Monkey Adopts Kitten

Monkey Adopts Kitten 

By Anne Young 

A young long tailed macaque monkey has adopted an abandoned kitten at Ubud’s Monkey Forest in Bali. The monkey was even wary of other macaques and would not allow other young males to get too close . The reserve is inhabited by about 340 monkeys in four groups. It is considered sacred by locals and visited by about 10,000 tourists each month . It is not known how the cat came to be in the company of the macaques. The young long-tailed macaque monkey was snapped protectively nuzzling the little cat by amateur wildlife photographer Anne Young. Ms Young was visiting the Monkey Forest Park in the Ubud region of Bali when the shots were taken. Macaques are the most widespread genus of primate on the planet besides humans. 

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Facts About Snow Monkey

Facts About Snow Monkey 

(Macaca Fuscata) 

1. Also known as snow monkeys, these primates live in Japan’s forests, highlands, and mountains. They are the only primates to live so far north besides humans. 

2. They have white and black fur and oval shaped feet. Snow monkeys have a pink face and it is shaped like a human face. It’s nose is like a human nose. Snow monkeys have brown eyes and pink ears that are shaped like human ears.  They have a fat and oval shaped body and have really short tails. Snow monkeys have black hands that are shaped like human hands. They have skinny arms and they have short legs.

3. Macaques withstand temperatures from about 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius) in winter to about 73 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius ) in summer. Thick winter fur and stored fat helps keep the primates warm in cooler months. 

4. Macaques travel mostly on all four feet, but occasionally they stand and move on just their hind legs. 

5. Japanese macaques are one of at least 15 macaque species and over 150 monkey species. 

6. Male and female macaques live together in groups ranging from just a few to more than a thousand. The average size is fewer than 200. 

7. Grooming is important as a social ritual to Japanese macaques-they spend a good part of each day removing parasites from each other. They rest for at least two to three hours a day. 

8. In snowy regions macaques sleep in deciduous trees where snow won't fall on them. 

9. Japanese macaques sometimes raid farmers’ crops. One of the macaques goes ahead, usually at dawn, and gives an all-clear symbol to the rest of the troop. A few monkeys act as lookouts for humans while the rest grab the crops. 

10. Macaques have a number of vocalizations for different situations: warning, mating, defense, and fighting. 

11. Young macaques all play, swinging in trees, fighting over items, and playing with stones. When there is snow on the ground, the monkeys often make snowballs, rolling them until they get too big or break up. 

12. Possibly begun in imitation of humans, macaques in Jigokudani, Japan, head to hot springs for bathing and playing. 

13. Japanese macaques in the wild eat a broad diet: fruits, seeds, leaves, bark, fungi, bird eggs, snails, crayfish, and fish. They also eat soil, probably to soothe upset stomachs but possibly also for flavor, nutrients, or digestion. 

14. Major predators of macaques today are feral dogs and humans. 

15. Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, are important in Japanese culture. These “celebrity” animals even draw tourists. 

16. Japanese macaques seem to have culture. It usually starts with a “genius monkey,” the Einstein of the troop. When that monkey develops a new behavior that works, other monkeys learn from it and pass it on, sometimes from generation to generation. Among enduring Japanese macaque innovations: cleaning sand from wheat by dipping it in water, keeping warm in hot springs, and making snow balls. 

17. Snow monkeys play a special role in mythology, folklore and art in Japan.  Most familiar are the three monkeys which represent the wisdom of Buddha: see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.

18. Both parents and other adults share the role of raising infants.

19. Snow monkeys are Old World monkeys (possess a non-prehensile tail and nostrils closer together).  They are most known for their red, hairless face with low brow ridges. 

20. They are the largest of the macaques. 

21. One way Japanese macaques deal with the cold is by soaking in 100-degree-Fahrenheit (38-degree-Celsius) volcanic hot springs. Troops that live near hot springs will spend about 30 minutes a day in them. This practice was first seen about 40 years ago in monkeys who had observed humans bathing in the natural hot springs. A monkey reportedly tried it, liked it, and passed on his new habit to her troop. 

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Howler Monkey Facts

Howler Monkey Facts

Alouatta caraya 
Alouatta is the most widespread New World monkey genus.
1. Howlers Monkeys are a favorite for animals lovers who visit the rainforest.  Their morning calls work as an alarm clock for the natives and can be heard up to three miles away.  Once the howlers start barking, people know it is time to get up.  The males have a specialized vocal chamber that is shaped like a shell.

2. Howlers are the biggest of the new world monkeys.  They have a long, prehensile tail that works like an extra arm when they are swinging around the canopy.  They have wide, side-opening nostrils and no pads on their rump.

3. Male Howler Monkeys are black in color, while the females are brown. The brownish color allows the females to camouflage themselves from predators. The young howler monkeys cling to their mother's stomach for the first few months of their lives and are most vulnerable to predators.

4. Howler Monkey grows to be about 2 feet in length, not including it's 30-inch tail, making it the largest monkey found in the Americas. Howlers weigh about 15 pounds when they reach adulthood. They have a lifespan of about 20 years.

5. Like other herbivorous monkeys, the Howler Monkey eats mostly leaves, fruit and flowers.

6. Compared to other monkeys, Howler Monkeys don't travel very much. They prefer to stay within their small communities. This makes them very susceptible to habitat destruction. The Howler Monkey is an endangered species throughout its entire range.

7. Howler loud noise comes from an extra bone in their throat.  Their barks make them one of the loudest animals in the world.  Aided by an oversized throat and larynx, which acts like a resonance chamber, so the howling can be heard at least 3 miles away.

8. Howler’s howl to let other monkeys in the area know where they are so they don’t have to get into a fight.

9. Leaders will kill the young of other male monkey to stay as the predominant male.

10. Howlers use their tail to move through the trees and while eating.

11. Howlers live in a troop up to 45 monkeys.

12. They have an opposable thumbs and a prehensile tail.  On the underside of the tail there is a naked area with well developed tactile skin which allows them to be sensitive to touch and act in identifying things, much like a 5th hand.

13. They have a prominent muzzle and a greatly enlarged hyoid bone and larynx. The nostrils close together.

14. The males have black hair and the females have yellow-brown to olive colored hair.

15. Adult males will be seen taking care of offspring that are not their own.

16. Young males are not allowed to handle the infants because they are too rough with them and often kill them.

17. They eat only the best parts of the fruit, so seeds may lie on the ground and germinate, therefore helping with seed dispersal.

18. The baby clings to mom’s belly for the first month then switches to her back.

19. The male howler monkey has the loudest call of any primate.

20. They use their tails to extend their reach and they can even hang from a tree by their tail alone.

21. Black howlers are sexually dimorphic in both size and color. Males are black, females are yellow-brown or olive colored.  Infants are blonde.

22.  The hyoid of howlers has air spaces within bones, one of the few cases of this condition outside of dinosaurs. This allows the super loud “howler” vocalization.

23.  While the females of most species of New World monkeys are trichromats, both male and female howler monkeys are, that is they both see in color.

Trichromacy or trichromaticism is the condition of possessing three independent channels for conveying color information, derived from the three different cone types. Organisms with trichromacy are called trichromats. Wikipedia

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Golden Monkey

Golden Monkey

The Golden Monkey is a subspecies of the Blue monkey (or Sykes monkey). As a result of continuous divisions of forests, Cercopithecus species were isolated in different regions and therefore forced to adapt to these regions.  The golden monkey is said to have diverged from Cercopithecus mitis during these isolation events (it is one of 8 subspecies of Cercopithecus mitis), and is now endangered. Because it has been seldom studied, little is known about the golden monkey, its behavior and ecology.

Physical Characteristics 
Golden monkey males have a reddish color on their back and on the dorsal part of their sides as well as some grizzled darker patches. Females are lighter in color and have less grizzled brown patches.

Behavior 
Golden monkeys live in groups of between 30-80 individuals, usually led by one adult male. The female defends her territory, while males stay for a certain period of time after which they leave the group. These males are in the position to copulate with every female in the group; however it is the females that solicit the males. These monkeys use a series of different calls to express themselves. Males use calls to communicate territoriality and fighting, females to display group cohesion, and alertness, and subadults to display
submissiveness, and to stimulate mobbing behavior. They also communicate using visual expressions.

Diet 
Golden monkeys eat about 20 to 30 plant species. They mostly rely on leaves, fruits, and invertebrates, but their main preference is bamboo.

Caring for the Young 
Golden Monkeys breed seasonally and have a gestation period of 5 months. They give birth to a single offspring that is born with all its fur and with its eyes open. The female eats the placenta, and then cleans the baby by licking it. After the first few months, the female nurses the offspring less, and stops once a new offspring is born usually 2 years later. Male offspring become independent of the group when they reach sexual maturity.

Predators 
Humans are the main predators, as they encroach onto the golden monkeys’ habitat, set snares, and illegally cut down bamboo.

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Snow Monkey

Snow Monkey (Macaque)

Macaque Fuscata
These monkeys may be found on the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. They live further north than any primate, with the exception of man.
Habitat:  The snow monkey inhabits forested mountain slopes and sparsely populated hilly regions.
Physical Characteristics:  Snow monkeys are Old World monkeys (possess a non -prehensile tail and nostrils closer together).  They are m ost known for their red, hairless face with low brow ridges.  These monkeys may weigh as much as 30 pounds and have a body length of 21 inches.  They are the largest of the macaques.  Their bodies are cove red in thick fur that ranges in color from grey to brown. Their fur serves as insulation against the cold winters where temperatures may reach minus five degrees Celsius. They spend a good deal of time sunbathing, huddling together, sleeping and bathing in hot springs.
In the wild,  their primary food source is fruit but they will also eat leaves,flowers, seeds and insects. In captivity they receive primate chow, canned primate diet, along with fruits and vegetables.

Did you know?

Snow monkey's play a special role in mythology, folklore and art in Japan.Most familiar are the three monkeys which represent the wisdom of Buddha: see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.

Both parents and other adults share the role of raising infants.

They are under strict protection and are listed as a threatened species. Their numbers are through man’s destruction of its natural habitat.  Endangered or Threatened Internationally .

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