April is Ape Awareness Month
Ape-ril is here and it’s Ape Awareness Month! The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is home to many primates, but when you spot a Sumatran Orangutan swinging or see a Colobus Monkey sitting, how do you know which is a monkey and which is an ape?
- The easiest and quickest answer: look for a tail! Almost all monkeys have a tail, but apes do not. This tail helps monkeys to balance as they run or leap from branch to branch, while apes prefer to use their limbs to grip branches as they swing.
- Aside from a tail, monkeys and apes have other differences in their bodies: monkeys are generally smaller with narrow chests, while apes tend to be larger with large shoulder joints that allow them to swing through the trees with ease.
Next time you swing over to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, see if you can spot the difference between the monkeys and apes! Are there differences you can find that aren’t listed here?