World Monkey Day History – Monkey Characteristics, Habitat, Conservation and Importance of Monkeys

World Monkey Day is celebrated annually on December 14^th to raise awareness about monkey and other primates. The day highlights the importance of Monkeys in the ecosystem and the challenges they face. It also creates awareness about Monkey Conservation and Monkey Habitat. This day is also known as International Monkey Day. Monkey Characteristics relate to old world monkeys and new world Monkeys.

• History of World Monkey Day
• Importance of Monkeys
• Monkey Characteristics
• Old World Monkeys
• New Word Monkeys
• Monkey Habitat
• Monkey Conservation

History of World Monkey Day

World Monkey Day was created in 2000 by two artists Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin.  They started this day as a fun way to celebrate primates when they were art students at Michigan State University (MSU).  Initially, Sorrow humorously wrote “Monkey Day” on a friend’s calendar. Later, he and other MSU art students celebrated it for the first time by creating monkey-themed art and wearing monkey costumes. Over time, Sorrow and Millikin incorporated Monkey Day into their artwork. They shared this artwork online and showcased it internationally, gaining more recognition each year.

Over time, International Monkey Day became a serious global event. Now, it spreads awareness about the importance of Monkeys, Monkey Conservation, and Monkey habitat.

International Monkey Day is celebrated in many countries, including Pakistan, the United States, Canada, Italy, Estonia, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Thailand, Turkey, and India.

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Importance of Monkeys and World Monkey Day

Monkey plays an important role in the ecosystem balance, especially in forests. They are important for biodiversity.

These are champions of seed dispersal. They scatter seeds, especially fruit trees, across vast areas. They keep the forest healthy. A monkey’s presence in a forest indicates a healthy environment. A decline in the monkey population indicates signs of deforestation and pollution. Besides being part of the food chain, monkeys also play a role in biodiversity and ecosystem balance. They control the insect population and are the prey for large predators.

These are important contributors to human health, being used in medical research. They also have cultural importance and ecotourism values in countries where natural monkey habitats exist.

International Monkey Day highlights, Monkey Matters. The existence of his animal is important for a healthy forest and healthy ecosystems.

Monkey Characteristics

Monkey Belongs to the order of Primates and has two groups: Old World monkeys and New World monkeys with different monkey characteristics. Almost all Monkey species are tropical or subtropical and diurnal. Many monkey species are arboreal, but many live on the ground.

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These animals have medium size body with flexible limbs, dexterous hands, and opposable thumbs (in most species). They can use their hands and feet to hold onto branches. Moreover, they have prehensile tails that function like an extra limb, aiding in climbing and grasping.

They have fur that varies in color, including shades of brown, gray, black, red, and gold. Patterns and colors often provide camouflage or social signaling.

Thsese are highly social animals that often live in groups called troops. Moreover, they are very intelligent animals. They have problem-solving abilities, tool use, and the capacity for learning and mimicking behaviors.

They are omnivorous and eat fruits, leaves, seeds, nuts, insects, and small animals. Their diet often depends on their habitat.

Old World Monkeys

Old World monkeys belong to the family Cercopithecidae.  They include Baboons, Macaques, and Colobus monkeys. They exist in Africa and Asia. These are distinct from New World monkeys.  Furthermore. they have narrow, downward-facing curved nostrils. They have non-prehensile tail and some do not have tail. It means they do not use tail for grasping.  Moreover, Some Old World monkeys like Macaques have cheek pouches.

New World Monkeys

New World monkeys belong to the infra order Platyrrhines. They are native to Central and South America and have distinct characteristics that differentiate them from Old World monkeys. However, they include marmosets, tamarins, squirrel, night, howler, spider, and woolly monkeys. They have flat noses with side-facing round nostrils. Moreover, they have prehensile tails, which act like an extra limb for gripping and climbing. They do not have cheek pouches.

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Monkey Habitat

Monkey lives in trees. They live in tropical and sub tropical rainforests. Monkey habitat is divided into two types arboreal and terrestrial. They are found in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America (New World monkeys), Africa, and Asia (Old World monkeys).

Monkey Conservation and World Monkey Day

They are critically endangered. Monkey faces numerous threats, including habitat destruction, hunting, illegal wildlife trade, and climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to protect them. Many organizations are working globally and locally to conserve these animals and their habitats. Organizations working for their conservation include the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Primate Conservation, Inc. (PCI).

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So it is important, to continue the rising voice for Monkey Conservation and Monkey Habitat Protection. International Monkey Day is part of this campaign.

Editor In Chief

Dr. Jassar Aftab is a qualified Veterinarian having expertise in veterinary communication. He is a renowned veterinary Journalist of Pakistan. He is veterinary columnist, veterinary writer and veterinary analyst. He is the author of three books. He has written a number of articles and columns on different topics related to livestock, dairy, poultry, wildlife, fisheries, food security and different aspects of animal sciences and veterinary education.

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