MONKEY 



3891 



MONKEY 



MONKEY, mung'ki, the name of a group of 

 animals that possess special interest for young 

 and old because of their very remote resem- 

 blance to human beings in appearance and in 

 some of their actions. The monkey cage at the 

 zoo or circus is a 

 center of interest, 

 for everybody 

 likes to watch the 

 serious-faced lit- 

 tle creatures, eat- 

 ing peanuts, clean- 

 ing each other or 

 playing mischiev- 

 ous pranks, and 

 all the time seem- 

 ing to be deep in 

 thought The COMMON MONKEY 



The monkey pictured above 



name is supposed in the act of catching a ny is 

 4- K ^ mA fmm of tne species that childr 

 to be derived from l see i 



an Italian 



ren 



comm0 nly see in zoological 

 word gardens and in menageries. 



meaning old woman, and refers, apparently, to 

 the resemblance of a monkey's face to that of 

 a wrinkled old lady. Though the name is ap- 

 plied in popular language to a wide variety of 

 manlike animals, strictly speaking monkeys 

 constitute the group with long tails and short, 

 narrow faces. The larger, tailless members of 

 the family are called apes; to this division be- 

 long the gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and 

 gibbons. 



Monkeys at Home. Monkeys in their homes 

 in the tropical forests are even more interesting 

 than in the zoo. They live in pairs, as do men 

 and women, and their love for their families is 

 greater than that of many human beings. They 

 travel in groups, and when they reach a stream 

 which it would be difficult for the mothers and 

 children to cross, the fathers form themselves 

 into a chain, swing from the limb of a large 

 tree, and make a living bridge to another tree 

 on the opposite bank. This feat is easy for 

 South and Central American monkeys, which 

 have long, strong tails, almost as useful as a 

 fifth hand. All monkeys have in effect four 

 hands, for their toes are thumbs and fingers. 

 Their arms are often longer than their legs. 

 The usual food of monkeys is fruit and insects, 

 but sometimes includes eggs, young birds and 

 reptiles. They are very cleanly animals, and 

 the mothers are said to bathe their children in 

 the river every day, when possible. 



Some monkeys do not thrive in captivity, and 

 all are very sensitive to cold. It has been found 

 that in the summer they endure captivity bet- 

 ter when placed in outdoor cages than in en- 



closed ones. They are as a rule easily tamed, 

 never, even in the jungle, fighting a man unless 

 in self-defense. The Old World monkeys are 

 especially clever, but almost any monkey is 

 quick to learn simple tricks such as an organ- 

 grinder teaches his pet. In India they are con- 

 sidered sacred, and are never interfered with in 

 the mischievous pranks they like to play, even 

 when these cause great annoyance. 



Monkeys as Pets. Some very interesting 

 facts are recorded by those who have had op- 

 portunity to study the ways of pet monkeys. 

 They respond readily to kind treatment and 

 show their affection by caresses and kisses. 

 Monkeys try to talk to their owners both by 

 gestures and by sounds, and they seem to be 

 able to communicate with one another with 

 ease. One investigator who spent many years 

 in studying pet monkeys recorded the speech of 

 several of his little captives by means of a 

 phonograph. He found that in some cases there 

 were slight inflections in- the sounds used. Usu- 

 ally monkeys of one species do not try to ac- 

 quire the speech of those of a different species, 

 but there are exceptions to this rule. They 

 vary their talk according to their emotions, 

 sometimes screaming with anger or alarm, and 

 again uttering low, plaintive sounds which may 

 mean affection, sorrow or repentance. . The funny 

 chattering of the monkeys in the zoo is of 

 course familiar to everyone. Whenever these 

 little creatures find a home in the household 

 they should be given toys, for monkeys are gen- 

 erally happy if they have something to play 

 with and plenty to eat. 



Varieties. American monkeys, most of which 

 live in Brazil, Guiana, Venezuela, Central 

 America and Mexico, are easily distinguished 

 from those of Africa and Asia by the greater 

 breadth of their noses. They also have two 

 more teeth in each jaw. The best-known spe- 

 cies is the capuchin, light-colored on the top of 

 the head, named from the French word for 

 hood; it is also called the sapajou. There are 

 also the howler, whose name is taken from its 

 peculiar cry and is well deserved, and the spider 

 monkeys, long and slender, whose tails are 

 stronger than those of any other species. The 

 monkeys in the Eastern hemisphere are more 

 varied in color than the American, some having 

 touches of brilliant red, blue and yellow, in ad- 

 dition to the usual green, gray or brown. Per- 

 haps the strangest looking of all monkeys is 

 the proboscis, or trunk, monkey of Borneo, 

 whose nose is a miniature of an elephant's 

 trunk. M.S. 



