These monkeys use their strong arms and legs to help them live happily high in the treetops. They also have another cool adaptation, a prehensile tail, or a tail that can grab and hold things.

Monkey Adaptations for the Rainforest That means their tails can wrap around objects to grip them or manipulate them. Many monkeys use prehensile tails to swing from rainforest branches, which frees up both their hands and legs to snag food or fight off a predator. Another adaptation is their teeth.

Mandrill: 20 years

prosimians

Puan

But humans are not descended from monkeys or any other primate living today. We do share a common ape ancestor with chimpanzees. But humans and chimpanzees evolved differently from that same ancestor. All apes and monkeys share a more distant relative, which lived about 25 million years ago.

Trudy was the oldest living western lowland gorilla in a zoo, and she was one of the last “wild caught” gorillas. At the age of 63, she has died in Arkansas. The Little Rock Zoo announced the death of its resident of over 31 years Thursday night.

40 years old

35 – 40 years

between 35 and 40 years

This type of infanticide is found in almost every primate species, including chimpanzees, gorillas—and, as much as we would like to deny it, humans. Male bonobos are one of the few great apes who have not been seen killing infants.

While some zoo specimens are known to eat meat, wild gorillas eat only plants and fruit, along with the odd insect—as far as scientists know (see video of wild gorillas feasting on figs).

Chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans show laughter-like vocalizations in response to physical contact such as wrestling, play chasing or tickling. This behavior is documented in wild and captive chimpanzees. Humans and chimpanzees share similar ticklish areas of the body such as the armpits and belly.

Play is a common behavior among gorillas, just as it is with humans. Playing is seen most often among juveniles and younger infants as they make their first moves away from their mothers. Luckily, in most gorilla groups there are several youngsters to act as playmates for each other.

You’ll rarely see a chimp paddling about in the water as they don’t like to swim. Their low body fat ratio causes them to sink and their top heavy body composition makes it difficult for them to keep their heads above water.

Fears. For reasons unknown, mountain gorillas appear to be naturally afraid of certain reptiles and insects. Infants, whose natural behavior is to chase anything that moves, will go out of their way to avoid chameleons and caterpillars.

They lost the instinct to swim. Humans, who are closely related to the apes, also do not swim instinctively. But unlike apes, humans are attracted to water and can learn to swim and to dive. ‘The behavior of the great apes in water has been largely neglected in anthropology.

Various big cats like tigers, leopards, jaguars, lions, and ocelots are famous for cooling off in watering holes and their swimming skills are top notch. They seem to truly enjoy being in the water!