Pet monkey

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"The Man with The Yellow Hat" and Curious George, the pet monkey, are enduring characters in books, comics, film and television. WhiteHouseCuriousGeorge2003crop.jpg
"The Man with The Yellow Hat" and Curious George, the pet monkey, are enduring characters in books, comics, film and television.

A pet monkey is a monkey kept as a pet. The practice of keeping monkeys as pets is controversial. [1]

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Monkeys have often been favorite pets of queens such as Catherine de' Medici and Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. [2]

Ship's monkeys

When the British first began to explore Africa, young monkeys were often captured and taken back on board the ship to entertain sailors. For example, a Senegal monkey was kept as a pet by a ship's cook in the 19th century and entertained passengers with its antics. [3] Some were later kept in zoos; many modern captive monkeys in the UK are descended from such Victorian-era monkeys. The same practice is thought to have occurred during the Napoleonic wars; it is rumored that such practices led to a monkey being washed ashore and hanged in Hartlepool, causing the people of Hartlepool to be nicknamed the Monkey Hangers.

As service animals for the disabled

Some organizations train capuchin monkeys as monkey helpers to assist quadriplegics and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility impairments. After being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo extensive training before being placed with a quadriplegic. Around the house, the monkeys help out by doing tasks such as microwaving food, washing the quadriplegic's face, and opening drink bottles. For safety and the possibility of learning through operant condition methods using positive punishment, the quadriplegics had the ability to deliver a warning tone or 0.5 second shock to the monkey. As with all primates, monkeys must never be fully trusted with a human life in an environment they find demanding or where their needs are not being attended to. In at least one study, the monkey completed all tasks and punishment was used only in the learning stage. [4]

Mystic and spiritual master Meher Baba with his pet monkey named Lucky in India (c. 1940). The monkey had been given to him by Princess Norina Matchabelli. Meher Baba 1939.jpg
Mystic and spiritual master Meher Baba with his pet monkey named Lucky in India (c.1940). The monkey had been given to him by Princess Norina Matchabelli.

In popular culture both actual and fictionalized accounts of pet monkeys are utilized extensively. Monkeys are popular in numerous books, television programs, and movies. Sun Wukong (the "Monkey King"), a character who figures prominently in Chinese mythology, is the main protagonist in the classic comic Chinese novel Journey to the West . The television series Monkey, the literary characters Monsieur Eek and Curious George are all examples. The winged monkeys are prominent characters in The Wizard of Oz .

However, pop culture often incorrectly labels apes, particularly chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans as monkeys. Terry Pratchett makes use of the distinction in his Discworld novels, in which the Librarian of the Unseen University is an orangutan who gets very violent if referred to as a monkey.

Famous pet monkeys

There have been many famous pet monkeys with Tarzan's Cheeta arguably the first famous pet "monkey" although they continued to live in the jungle. Nkima was the original Cheeta-like character in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly comics. Tarzan and Cheeta have been repeated across all major popular culture mediums including books, films, television, games and comics. Katie, a white-headed capuchin, played Marcel in the popular U.S. series Friends and also Los Angeles Angels' mascot "Rally Monkey." Finster played Harvey Keitel's pet thief, Dodger in the movie Monkey Trouble . Bubbles was a companion to Michael Jackson and became intertwined in his celebrity and was even a subject of a Jeff Koons sculpture. Frankie the Monkey has been seen in Sean-Paul and Juliane's magic act all over the country.

Curious George

Curious George is the protagonist of a popular children's books franchise by the same name, written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey. [5] The books feature a curious pet monkey named George, who is brought from his home in Africa by "The Man with The Yellow Hat" to live with him in a big city. Around the world, the adventures of Curious George have been translated in many languages. [6] The character has spawned books in many languages, two television series, two stop-motion animated shorts, [7] an animated film, Curious George , featuring Will Ferrell, a video game and he has been linked with numerous products and companies.

List of fictional pet monkeys

Literature
Cartoons
Film
Television

See also

Related Research Articles

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Primates is an order of mammals, which is further divided into the strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and lorisids; and the haplorhines, which include tarsiers; and the simians, which include monkeys and apes. Primates arose 85–55 million years ago first from small terrestrial mammals, which adapted for life in tropical forests: many primate characteristics represent adaptations to the challenging environment among tree tops, including large brain sizes, binocular vision, color vision, vocalizations, shoulder girdles allowing a large degree of movement in the upper limbs, and opposable thumbs that enable better grasping and dexterity. 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 six in the 2020s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheeta</span> Fictional character

Cheeta is a chimpanzee character that appeared in numerous Hollywood Tarzan films of the 1930s–1960s, as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan. Cheeta has usually been characterized as male, but sometimes as female, and has been portrayed by chimpanzees of both sexes.

<i>Planet of the Apes</i> (novel) 1963 French novel by Pierre Boulle

La Planète des singes, known in English as Planet of the Apes in the US and Monkey Planet in the UK, is a 1963 science fiction novel by French author Pierre Boulle. It was adapted into the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, launching the Planet of the Apes media franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curious George</span> Protagonist of a series of popular childrens picture books by the same name

Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written and illustrated by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace Ventura</span> Movie and television character

Ace Ventura is a title character created by screenwriter Jack Bernstein. Ace was performed by Jim Carrey in the films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, released in 1994, and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, released in 1995, and was voiced by Michael Daingerfield in the Ace Ventura: Pet Detective television series.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rally Monkey</span> Unofficial mascot for the Los Angeles baseball team

The Rally Monkey is the unofficial mascot for the Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball team.

<i>Curious George</i> (film) 2006 animated film directed by Matthew OCallaghan

Curious George is a 2006 animated adventure film based on the book series written by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey. It was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, written by Ken Kaufman and produced by Ron Howard, David Kirschner, and Jon Shapiro. Featuring the voices of Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, and Dick Van Dyke, it tells the story of how the Man with the Yellow Hat, a tour guide at a museum, first befriended a curious monkey named George and started going on adventures with him around the city while attempting to save the museum from closure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bubbles (chimpanzee)</span> Chimpanzee once owned by Michael Jackson

Bubbles is a chimpanzee once kept as a pet by the American singer Michael Jackson, who bought him from a Texas research facility in the 1980s. Bubbles frequently traveled with Jackson, drawing attention in the media. In 1987, during the Bad world tour, Bubbles and Jackson drank tea with the mayor of Osaka, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monkey</span> Animal of the "higher primates" (the simians), but excluding the apes

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Mangani is the name of a fictional species of great apes in the Tarzan novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and of the invented language used by these apes. In the invented language, Mangani is the apes' word for their own kind, although the term is also applied to humans. The Mangani are represented as the apes who foster and raise Tarzan.

<i>George of the Jungle</i> (film) 1997 American comedy film

George of the Jungle is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and based on Jay Ward and Bill Scott's 1967 American animated television series of the same name, which in turn is a spoof of the fictional character Tarzan, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Written by Dana Olsen and Audrey Wells, and starring Brendan Fraser, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church, Holland Taylor, Richard Roundtree, and John Cleese. It tells the story of a young man raised by wild animals who falls for an heiress and contends with the heiress's spoiled fiancé. The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and was released in theatres throughout the United States and Canada on July 16, 1997. It was later aired on Disney Channel in the United States on December 5, 1998. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $174 million worldwide. A sequel, George of the Jungle 2, was released direct-to-video on October 21, 2003.

<i>Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle</i> Animated television series

Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle is an American animated series created by the Filmation studio for Saturday mornings on CBS, starting in 1976. This was the first animated series about the jungle hero. There are 36 episodes produced over four seasons.

<i>Tarzan Triumphs</i> 1943 film by Wilhelm Thiele

Tarzan Triumphs is a 1943 adventure film in which Tarzan fights the Germans during World War II. Johnny Weissmuller had portrayed the Edgar Rice Burroughs character in six films with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but this was his first with the producer Sol Lesser at RKO Pictures. Lesser had previously produced Tarzan the Fearless and Tarzan's Revenge. Weissmuller was reunited with two of his three co-stars from several of the earlier films; Johnny Sheffield and Cheeta, but Maureen O'Sullivan was unable to reprise her role as Jane because the franchise switched from MGM to RKO, and O'Sullivan was an MGM contract player. Instead, Frances Gifford played the princess of the lost city of Palandrya, which is conquered by Germans.

Jiggs may refer to:

<i>Curious George</i> (book) Book by H. A. Rey

Curious George is a children's book written and illustrated by Margret Rey and H. A. Rey, and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1941. The first book in the Curious George series, it tells the story of an orphaned monkey named George and his adventures with the Man with the Yellow Hat. For 80 years, it has sold over 25 million copies, and has been translated into various different languages such as Japanese, French, Afrikaans, Portuguese, Swedish, German, Chinese, Danish, and Norwegian. It is also in the Indie Choice Book Awards Picture Book Hall of Fame and has been the subject of scholarly criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nkima</span> Fictional character

Nkima is a fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly comics. His name comes from either the word N'kima, or, after the Meru language nickname for Ugali, a dish popular in Kenya and Tanzania made from maize flour.

Jimmy (1952-1968) was a male chimpanzee and animal actor, trained by actor and magician John Calvert. He performed in the 1956 film Dark Venture, alongside Calvert. Jimmy was also featured in Calvert's magic shows in the United States, and onboard his luxury yacht throughout Asia and Australia. He died of a heart attack at the age of 16 at the Perth Zoo.

References

  1. Garrod, Ben (February 28, 2016). "No more monkey business: why primates should never be pets". The Guardian . Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  2. John Lloyd, John Mitchinson (2009), "The Monkey-keepers", The Book of the Dead, pp. 243–274, ISBN   978-0-571-24491-1
  3. "A monkey on board ship". Reading-book. Nelson Thomas. 1864. p.  140. monkey ship.
  4. "An Evaluation of Capuchin Monkeys Trained to Help Severely Disabled Individuals" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  5. Curious George . About the Program | PBS KIDS
  6. "Curious George . About the Reys" . Retrieved March 10, 2008.
  7. "The Adventures of Curious George" . Retrieved May 2, 2019 via www.imdb.com.
  8. "VF.com Q&A: Borat Sagdiyev | Vanity Fair". Vanity Fair . Retrieved May 2, 2019.