found in South Africa and are heard more often than seen. Though small, they have the largest ears of any primate, which tune in to the sounds of the African jungles. Using its large ears, a bushbaby can locate its prey by its sound so precisely that it can catch flying insects from the air. Apart from insects, they feed on fruits and the sap of certain trees. They also mark their territories by urinating on their hands and then spreading their scent as they leap around from tree to tree.