Monkeywire

For those who didn't unsubscribe from the NYT in anger, here is a gift link thanks to @stmdc.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/s...

I love this book too, esp. the pieces by Thelma Rowell & Alison Jolly. Early 20th c. primate researchers wrote in more accessible manner, and with anecdotes... Seems like scientists gotta be well-established before they can write like a normal human person today.

Monkeys With Smaller Testicles Scream Louder to Compensate It's a "calls vs balls" tradeoff.

Howler monkeys, one of the loudest animals on Earth, scare off rivals with what amounts to false advertising. #primates

A newspaper article headlined "Monkey That Killed Boy Is Destroyed" along with a photo of a macaque monkey in a metal cage. https://www.newspapers.com/image/181286704/

Wondering what went wrong with this July 1975 AP story because the monkey they captured and killed is clearly not a capuchin. Wrongful conviction?

Diaper keeps 20-day-old baby from drowning after monkey throws her into well A 20-day-old baby girl in Seoni village, Janjgir-Champa district, was thrown into a well by a monkey but survived due to her diaper and the timely actions of villagers and a nurse.

#primates

St. Louis police say ‘no evidence’ any officer ever spotted monkeys In FOX 2’s recent coverage of Vervet monkeys on the run around St. Louis, the St. Louis Department of Health shared that a St. Louis police officer reported seeing at least one of the monkeys…

Important update.

Perhaps it's worth pointing out that AI photos of the alleged monkeys also circulated last week, showing the monkeys wearing safety gear in workshops.

Monkeys on the loose in St Louis, Missouri after four-day search Local officials said they do not know where the exotic animals came from or how many are at large.

Approximately four vervets of unknown origin

Probably AI

YouTube video by WeLikePsych Chimp vs Human! Memory Test BBC Earth YouTube

Ai, the beloved chimp from Kyoto University who played a key role in studies of chimps’ amazing memory skills, has died at age 49. She leaves behind her son, Ayuma, another key player in this research. japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20260111-303426/

Two macaques groom a gorgeous male langur in Papanasam R.F., Tamil Nadu, India Photo by Ambareesh Sridhar at www.pexels.com/photo/playful-macaques-in-papanasam-forest-india-34058950/

It's not uncommon for cities in India to employ langurs to scare macaques out of urban areas.

This photo by Ambareesh Sridhar shows how langurs and macaques can get along without those pesky humans intervening.

Maddie, a pigtail macaque at primaterescue.org in Kentucky, makes the best goofy faces...

Chimpanzees and gorillas among most traded African primates, report finds Between 2000 and 2023, more than 6,000 African primates were traded internationally in 50 countries, according to a newly published report. Endangered chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and critically enda...

“[Traders] are using loopholes of [CITES] convention to have mass exports of great apes and we see that as the new danger”

Moment burglar monkey brandishes KNIFE after stealing a coffee pot in home raid THIS is the terrifying moment a knife-wielding monkey steals a coffee pot after rampaging through people’s homes. Footage shows the capuchin menacingly bashing a knife against a wall –before …

"Footage shows the animal smashing a bird's cage against a wall, freeing the pet..."

YouTube video by Furthest from the Wild Should monkeys be kept as pets? Watch this breathtaking capuchin monkey rescue.

Push thru the janky opening (and clickbait thumbnail) and this turns out to be a super sweet documentary about the crucial work of primate sanctuaries. Hats off to Kari Bagnall from Jungle Friends in Florida: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjVu...

IKEA orca would go so viral

High-fiving gorilla scoops first prize at Comedy Wildlife Awards | CNN British photographer Mark Meth-Cohn had spent four days trekking through the Virunga mountains in Rwanda in search of gorillas when his patience and determination finally paid off.

#primates

The deluded woman who lost one "pet" monkey after it was found lost at Ikea a decade ago, has managed to acquire two more. Why? In part because only two types of animals are banned by Ontario’s provincial government: pit bulls and orcas. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/exotic-pets-laws-1.3790684

If you want to convince your city council that you’re a responsible animal lover, maybe don’t show up with a spider monkey entrapped in a stroller, freaking out. fox4kc.com/news/prairie-village-eyes-monkey-ban-leaving-family-stunned #primates

Roman officers in Egypt imported Indian monkeys for pets and the monkeys’ graves included “apparent status markers like iridescent shells and food delicacies, and kittens and a piglet as the monkey’s own pets” 🐒🥺

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Photo of a lactating adult capuchin with surprisingly large breasts nursing an infant. Photo source: www.istockphoto.com/photo/south-american-cappuccino-monkey-in-ecuador-gm1421154482-466884906

Capuchins are unique among primates in the extent to which females will nurse each others’ infants. Those who try to refuse an infant ("cheaters") are easily detected because infants denied access to nipples stage tantrums.
—The Complete Capuchin, 2004 (Pic: Ecuadorplanet)

U.S. tabloid The Sun recently posted this Nov. 24 video of a macaque "mob" at Qianlingshan Park in China scaring the hell out of tourists
#primates www.the-sun.com/news/15557271/screaming-monkeys-pour-down-mountain

Lemurs in Madagascar Face an Unexpected Killer

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/s...

Lemurs in Madagascar Face an Unexpected Killer Thousands of the endangered primates end up on the dinner plates of people in the upper rung of the country’s society who have money to spare.

In their native Madagascar, lemurs are facing a growing threat: City-dwellers with cash to spare love to eat the endangered primates.

Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear

The sledgehammer approach

Feeling nostalgic for 2024, when you could spend 10 minutes on TikTok watching animal videos without them all being AI

YouTube video by BBC There's no zebra crossing for these Gorillas! | Gorilla Family & Me - BBC

Here, a silverback mountain gorilla steps up to block traffic, staying put in the middle of the road until the rest of his group can cross. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb79...

YouTube video by New Scientist Wild chimps take care before crossing the road

1/2 - Gorillas, chimps, and monkeys experienced with crossing roads in Africa will often look both ways before doing so. Larger males will hang back to make sure everyone is able to cross.