Primate species:- Their human-like characteristics compel some to buy monkeys, lemurs, lorises, and small apes as pets. Like little irresistibly playful children, they demonstrate intelligence with actively bright eyes and curious nature.
Primates are not pets for everyone. They require committed, long-term (lifespan 20-40 years) resources (time, money, and labor) for care, and a balanced diet (similar to humans,) a large cage or sanitation (diapering) support, and annual checkups. Regulations regarding ownership differ in various states.
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Top 8 Primate species
1. Bush Baby
Owl-like in appearance, the bush baby is a small (7-8 inch and 5-10 ounce) animal that inhabits African bushlands. Their large round eyes enable good night vision.
Their bat-like ears detect approaching predators. Preferring to move among trees (rarely on the ground,) they use their proportionately larger tail to power their leaps.
They gather in small social groups and communicate using croaking, chattering, and other clucking sounds. Eagles, owls, genets, and large snakes are its predators.
2. Capuchin Monkey
Common as pets, trained performers, and therapy animals, Capuchin Monkeys are intelligent versatile primates native to Southern Central America.
These active and energetic tree-dwellers got their name from the hair on their heads resembling a skullcap or “capuce.”
Highly social, they live in groups of 3-30 members and defend their territories by chasing one another.
They communicate with screams, whistles, and barks. Within the group, free time is spent playing with and grooming each other.
3. Gorilla
Rather than fearsome aggressive creatures as cinema has depicted, gorillas are shy vegetarians.
They prefer to spend their time quietly and relaxed, leisurely searching for food or peacefully resting under the warm African sun.
Although they are the largest and most powerful of the apes, they only show hostility if endangered or annoyed by standing up and beating their fists against their chest to ward off intruders. Illegal hunting and civilizations endanger gorilla populations.
4. Marmosets
Marmosets are New World Monkeys that lack prehensile tails. They move on all four limbs possessing longer forelimbs, squirrel-like hands, and feet that lack opposable thumbs and big toes but have sharp claws that dig into bark.
Their fur is soft and silky; the face is bare. These tiny creatures are the smallest of primates weighing 3-12 ounces. Commonly they eat gums, tree sap, fruits, nectar, insects, and birds of Central and South American tropical forests.
5. Monkey
Most monkeys live in the forests of tropics and subtropics where food is abundant year-round.
Prehensile tails, which differentiate them from apes, assist them in climbing and getting food.
Monkeys have grasping hands, forward-facing eyes, and highly developed brains, classifying them as primates.
Three families of monkeys are marmosets, capuchin-like monkeys, and Old World Monkeys.
The first two families are South and Central American natives, whereas, the latter are Africa and Southern Asia, inhabitants.
6. Orangutan
Sharing 97% of DNA with humans, Orangutans have four long digits and opposable thumbs or toes for grasping.
Similarly, they hear, see, smell, taste, and touch like humans. Highly intelligent, they can think and reason.
Thus, Malaysians once thought Orangutans to be forest men. Orangutans live in trees rarely touching the ground; they swing from branch to branch to travel.
Their large, bulky, tailless body supports a thick neck, long strong arms, and short, bowed legs.
7. Ring Tailed Lemur
Endangered inhabitants of Madagascar, Ring-tailed lemurs move about trees day or night, yet they spend more time on the ground than other lemurs, moving on all fours.
A grey back, white underparts, a white fox-like face with dark brown eye patches, and distinctive black and white ringed-tail characterize them.
They live in the spiny desert, dry forests, and scrubland and eat 70% fruit supplemented with leaves, bark, sap, and flowers. Their life span is 27 years.
8. Spider Monkey
In lowland rain forests from Mexico to South America, along Amazon coasts, and Andes mountain slopes, spider monkeys live above in forest canopies.
They eat mainly ripe fruit, adding leaves, flowers, seeds, nuts, insects, and eggs to their diet.
They mark their territory with glandular secretions and defend it with screams, barks, and throwing objects.
Endangered for their fur and meat, Spider monkeys are diurnal, non-aggressive and social, but only share habitat with other diurnal monkeys.