Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians. Primates arose 85–55 million years ago first from small terrestrial mammals, which adapted to living in the trees of tropical forests: many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging environment, including large brains, visual acuity, color vision, a shoulder girdle allowing a large degree of movement in the shoulder joint, and dextrous hands. Primates range in size from Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, which weighs 30 g (1 oz), to the eastern gorilla, weighing over 200 kg (440 lb). There are 376–524 species of living primates, depending on which classification is used. New primate species continue to be discovered: over 25 species were described in the 2000s, 36 in the 2010s, and three in the 2020s.
Bristol Zoo was a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission was to "maintain and defend" biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider understanding of the natural world".
The macaques constitute a genus (Macaca) of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Macaques are principally frugivorous, although their diet also includes seeds, leaves, flowers, and tree bark. Some species such as the long-tailed macaque will supplement their diets with small amounts of meat from shellfish, insects, and small mammals. On average, a southern pig-tailed macaque in Malaysia eats about 70 large rats each year. All macaque social groups are arranged around dominant matriarchs.
The Barbary macaque, also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the genus Macaca. The species is of particular interest because males play an atypical role in rearing young. Because of uncertain paternity, males are integral to raising all infants. Generally, Barbary macaques of both sexes and all ages contribute in alloparental care of young.
The Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre is a 65-acre (26.3 ha) ape and monkey sanctuary and rescue centre near Wool, Dorset, England.
Apenheul Primate Park is a zoo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. It specializes in apes and monkeys. It opened in 1971 and was the first zoo in the world where monkeys could walk around freely in the forest and between the visitors. It started with just a few species, now it displays more than 30 different primates, among them bonobo, gorilla and orangutan.
The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in need. It also promotes compassionate conservation, which takes into account the welfare of individual animals in conservation initiatives. Born Free also creates and provides educational materials and activities that reflect the charity’s values.
James Michael Cronin MBE was the American co-founder in 1987 of Monkey World in Dorset, England, a sanctuary for abused and neglected primates. He was widely acknowledged as an international expert in the rescue and rehabilitation of abused primates, and in the enforcement of international treaties aimed at protecting them from illegal trade and experimentation.
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics, apes (Hominoidea) are also included, making the terms monkeys and simians synonyms in regard to their scope.
Animal captivity is the confinement of domestic and wild animals. More specifically, animals that are held by humans and prevented from escaping are said to be in captivity. The term animal captivity is usually applied to wild animals that are held in confinement, but this term may also be used generally to describe the keeping of domesticated animals such as livestock or pets. This may include, for example, animals in farms, private homes, zoos, and laboratories. Animal captivity may be categorized according to the particular motives, objectives, and conditions of the confinement.
Seaton is a village on the south coast of Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Seaton 3.8 miles (6.1 km) east of Looe and ten miles (16 km) west of Plymouth. The village is in the civil parish of Deviock.
Woburn Safari Park is a safari park located in Woburn, Bedfordshire, England. Visitors to the park can drive through exhibits, which contain species such as southern white rhino, elephants, tigers and black bears. It is part of the estates of the Duke of Bedford that also includes Woburn Abbey and its 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) deer park. The Safari Park itself covers 360 acres (150 ha).
Experiments involving non-human primates (NHPs) include toxicity testing for medical and non-medical substances; studies of infectious disease, such as HIV and hepatitis; neurological studies; behavior and cognition; reproduction; genetics; and xenotransplantation. Around 65,000 NHPs are used every year in the United States, and around 7,000 across the European Union. Most are purpose-bred, while some are caught in the wild.
International Animal Rescue (IAR) is an animal protection and conservation non-profit organisation that comes to the aid of suffering animals with hands-on rescue and rehabilitation and the protection of wildlife habitats. IAR returns rehabilitated animals to the wild while also providing permanent sanctuary for those that cannot fend for themselves. Its work includes cutting free and caring for captive bears in India and Armenia, rescuing and rehabilitating orangutans and other primates in Indonesia and treating injured and orphaned howler monkeys in Costa Rica. IAR strives to educate the public in the humane treatment of all animals and the preservation of the natural environment. International Animal Rescue has offices in the United Kingdom, United States, India, Indonesia and Malta.
Wingham Wildlife Park is a medium-sized wildlife park situated near Wingham in Kent, UK where it covers an area of 26 acres. In 2011 the species count at the park reached 180 species, growing to over 200 in 2013 covering fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and birds.
The Primate Rescue Center is a primate rescue organization founded by Clay Miller and April Truitt in the late 1980s. The PRC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Wilmore, Kentucky, United States, approximately 17 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky. The PRC provides lifetime sanctuary for rescued primates from all over the United States, and is home to over 50 primates, including a troop of 11 common chimpanzees.
Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary is a privately owned multi-species primate rehabilitation centre situated in the foothills and gorges of the Magaliesberg mountain range, close to Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West Province of South Africa.
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) is a non-governmental organisation and a registered animal welfare charity with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) in Singapore. It aims to raise awareness of animal welfare issues, adopts animal research projects and their findings for public outreach and education, and partners with authorities and related parties.
International Primate Day, September 1, is an annual educational observance event organized since 2005 largely by British-based Animal Defenders International (ADI) and supported annually by various primate-oriented advocacy organizations, speaks for all higher and lower primates, typically endorsing humane agendas where primates are at risk, as in research institutions or species endangerment in precarious environmental situations.
Darwin, colloquially referred to as the Ikea Monkey, is a male Japanese macaque who attracted international media attention in 2012 after images of him wandering an Ikea store in North York, Ontario, went viral. Darwin was determined to be a prohibited exotic pet and surrendered to Story Book Farm, an Ontario-based animal sanctuary where he now resides. A lawsuit brought by Darwin's former owner against Story Book Farm to return the animal was dismissed in 2013.
