Thank God We Never Have to Hear About This Monkey Selfie Ever Again
It seems the debate over the ownership of a monkey selfie has finally ended—a moment we never thought would come.
Rare Mop-Topped Monkey Spotted in Brazil for First Time in Over 80 Years
It’s been 81 years since anyone has seen a Vanzolini’s bald-faced saki in the wild. On a recent expedition to the Juruá River in the Amazon basin, a group of scientists managed to capture the first photographs ever taken of this elusive primate in its natural habitat—and whoa does it ever look weird.
Mischievous Monkey Causes Massive Blackout in Zambian Tourist Town
Around 50,000 residents of Zambia’s Western province were without electricity on Sunday, after a baboon wandered into a power station and fiddled with the equipment. Incredibly, the baboon managed to survive the incident.
This Monkey Crime Ring Will Hold Your Shit Ransom
Sopranos superfans will be glad to know that the mafia is still alive and well—sort of. A temple in Bali, Indonesia has apparently been overrun by mafioso macaques that have been stealing tourists’ items in exchange for food. New research suggests the unusual phenomenon is a learned behavior, and goddamn is it a good…
Monkeys Learn to Pass a Classic Test For Self-Awareness
The ability to look into a mirror and recognize oneself is a cognitive skill we all take for granted, but very few animals outside of humans are able to do it. New research shows that monkeys can be trained to pass the so-called “mirror test,” suggesting that more species may be self-aware than previously thought.…
How Living Near the Starvation Point Can Extend Lifespan
Depriving ourselves of food to the point of near-starvation doesn’t sound very appealing, but it could prolong our lives and prevent the onset of age-related diseases. A combined analysis of two long-running studies shows that caloric restriction does indeed work in monkeys, hinting at its potential to work in humans.…
Monkeys Grieve When Their Robot Friend Dies
BBC One’s Spy in the Wild series embeds animatronic spy animals out in nature with their real life animal counterparts to see what life is really like in the wild. The robot creatures can look a little bit creepy with their eyeball cameras, but the animals often embrace them as one of their own. Sometimes the…
This Simulation of a Monkey Speaking Is the Stuff of Nightmares
New research shows that macaques have a vocal tract capable of emitting human-like speech, but they lack the brain circuitry to make words happen. That may be a good thing, because their simulated speech is creepy as hell.
Stolen Australian Marmoset Named 'Gomez' Still Missing
Three days after burglars stole a family of pygmy marmosets from Symbio Wildlife Park near Sydney, Australia, the eldest marmoset, a 10-year-old male named Gomez, remained missing, Buzzfeed reports.
Brain Implant Allows Paralyzed Monkey to Walk Again
For the first time ever, a neural device has been used to restore locomotion in paralyzed primates. It may be years before clinical trials can begin for humans, but this latest breakthrough marks an important step in that direction.
Is This the Saddest Monkey on Earth?
His blue face and blank stare suggest a look of despair or simply disbelief. Yet, the snub-nosed monkey above and 37 other similar species just got their genomes sequenced. This one monkey, though. He seems sad as hell about it.
This Freaky-Ass Primate Likes to Get Wasted as Much as You Do
Humans may be more closely related to great apes, but according to science, our true spirit animals are aye-ayes. These Gollum-eyed lemurs like to skulk about in the forest getting liquored until the sun comes up. Wow, same!
African Monkeys Caught Eating Bats For the First Time
Researchers working in Africa are the first to observe monkeys preying on bats. The unusual behavior, which may have something to do with loss of habitat, could explain how dangerous diseases such as Ebola spread among species—and eventually to humans.
The Zoomer Robot Chimp Stands and Balances on Two Feet Better Than a Toddler Can
When the Zoomer interactive dog was first introduced a few years ago, Spin Master officially took up the robotic pet torch that was slowly burning out after Sony abandoned the Aibo. The Zoomer Dog was followed by the award-winning Zoomer Dino, but neither are as remarkably capable as the latest addition to the Zoomer…
Ethicists Voice Concerns Over Creation of Humanized ‘Autistic’ Monkeys
Researchers in China have genetically engineered monkeys to exhibit autistic-like behaviors, including impaired social skills and increased anxiety. This research is poised to improve our understanding of brain disorders, but ethicists say the harm endured by these monkeys is simply not worth it.
How Can We Tell If Monkeys See Optical Illusions?
The Delbouef Illusion is well known. It absolutely works on humans, but scientists wanted to see if it also works on monkeys. That’s harder to establish than it looks. How do you resist having illusions about your optical illusion test?
Thanks to PETA, the Monkey Selfie Controversy Will Never End
PETA, the same organization that launched a bogus porn site and hates humans, is getting embroiled in one of the most click-baiting copyright battles of the century: The case of the monkey selfie.
Here's the Stupid Reason We Don't Have Monkeys in North America
Are you in North America? Statistically speaking, yes. Do you like monkeys? Of course you do. Have you noticed that you live in an extremely monkey-poor region of the Earth? Well, here’s what ruined your chance to have monkeys hanging around in your hometown. Yes, I’m bitter too.
Why Don’t Humans Have as Much Hair as Other Primates?
Although there is no definitive account of why we lost our body hair when every other primate is covered with the stuff, there are a handful of compelling theories that may explain our hairless condition.
Silicon Valley and the Shit-Slinging Robot Monkey Hand
Even though Silicon Valley primarily follows (and mocks) a small startup, the show has always been stellar at satirizing the tech establishment. This week’s episode uses a wearable robotic monkey hand to make a point about how the big companies can be the biggest (and sometimes most literal) shitshows of them all.
