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Monkey Business A Reading A–Z Level S Leveled Reader

Word Count: 1,659MonkeyBusinessMonkeyBusiness

Written by Brian Roberts

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Monkey Business Level S Leveled Reader© 2003 Learning Page, Inc.Written by Brian Roberts

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Written by Brian Roberts

MonkeyBusiness

Photo Credits:Front cover (top left), page 8 (right): PhotoDisc; front cover (top right,bottom left, bottom right), title page, pages 5, 6, 7, 8 (left), 10, 12,13, 14 (bottom), 15 (left), 17, 18, 19, 22, 23: ClipArt.com; backcover: Beth Tiano/Courtesy of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo; page 4:D. Shapiro/© WCS; page 9 (left): Corbis; page 9 (right): ChuckDresner/St. Louis Zoo; page 11: Eyewire Collection; page 14 (top):Hemera Collection; page 15 (right): Mike Steinberg/Courtesy ofCleveland Metroparks Zoo; page 20: NASA; page 21: St. Louis Zoo.

Cover (clockwise from top left): Japanese macaque, common marmoset, golden lion tamarin, mandrill

Back cover: A pair of Reed titis, a type of South American monkey

Title page: Proboscis monkey

CorrelationLEVEL S

Fountas & Pinnell OReading Recovery 22

DRA 34

Table of Contents

Introduction........................................................ 4

Primates .............................................................. 5

Monkeys versus Apes....................................... 7

New World and Old World Monkeys............ 8

Monkeying Around......................................... 10

Types of Monkeys ........................................... 14

New World Monkeys.................................. 14

Old World Monkeys.................................... 17

Monkey Babies................................................. 19

Monkeys and Humans ................................... 20

Conclusion........................................................ 23

Glossary ............................................................ 24

43

Introduction

Of all the creatures in the animal kingdom, humans most closely identify with monkeys.In fact, if someone says you’re acting like amonkey, he or she is probably not too far off.

People often stand in front of a monkeyexhibit at the zoo for much longer than theystand in front of other exhibits. They arefascinated by the antics of monkeys. Theylaugh at them and are entertained by them,perhaps because monkeys remind people so much of themselves.

Visitors at the Bronx Zoo watch a DeBrazza’s monkey.

65

Primates

Monkeys belong to a group of mammalsknown as primates. There are two maingroups of primates: anthropoids andprosimians. Anthropoids, which are the mostfamiliar primates, include monkeys, apes, andhumans. Prosimians are less well known. Themost familiar prosimian is the lemur.

Primates are different from other mammals because they have fingers that aredeveloped and a thumb that sits across from and bends toward the fingers. This thumb is called an opposable thumb. Opposablethumbs allow primates to hold tightly ontosmall things, giving them an advantage overother mammals. For example, many primates

spend most of their livesin trees. Thethumb makesit possible forthe primatesto graspbranches and climbmore easily.

Ring-tailed lemurs are prosimians.

Orangutans, whichare great apes, haveopposable thumbs.

87

Monkeys versus Apes

Most people think that apes, such asgorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees, arejust big monkeys. But they are not monkeys—they are apes. Apes do not have tails, whilemost monkeys do, and apes are usually muchmore intelligent than monkeys. Apes are alsolarger than monkeys. Because most apes areheavier, they often scramble and climb alongbranches, while monkeys can swing andjump from branch to branch.

New World and Old World Monkeys

Monkeys are divided into two groupsbased on where they live. One group is the New World monkeys, which live inCentral and South America. Only monkeys,not apes or prosimians, live in the New World.The other group is Old World monkeys,which are found in Asia and Africa. OldWorld primates include apes and prosimiansas well as monkeys.

Old and New World monkeys are differentin four distinct ways. One way is their noses.The nostrils of New World monkeys are spreadapart, but in Old World monkeys they are closetogether and point down, like human nostrils.

Chimpanzees are some of the most intelligent apes.

Note the nostrils of the golden lion tamarin (left), a New Worldmonkey, and a Japanese macaque (right), an Old World monkey.

109

Another way theydiffer is that some New World monkeyscan hold on to objectswith their prehensiletails. Old Worldmonkeys do not havethis characteristic.

A third way these two groups differ is in the number of teeth they have. Most New World monkeys have 36 teeth, whilemost Old World monkeys have 32 teeth, justlike humans.

The fourth way they differ has to do withwhere they spend their time. All New Worldmonkeys live in trees, while many Old Worldmonkeys spend much of their time on theground.

Monkeying Around

All monkeys live together with othermonkeys of their type. A group of monkeys is called a troop. Most New World monkeytroops consist of fewer than 24 monkeys. OldWorld troops, such as troops of baboons, cannumber well over 100 members. Some monkeytroops have only one adult male with severalfemales and their young. Others can havemany adult males.

Monkeys that live on the ground have moreclosely knit groups. This is because there aremore enemies on the ground, so the monkeysare more dependent on each other forprotection. If threatened, the adults of the troopwill join together to drive away the attacker.

A troop ofbaboons

An adult spidermonkey (above) usesits prehensile tail tograb a rope.Prehensile tails oftenhave no hair, similar to a human palm.

1211

Monkeys have long, strong arms and legsthat help them leap and swing through thetrees. For those that live on the ground, long,strong arms and legs help them run fast.

Monkeys also have fingers on their hands,as humans do, to help them grasp objects.Some Old World monkeys have opposablethumbs, which can be used to hold and workwith small objects. Some New World monkeyshave partially opposable thumbs, while othershave no thumbs at all, just a fifth finger.

Monkeys have five toes on each foot. Some kinds of monkeys have a big toe that is opposable and serves as a thumb, allowingthe monkey to grasp objects with its feet.

Young monkeys spend much of theirwaking time playing, as all kids do. Adultmonkeys spend their days searching for andeating food, and grooming each other.

Monkeys eat just about anything. They eat plant parts, such as fruits, nuts, leaves,roots, and flowers. They also eat animals, suchas insects, frogs, and birds. Baboons will evenattack and eat small hoofed animals, such asbaby antelope. Most monkeys also eat eggs.

A juvenile hamadryas baboon

A young vervet monkey plays with its mother.

13

Monkeys communicate with each otherusing their voices as well as body language.Some monkeys use threatening gestures suchas staring, showing their teeth, and bobbingtheir heads back and forth. They often usetheir hands to communicate by beating ontheir chests or slapping the ground.

Monkeys use their voices to warn ofdanger or to signal when they have found a source of food. Some monkeys have evendeveloped “words” for familiar things. Forinstance, instead of just a general alarm call,vervet (VUR-vit) monkeys have a special callfor “snake,” one for “eagle,” and another for “leopard.” Howler monkeys keep othermonkeys out of their territory by shoutingand howling at them.

Types of Monkeys

There are more than 150 different kinds ofmonkeys. Some are very tiny, like the pygmymarmoset, which is only about as long as anew pencil, not including its tail. The largestmonkey is the mandrill. If an adult mandrillstood up, it would be as tall as your kitchencounter.

New World Monkeys

Spider monkeyA spider monkey uses its

prehensile tail like an extrahand to hang from branchesand to pick things up. Unlikemost other monkeys, spidermonkeys have no thumbs.

Marmoset (MAR-mo-set)

Marmosets are among thesmallest monkeys. Most areless than 30 centimeters (1 ft.)long. Instead of having nailson their fingers like mostmonkeys, they have claws.

14

A black howler monkey shouts at an intruder.

1615

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Howler monkeyHowlers are famous for their loud

howl, which can be heard as far away as 3kilometers (2 mi.). They are the largest of theNew World monkeys and have long tails andblack faces that are bearded in adult howlers.

Tamarin (TAM-ur-in)

Tamarins are small monkeys, usually about30 centimeters (1 ft.) long. Most of them aremulticolored, and many have long hair on thetops of their heads. The golden lion tamarinhas a mane that makes it look like a small lion.

Black howler monkey (above);golden lion tamarin (right)

Old World Monkeys

BaboonsBaboons are large

monkeys with long,sharp canine teeth.They spend most oftheir time living onthe ground. Manytypes of baboons,like this olivebaboon, live on theAfrican plains.

Colobus (CALL-ah-bus)

Colobus monkeys aremedium sized, reaching45 to 75 centimeters(1.5–2.5 ft.) in length.They are strong, with astocky build. They canvary in color from allblack to black and whiteto red and olive green.

MandrillsMandrills, a

kind of baboon, arethe largest monkeys.Males are known fortheir colorful facesand rumps. Theyhave blue cheeksand red noses, andtheir rumps match!

Proboscis (pruh-BOSS-iss)

Proboscis monkeys get their name from theirlong noses (proboscis isthe Latin word for nose),which the males use tocall. They are largemonkeys, from 70 to 100centimeters (2–3 ft.) long,not including their tails,and are very goodswimmers.

17 18

2019

Monkey Babies

Most monkey females have just one babyat a time. After the baby is born, it dependson its mother for all of its food and care. Likeall mammals, a baby monkey lives on itsmother’s milk. Depending on which kind ofmonkey, a baby may nurse for as little as twoweeks or as long as two years.

A baby monkey clings to its mother’s fur. A baby begins by clinging to her belly, andthen as it gets older, it rides on her back. Thebaby clings until it is strong enough to travelsafely on its own. In some species, such asmarmosets, the male takes care of the youngand carries it around all day. The male givesthe young monkey to its mother when it istime to nurse.

Monkeys and Humans

Monkeys and their relatives, the apes, have starred in movies and in circuses. Theyhave appeared on many television shows,been the subjects of many books, and evenrocketed into space.

Humans have used monkeys for medicalresearch because of their similarity to humans.Many people object to using monkeys andother animals for research. But monkeys have allowed us to learn many things aboutnew medicines without having to test them on humans.

A baby yellowbaboon clings to its mother’s back.

A chimpanzee named Ham gets ready for a trip into space, 1961.

In some cultures, monkey meat isconsidered a delicacy. Some people even eatmonkey brains.

Many monkeys have been captured andplaced in zoos and display cages around theworld. Modern zoos have undergone effortsto place monkeys in environments that aresimilar to their natural habitats.

2221

Many peoplearound the worldkeep monkeys aspets. Because theyare so intelligentand can useobjects, manymonkeys havebeen trained tohelp people whocannot move.They helpparalyzed peopledo their jobs, cookfood, and evenbrush their teeth.

Throughout the world, humans arethreatening wild monkey populations bydestroying their habitats. Hunters alsothreaten monkeys because many people liketo eat monkey meat. Efforts are underway inmany areas to help save monkey populations.

A cotton-top tamarin in a naturalistic habitat at the St. Louis Zoo

A Moroccan teenager with his pet monkey

Conclusion

Monkeys are everywhere. You may seemonkeys as characters in cartoons or actors in movies. You can see monkeys at almostevery zoo. You may even meet someone whohas a pet monkey or a helper monkey. It’s no wonder people love monkeys so much,because they are so much like humans.

Monkeys are intelligent primates that haveopposable thumbs and can use objects andeven use “words.” But they are also verydifferent from us. Unlike humans, monkeyscome in many different species. In fact, thereare more species of monkeys than any otherprimate. Monkeys are funny, smart, beautiful,and useful animals that we should protectand respect.

2423

Glossary

anthropoids primates such as monkeys, apes,and humans (p. 5)

habitats the land and environment in which an animal lives (p. 22)

New World the continents of North Americaand South America (p. 8)

Old World the continents of Asia, Europe,and Africa (p. 8)

opposable a thumb that sits opposite andthumb bends toward the other fingers

(p. 6)

prehensile a limb, like a foot or a tail, thatcan hold or pick up things like a hand can (p. 9)

primates group of animals that includesmonkeys, apes, humans, lemurs,and others (p. 5)

prosimians a small group of primates thatincludes lemurs (p. 5)

troop a group of the same species of monkey living together (p. 10)

A tantalus monkeygrooms, or cleans,another.