Monkey news

A baby macaque curled up with its mother in Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. Photo: Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Monkey Knocks Out Sri Lanka’s Entire Electrical Grid During Heatwave

How does one monkey shut down power for an entire 22 million-person country?

The Monkey From Friends Will Star in Y: The Last Man, Has a Longer and More Varied Career Than Any of Us Ever Will

Get paid, Katie the capuchin. It’s a tough industry out there, for simians or otherwise. The Hollywood Reporter’s latest hot Hollywood casting scoop is that Katie—a female capuchin monkey best known for turns in The Loop, 30 Rock, and yes, Friends—is making a long-awaited return to acting by snapping up the role of Ampersand on…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

This Study of Baboons Makes Me Want to Murder People (In a Good Way)

In 2004, scientists observing a baboon troop found that the monkeys’ culture could change dramatically, and enduringly, for the better. And all it took was massive amounts of death. Life isn’t particularly nice for you if you’re a baboon. If you aren’t the victim of a lion or a hunter you will almost certainly be…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

When female capuchin monkeys want sex, they throw stones at the males

Children who don’t know better might throw spitballs or pull hair to get another child’s attention, and it turns out that certain monkeys do something similar. Female capuchin monkeys have been observed throwing rocks at males as a form of courtship. This study involves an animal with the incredibly appropriate scientific name Sapajus libidinosus, the…

io9 Lauren Davis

These Monkeys Always Give Birth to Twins – How Do They Do It?

Unlike all other primates, clawed New World Monkeys almost always give birth to twins. But why? It turns out these animals have a unique set of adaptations that make it possible — and could prove useful to humans as well. We spoke to the lead scientist of the new study to understand how it all…

io9 Joseph Bennington-Castro

Marmosets Have Conversations That Sound Strikingly Human

Marmosets are fluffy, 8-inch-long monkeys native to South America. They are also very polite. New research shows that these little mammals carry on lengthy, back-and-forth discussions without interrupting one another. This is a conversation style adopted by only one other kind of primate: humans. The Cooperative Monkey Marmosets are a group of monkeys that include…

io9 Joseph Bennington-Castro

We are now accidentally making monkeys dumber

The use of stone tools is incredibly rare, so much so that it was once thought to be the exclusive domain of humans and our ancestors. Fellow apes like chimpanzees and baboons have since been proven to use stones as tools, but only a couple non-ape primates are known to do it. But now human…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Watch baboons show off their human-like math skills

No, we’re not quite at the point where baboons can tackle calculus or trigonometry, but they do show an ability to count that’s at least as good as that of a human child, as this video from the University of Rochester reveals. Assistant professor Jessica Cantlon and her team worked with eight olive baboons to…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Monkeys want to fit in just as much as humans do

Humans are known to change their behavior to fit in — particularly when interacting with an unfamiliar culture — but it wasn’t known whether this fickleness was an evolved survival instinct or one of the quirky byproducts of our intelligence. Well, based on the behavior of male vervet monkeys, it appears the tendency to conform…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Gelada monkey’s yodel-like gurgling could reveal origins of human speech

As a group, primates aren’t really known for their ability to create vocalizations, or sophisticated or complex sounds with their mouths. Yes, we humans have shown some talent in that area — what with the whole development of language and all that — but most apes and monkeys are unable to generate anything but the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Monkeys are the most stressed when they’re stuck in the middle

Sociological studies have found that middle managers tend to be more stressed than either their bosses or their underlings. That phenomenon might well be true of all primates, as macaques display heightened stress levels when they are in the middle of their social hierarchy. Researchers at the University of Liverpool and the University of Manchester…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

When chimps have a midlife crisis

While they’re perhaps less likely to take up paragliding or get an ill-advised tattoo, it appears that other primates suffer from midlife crises just like Homo sapiens. A new study of chimps and orangutans found that they have a major dip in well-being during their middle years. By surveying humans familiar with populations of apes…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Monkeys of various ranks like to have sex with each other — but only when no one’s looking

Life is tough for male and female macaques monkeys – especially when they’re horny. Like many primate species, their sex life is right out there in the open for everyone to see, including alpha males and alpha females who do their darndest to prevent low ranking monkeys from having sex with each other. And indeed,…

io9 George Dvorsky

University lab technician arrested for drunken party with monkeys

Bad news first: it looks like Rise of the Planet of the Apes recently kicked off in our reality. The good news? Our future ape overlords will implement a regime not unlike that of a no-budget 1980s comedy — think Porky’s starring Doctor Zaius. As WJBF Augusta explains: [A] Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) Lab…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Gibbon has lived for fifty years just by staying super relaxed

Granny Jane, a gibbon at England’s Twycross Zoo, is probably at least a decade older than any of her counterparts in the wild. What’s the secret to her longevity? According to her keepers, the secret is simply being chilled out. Gibbons are also known by the ever so slightly pejorative title “lesser apes”, which sets…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Chimpanzee hand gestures suggest human communication is even older than we thought

We have identified well over a hundred different gestures used by chimpanzees, more than enough to reveal the primates use nonverbal communication much like we do. But it’s what the chimps are saying with their hands that’s truly fascinating. Dr. Anna Roberts of the UK’s Stirling University spent months in Uganda studying the hand gestures…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Parkour reveals the secrets of orangutan movement

Orangutans spend their lives swinging in trees and eating fruit. Neither of those things is all that surprising for small animals that don’t need tons of energy — but it’s distinctly weird for such large primates to live that way. It’s all a question of energy balance — a fruit-based diet like the one orangutans…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Gorillas communicate with their infants using their own version of baby talk

Parents often change their speech when talking to babies, simplifying their sentences and altering the words and noises they make to sound – and this is a technical term here – “more adorable.” Turns out we’re not the only ones. Baby talk, also known as motherese, is essentially a way for parents to bridge the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Orangutans hold off puberty by up to 10 years just to be more attractive

As soon as orangutans go through puberty, they are pretty much expected to find a mate and start making babies. But as sexually frustrated high schoolers the world over will tell you, that’s easier said than done. The orangutans on Sumatra – and only those on Sumatra, so don’t go blabbing to their Borneo cousins…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins

Chimpanzees have nutcracker neighborhoods

We know that disparate chimp tribes separated by large areas have different behaviors and cultures, but what about those near to one another? It appears that neighboring chimpanzees do act differently in one key way: how they crack open nuts. Three groups of chimpanzees living in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, all of are adjacent…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Monkey news

Monkey Knocks Out Sri Lanka’s Entire Electrical Grid During Heatwave

The Monkey From Friends Will Star in Y: The Last Man, Has a Longer and More Varied Career Than Any of Us Ever Will

This Study of Baboons Makes Me Want to Murder People (In a Good Way)

When female capuchin monkeys want sex, they throw stones at the males

These Monkeys Always Give Birth to Twins – How Do They Do It?

Marmosets Have Conversations That Sound Strikingly Human

We are now accidentally making monkeys dumber

Watch baboons show off their human-like math skills

Monkeys want to fit in just as much as humans do

Gelada monkey’s yodel-like gurgling could reveal origins of human speech

Monkeys are the most stressed when they’re stuck in the middle

When chimps have a midlife crisis

Monkeys of various ranks like to have sex with each other — but only when no one’s looking

University lab technician arrested for drunken party with monkeys

Gibbon has lived for fifty years just by staying super relaxed

Chimpanzee hand gestures suggest human communication is even older than we thought

Parkour reveals the secrets of orangutan movement

Gorillas communicate with their infants using their own version of baby talk

Orangutans hold off puberty by up to 10 years just to be more attractive

Chimpanzees have nutcracker neighborhoods

Anker Nano Travel Adapter Now Under $20 After a Sudden Price Drop, 5 Ports With Smart Temperature Control

Now Even A24 Is Clowning on Netflix’s Handling of ‘Steel Ball Run’

RAM Prices Are Killing Small Gaming Devices

An Embarrassing Mistake May Have Skewed Microplastics Research All Along

Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ Drops to All-Time Low as Amazon Shifts Into Clearance Mode After Spring Sale

You Can Watch the Two Recovered Missing Episodes of ‘Doctor Who’ Right Now

Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Holds a Record Low Price as Bone Conduction Headphones Stock Quietly Clears Out on Amazon

Avast Premium Isn’t Flashy — But It Might Be the Smartest Cheap Antivirus Right Now

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Let us help find what you are looking for...