Discover the Ape-tastic World: Top 12 Fun and Fascinating Facts About Our Primate Cousins!

1. Mirror-Self-Recognition

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest ape of all? Well, humans and great apes might just have the answer to that: They are the only non-human primates known to possess the ability to recognize themselves in mirrors, while other monkey species have yet to crack the mirror-self-recognition code.
Source => ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

2. Urination Contemplation

Urination contemplation: in an act that could make Bear Grylls green with envy, ZDF rats have been found to quench their curiosity by sipping their own liquid gold! But before your bladder pops with excitement, let's be crystal clear on this wee matter: this tendency is more likely due to behavioral quirks or health issues and is not a failsafe hydration hack for all critters, who, blessed with kidneys fit for kings, rule supreme in the realm of water regulation through urine production.
Source => researchgate.net

Did you know not all monkeys can swing through trees like Tarzan's sidekick? Discover the surprising truth about their tails! 🐒🌳

=> Fun Facts about Monkeys

3. Fingerprint Detectives

Move over, Sherlock Holmes and your magnifying glass, because the ape world has a case of fingerprint-detective fever: Gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans all have unique ridge patterns on their fingers and toes that can be used to identify them, just like our very own human fingerprints—elementary, my dear primates!
Source => nytimes.com

4. dietary preferences

When howler monkeys munch on their salad and spider monkeys act fruity, it's not a jungle garden party - it's just their dietary preferences at work: Howler monkeys primarily eat immature leaves, while spider monkeys prefer ripe fruits, and even forage for unripe palm nuts when fruits are scarce, showcasing their selective feeding strategies for a well-balanced, nutritious, plant-based lifestyle.
Source => scientificamerican.com

5. No Poop Buffet Here

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too... in a less appetizing manner? That's right, most apes steer clear of the fecal delicacy, choosing the salads of nature over a poop buffet: Apes generally avoid indulging in coprophagy, although stress or poor nutrition may entice some captive individuals into this less-than-gourmet activity, thanks to their specialized digestive systems capable of fully utilizing their vegetarian diets.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Gibbons: Lords of the Canopy

Who needs Tarzan when you've got gibbons swinging through the jungle like Olympic gymnasts with a caffeine addiction? These furry daredevils are the true lords of the canopy: With their specialized shoulder joints and powerful arms, gibbons can swing from branch to branch at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour and propel themselves up to 50 feet through the jungle, all without the aid of an external tail like most monkeys.
Source => nationalzoo.si.edu

7. Tree Nest Architects

Who needs a five-star hotel when you're a leafy architect? Apes have mastered the art of luxury treehouses: Hominid apes, like chimpanzees and orangutans, carefully construct elaborate nests for sleeping and resting, learning this skill from observing other group members. Researchers even use nest-counts and related fecal analysis to estimate ape populations, and nest-building may have played a role in the evolution of their cognitive abilities. Bonus knowledge: they refresh and reuse their nests for multiple days, making them eco-conscious too!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Bonobo Girl Power

Move over, girl power! In the land of bonobos, it's all about femme fatale fur-ocity: Female bonobos dominate their social groups, wielding their influence to keep the peace, resolve conflicts, and maintain harmony among their primate pals – a power structure that's rather uncommon in the animal kingdom.
Source => cambridge.org

9. Fu Manchu: The Ape Houdini

Call him Houdini of the Ape World or the sly little Simian Safecracker, Fu Manchu was a furry felon with a penchant for monkeying around with locks: A Sumatran orangutan in Omaha zoo, Nebraska, Fu Manchu would use a wire he stashed between his lip and gum to pick the locks of his enclosure and embark on exhilarating escapades with other orangutans, proving that these primates are, indeed, adept at utilizing tools.
Source => onlyinyourstate.com

10. Lucy: Evolution's Stand-Up Comedian

Before Lucy hit the skies as Charlie Brown's personal Freud, she was walking tall in Ethiopia, cracking skulls and teaching our ancestors the benefits of stand-up comedy: Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy's skeletal remains discovered in 1974, stood at a mere 1.05 metres and weighed about 28kg, proving that habitual upright walking preceded bigger brain development in human evolution, offering survival perks such as earlier predator detection and hands-free multitasking.
Source => nhm.ac.uk

11. Chimpanzee Termite Anglers

When chimpanzees aren't monkeying around, they're termite terrors with expert angling skills: Different chimpanzee populations have unique tool-using behaviors, often involving complex, multi-step processes to harvest termites for food, and even actively teach their offspring these wonderful ways of the chimp world.
Source => source.wustl.edu

12. Koko: Gorilla Bookworm and Film Critic

Koko the gorilla, ever the esteemed literary intellectual and cinema connoisseur with a penchant for creature comforts, once declared her "purr-favorito" flick and page-turner: The Three Little Kittens book was her top read, and she fancied the Eddie Murphy version of Doctor Doolittle and Wild Kingdom on the telly. She even marked her 25th trip around the sun with a twist-worthy request - a box of rubber snakes!
Source => arkansasonline.com