Olive Baboon

We just learned about the Uganda Mangabey.

Another type of old world monkey is the Olive Baboon, also called the Anubis Baboon, or Papio Anubis.

These monkeys live all over Africa, in forests, deserts, and grasslands.
They get the name Olive Baboon because their fur looks olive colored.
Their other name Anubis Baboon comes from the way their face looks kind of like the dog faced statue of the Egyptian Anubis.

Olive Baboons are a little over 2 feet tall and weigh about 50 pounds.
Usually they talk to each other using grunts, but if they get scared by another animal they might shout "Wahoo!" to warn everyone.

These baboons will eat just about anything, from plants and bugs to mice, birds, and other larger animals.
They will sometimes even go after sheep, goats and chickens from farms!

Some elephants and the baboons have learned to work together to survive.
Elephants will dig holes to get water, and baboons will be lookouts up in the trees to warn if there is danger coming.


(from: wikipedia - olive baboon)



Olive baboon troupe - Cameron Wares


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Andean Mountain Cat

Uganda Mangabey

We just learned about the Lion Tailed Macaque.

Another type of Old World Monkey is the Uganda Mangabey, also called the lophocebus ugandae.

Just like you would think from the name, these monkeys live in Uganda.
They grow to be about 3 feet long, weighing about 24 pounds.

Usually these monkeys live in the forests, but they go down to the ground for food, where they eat mostly fruits, nuts and seeds.



(from: wikipedia - uganda mangabey)



Uganda Mangabey - Johnnie Uganda Safaris


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pampas Cat

L'Hoest's Monkey

We just learned about the De Brazzs Monkey.

Another type of monkey is the L'Hoest's Monkey.

This type of monkey is known as a guenon monkey, and it lives in the middle of Africa in an area called the Congo basin.
The live in mountains with forests, and have dark fur with a white fury beard.

These are small monkeys, only about 2 feet long and weighing around 13 pounds.
They spend most of their time in the trees, and even sleep in the trees.



(from: wikipedia - l'hoest's monkey)



A tour of Edinburgh Zoo Scotland | Edinburgh tours - The Broonfords


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lynx

De Brazza's Monkey

We just learned about the Green Monkey.

Another type of Old World Monkey is the De Brazza's Monkey also called the cercopithecus neglectus.

These are a type of monkey in a group called "geunon" monkeys, with has over 20 different types of monkeys.
The De Brazza's monkey is the biggest of all of the type of guenon monkeys, and it was named after the scientist who discovered it, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza.

This kind of monkey is very shy and hides from humans most of the time, which is why its scientific name is "cercopithecus neglectus" meaning it neglects or ignores people most of the time.

They are pretty easy to spot in the wild, because they have an orange crescent shaped mark of fur on their forehead, a white beard, which doesn't match the rest of their grey body.



(from: wikipedia - de brazza's monkey)



Baby De Brazza's Monkey - Oregon Zoo


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bobcat

Green Monkey

We just learned about the Patas Monkey.

Another type of Old World Monkey is a Green Monkey.

The Green Monkey is part of a group of monkeys called the "Chlorocebus" which comes from the words "chloro" meaning green, and "cebus" meaning long tailed monkey.

There are 6 kinds of cholorocebus monkeys: Green Monkey, Grivet, Bale Mountains Vervet, Tantalus Monkey, Vervet Monkey, and Malbrouck.

These Green Monkeys aren't green, they just have some yellow fur on them, and they can grow to be about 17 pounds and 2 feet long.
They live together with groups of up to 80 monkeys like one big family.

When there is danger nearby these monkeys will yell to warn their family, and sometimes they use a specific yell for one kind of animal they are scared of, almost like they have a word for that animal.



(from: wikipedia - green monkey)



Newborn Green Monkey Part 1 - TheGregkoch


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jaguarundi

Patas Monkey

We just learned about the Allen's Swamp Monkey.

Another kind of Old World Monkey is the Patas Monkey, also called the wadi monkey, hussar monkey or erythrocebus patas.

This monkey lives on the ground in the areas of Africa called the Savannah, which is grasslands with some trees.
They grow to be about 2 feet long, and weigh about 27 pounds.
These monkeys can very fast, at 34 miles per hour they are the fastest of all the primates!
On their faces, these monkeys have what looks like a mustache.

When these monkeys live together, they are usually in big groups of all female monkeys, up to 60 females together, and sometimes no male monkeys.
Male monkeys will sometimes live in groups together, but usually they just live by themselves.

Some people believe that these monkeys with mustaches were the animals that gave Dr. Seuss the idea for the Lorax.
They live mostly by special whistling thorn acacia trees, that might have given him the idea for the truffala trees.



(from: wikipedia - patas monkey)



Segera Retreat - rare Patas Monkeys - Wilderness Safaris


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cougar

Allen's Swamp Monkey

We just learned about the Talapoin Monkey.

Another type of primate is the Allen's Swamp Monkey.

Just like the Talapoin monkey, this is one of the "Old World Monkeys".

This monkey got it's name because it was discovered by zoologist Joel Asaph Allen, and it lives in swampy watery areas.

These primates are about 2 feet long, and weigh up to 13 pounds.
They are strong monkeys, with greyish green fur, and a redish face.
Their fingers and toes have some webbing on them that help them swim in the water.



(from: wikipedia - allen's swamp monkey)



#NatZooZen: Allen's Swamp Monkey Zawadi Eats Bamboo Shoots - Smithsonian's National Zoo


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cheetah

Talapoin Monkey

We just learned about the Nomascus Gibbon.

Just like chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons there are a few different types of monkeys.
Monkeys are grouped into Old World monkeys and New World monkeys.
There are 138 different types of Old World Monkeys.

The smallest type of Old World Monkey is the Talapoin.

Talapoin monkeys are only about 16 inches tall, and weigh about 3 pounds.
Their fur is yellow, black, grey and white.
These monkeys only live in one part of western Africa, around the country of Angola.

Most of the time these monkeys live in trees, but they are also good swimmers and will sometimes jump from the tree to water so they can run away from a predator.

For food they usually eat fruit, leaves or sometimes bugs.


(from: wikipedia - gabon talapoin)

(from: wikipedia - angolan talapoin)



Talapoin severní - Daniel Merhout


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jaguar

Nomascus Gibbon

We just learned about the Siamang type of Gibbon Primate.

Another type of Primate is the Nomascus Gibbon.

This type of gibbon lives in southern China and Vietnam.
There are 7 types of these gibbons: Black crested gibbon, Eastern black crested gibbon, Hainan black crested gibbon, Northern white-cheeked gibbon, Southern white-cheeked gibbon, Yellow-cheeked gibbon, Northern buffed-cheeked gibbon.

Each of these types of Nomascus gibbons looks a little different and usually lives in a different part of China or Vietnam.
Some of them like the Northern White Cheeked Gibbon have some white fur on their cheeks, the Southern White-Cheeked Gibbon has a white mouth, and the Yellow-Cheeked Gibbon has yellow fur on it's cheeks.

They all have very long arms that help them live in the trees, and most of them start out brown and then the male Gibbons fur turns black when they get older.

Northern White Cheeked Gibbon:

(from: wikipedia - northern white-cheeked gibbon)

Southern White-Cheeked Gibbon:

(from: wikipedia - southern white-cheeked gibbon)

Yellow Cheeked-Gibbon:

(from: wikipedia - yellow cheeked-gibbon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Snow Leopard

Siamang

We just learned about the Hylobates Gibbon.

Another kind of primate is the Siamang.

This is the biggest of all the kinds of gibbons, and can grow to be over 3 feet tall and weigh over 30 pounds.

They are covered in black fur, darker than any other type of gibbon.

When the siamang yells, their throat blows up like a balloon, almost like a bullfrog before they make their sounds.



(from: wikipedia - siamang)



Siamang apes go wild - diana feeney


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Black Panther

Hylobates Gibbon

We just learned about the Hoolock Gibbon.

Another type of gibbon is the Hylobates Gibbon also called the Dwarf gibbon.

This type of gibbon all lives in southern China or the island of Java in Indonesia.
Hylobates means "forest walker" which makes sense because these gibbons can climb through the trees very fast.

There are 17 different types of hylobates gibbons, from the Lar gibbons with white feet and hands, to the Bornean white bearded gibbon with a big white fluffy beard.
Some gibbons like the silvery gibbon have grey silvery fur, and then some are like the Pileated gibbon where the males have black fur and the females have white fur.

All of the gibbons have a kind of beard around their face, but these 17 different hylobates gibbons all look a little different and usually live in different places.

Lar gibbon:

(from: wikipedia - lar gibbon)

Bornean White-Bearded Gibbon:

(from: wikipedia - bornead white-bearded gibbon)

Agile Gibbon:

(from: wikipedia - agile gibbon)

Müller Gibbon:

(from: wikipedia - müller gibbon)

Silvery Gibbon:

(from: wikipedia - silvery gibbon)

Pileated Gibbon:


(from: wikipedia - pileated gibbon)



Gibbons sing - oschu1000


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Leopard

Hoolock Gibbon

We just learned about the Orangutan.

Another type of primate is the Hoolock Gibbon.

Just like chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, there are a few different types of gibbons.
Gibbons are the fastest and best tree climbers of any mammal.
They can climb as fast as 34 miles per hour, faster than a person running, and they can jump from tree to tree up over 20 feet away!

Hoolock gibbons live mostly in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and China.
They can grow to be about 3 feet tall about weigh 20 pounds.

When they are born they are either white or yellow colored, and when they grow older the males fur turns black, and females fur turns brown and grey.
They always look like they are wearing a mask because they have a white ring around their eyes and mouth.

These gibbons live together in pairs, and they eat mostly fruit, bugs and leaves.

There are four types of gibbons: Western, Eastern and Skywalker.
Each species is a little different in size, fur or something else like their teeth or eyes.
The Skywalker species was found not long ago, and was named after Luke Skywalker from Star Wars.


(from: wikipedia - )



The Western Hoolock Gibbon Sings and Swings Along the Forest Canopies - RoundGlass Sustain


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jaguar

Orangutan

We just learned about the Gorilla.

Another type of primate is the Orangutan.

The orangutans have orangey red colored fur, but their name doesn't come from their fur color.
In Malay the word "orang" means person, and "hutan" means forest.
Because these apes looked like furry people walking around the forest, long ago people actually thought they were just really hairy people!

Orangutans live most of their lives climbing around in trees and eating fruit.
They have really long arms which helps them climb, and they even make nests in trees to sleep in at night.
These animals are very smart, and have learned to use tools to get food.
Some orangutans like to eat bugs, honey or bark, and they will take a stick that they sharpened with their teeth to open up tree bark or to crack open fruit to eat the inside.
If an orangutan really likes the tool that it used, it will save it and collect other tools in their own little toolbox.

When orangutan males grow up, their face changes a lot, and grows to be flat and wide.
Orangutans don't live in family groups like chimpanzees or gorillas, they mostly live alone except for young ones that live with their mother for a few years.

There are three main different types of orangutans that live in different parts of the world and look a little different: Bornean, Sumatran, Tapanuli.

All wild orangutans live on the island countries of Borneo and Indonesia.

Bornean Orangutan:


Flared faces of male Bornean, Sumatran, Tapanuli:


Flared male face and non flared female face:


Baby orangutan:

(from: wikipedia - orangutan)



Orangutan Jungle School: And So It Begins - Smithsonian Channel


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tigers

Gorilla

We just learned about the Chimpanzee.

Another type of primate is the Gorilla.

A gorilla can grow to be 500 lbs and about 6 feet tall.
They have very long arms, and their arm span can be voer 8 feet long.
Most gorillas live to be over 35 years, and the oldest gorilla ever was 60 years old.

Gorillas can walk on their feet, but usually they do what is called knuckle walking, meaning they walk on all fours but using the knuckles of their handles.
They sleep in nests on the ground made of branches, and they eat leaves, fruits or sometimes bugs.

Grownup male gorillas get silvery grey fur on their back, which is where they get the knickname of silverbacks.
A family of gorillas is called a troop, and is usually made up of one adult male, a few adult females, and a bunch of young gorillas.
Young male gorillas are called blackbacks because they don't have the grey fur yet.
Once they get older they leave the troop and go try to find female gorillas to start their own troop.
Male gorillas help keep the troop safe from other gorillas and other animals that might attack the troop.

All gorillas live in Africa, and there are two different main types of gorillas, eastern gorillas and western gorillas.
There are four types gorillas: Western lowland gorillas, cross river gorillas, mountain gorillas and eastern lowland gorillas.

Most of these gorillas look a lot alike, but some have longer fur, red fur, smaller bodies or longer faces.
Gorillas are very smart and sometimes use tools like rocks or sticks.
They talk to each other using hoots, grunts, barks, screams and roars.
Some gorillas in captivity have even been known to learn sign language.





(from: wikipedia - gorilla)



Adorable Baby Gorilla - Rib Ticklers


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lion

Chimpanzee

Let's keep learning about Primates.

One type of primate is the Chimpanzee, also called the common chimpanzee or robust chimpanzee.

This type of primate is the most like a human of any other primate.
Their skeletons, brains, and bodies are the most alike humans, and the way they act toward each other is a lot like humans can.

Chimpanzees are usually about 150 pounds and about 4 feet tall.
There is another type of chimpanzee called the "bonobo" that is a lot like the common chimpanzee, but a little smaller.

Chimpanzees have dark hair all over their bodies, except for their face, the inside of their hands and the bottoms of their feet.
With hands like humans, chimps can climb trees, and even use sticks and rocks like tools.
Their feet are more like a human hand, which helps them climbing trees.

These primates hang around in all different types of groups.
Sometimes there are groups of males that go hunting together, sometimes groups of females working together to help raise babies, and sometimes groups of males, females, babies and old chimps all staying together.

They live in forests, climb trees, are covered in fur and make loud screeching sounds, but these primates are the closest things to a cousin that humans have in the animal kingdom.


(from: wikipedia - chimpanzee)



Baby Chimpanzees Playing With Bubbles - BBC Earth


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cats

Primates

We've learned a whole lot about Cats! From the wild tigers and lions to the tabby, calico and Ojos Azules house cats.

Let's learn about Primates!

There are a lot of animals that are primates, like gorillas, monkeys. Humans are also primates, which means gorillas and monkeys are like our cousins!
Obviously humans look and act different and are a lot smarter, but there are also a lot of things that humans have the same with other primates.

All primates have big brains, good eyes, can see in color, and can move around their arms and shoulders better than other animals.

Some are very big, like gorillas weighing over 400 pounds, and some are very small like small lemurs weighing less than a pound.

Primates are different than a lot of other animals, because they can walk on two legs, and can easily climb trees.
They like to live together with their families, so they do not like to live alone like a tiger.

Only humans can make enough sounds to make words like they do, but some chimpanzees and gorillas have learned to use some words in sign language!
Humans are the smartest living things on the planet, so it's no surprise that some other primates that have brains and bodies a lot like ours are pretty smart too.


(from: wikipedia - primate)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Jellyfish Ephyra