Eye Orbits

Photo source: Ken Ilio

The tarsier's eyes are so large that each bony eye orbit is larger than its brain pan and larger than its stomach (you know the old addage...).

Their eyes are fixed in place, but they've got incredible flexibility in their neck (upwards of 300 degree range) which allows them to see in most directions.

Unlike most nocturnal animals, the tarsier doesn't have any reflective quality to its retinas Enter those massive eyes again. Huge eyes equals huge pupil dilation equals lots o' light coming in.

Curious to see just how large the eye orbits are? Look below.

Much in Common

Chimpanzees are supposed to have upwards of 99.4 of their DNA in common with us humans. But in looking at this guy, I think I've got more in common with chimps than the average human, maybe pushing 99.9. If I had lips like that, that's how my face would look almost all day long in the office.

Come to think of it, I might be doing that anyway. That'd explain some of my coworkers' reactions to me of late.

Photo source: Arlene Biane

Parental Males

Photo source: Richard
The Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) is one of the most recognizable of the old world monkeys. Moreover, they are the only primates, aside from us humans, that live freely in Europe (though, as indicated by their name, they are indigenous to the northern regions of Africa). That distinction has evidently led to this monkey feeling quite uppity.

I think I would flourish as a Barbary macaque. They live in matriarchal troops of 10-30 individuals, but unlike most other primates, the males play a prominent role in the rearing of the offspring, and spend much of their day grooming and playing with the little ones. They form strong bonds with both their offspring and those of others. In fact, it seems that the females prefer highly parental males. One of my few talents is being a daddy, so I think I'd fit right in.

I am now sticking out my tongue in solidarity with my macaque brethren.

Monkey Mockery

You might be inclined to mock this monkey. But you wouldn't dare do so to his face. He's a hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas), which makes him among the largest primates on the planet. That makes him your superior when it comes to strength and agility. He might not understand your taunts, but you would sure understand your flesh being flayed.

Photo source: John Booth

Monkey See Monkey Doo

I've always thought that monkeys don't get enough attention for the creative hair doos (don'ts?) Take these shots, for instance (gelada, ebony leaf monkey, hamadryas baboon, cotton-top tamarin, and lion-tailed macaque). What LA hair dresser wouldn't be proud of these creations?

Photo source: Jean Yves et Francis




























Photo source: Ian Thomas





















Photo source: Marika Bell




















Photo source: Eduardo Tavares




























Photo source: Allard Schager

Mandrill Wants to Eat You

Mandrill is the world's largest monkey. Mandrill lives in Africa. Mandrill's face becomes even more colorful when he's excited. Mandrill is shy and elusive. But Mandrill wants to eat you.

Don't let the goatee and the paint job fool you, folks. The mandrill is equipped with extremely long canines - and they know how to use them. They're also equipped with something that I wish I had: pouches in their cheeks for storing food for later consumption. Instead I have to carry around a fanny pack full of candy bars and salty snacks.

Photo source: Jean-Louis Albert

Caught Between Lemur and Monkey

Tarsiers have the distinction of being an intermediate form between lemurs and monkeys. Like lemurs, they have an excellent sense of smell and are nocturnal. Like monkeys, though, their nose is dry and hairy.

(I think my toddler son falls somewhere in this category, though probably closer to lemurs. Lately he's been way too nocturnal, and his nose is very moist from a cold he's had from the past day or two.)

Why are the tarsier's eyes so large? Most likely because, though they are nocturnal, they lack the reflective membrane that most nocturnal creatures have in their eyes. Why the long fingers? All the better to wring your neck with.

Cranky

Hamadryas baboons have a complicated social life, with the silvery male (see the brute below) having upwards of ten females in his family. A group of families forms a clan, a group of clans forms a band, and several bands form a troop. To further illustrate their complexity (from Big Zoo):

Males will forcefully steal females from other bands, but will not steal from their own family. Instead, they very gradually win over a juvenile female without confrontation. Young males inherit females from their father. Thus the father's social status is passed on to his sons. Females are much smaller than males, so they are not as forceful. However, if a female does not favor her male, she will have a much higher chance of being "stolen" from her male.

Photo source: Gary Heller

























The males always look cranky, especially when in full bloom like this one. It's gotta be something in the way their fur is immaculately crimped, or how it looks like someone slammed a baseball bat square on the top of their head. Or maybe it's the tubular nostrils. Regardless, I'll be staying on this side of the fence, away from both his fangs and his feces.

Shrieking Monkey, Shrieking Daddy

Photo source: Esther Kluth
This past weekend was a rough one for me, what with the wife away on a girls' retreat with her sisters and our daughters, and me left at home with all the boys. I felt quite a bit like this screaming monkey, especially during feeding time (theirs, not mine). And diaper changing time. And going-to-bed time.

But the boys weren't daunted by my shrieks or my bared fangs. If anything, it only encouraged their antics.

Goblin Monkey, Progressive Primate

If ever there was a primate out there that begged to have 'goblin' or 'gargoyle' in its name, it would be the beast below. But no, someone came up with 'bare-faced' tamarin (Saguinus Bicolor). Really? That's the best you can do?

These Amazonian monkeys are small, weighing in at around 1 lbs, and ranging between 19 - 27 inches. The parents share their duties, showing that they are progressive primates. The male carries the offspring most of the time (80% of births are twins), and then passes them back to mommy for nursing.



















These tamarins don't have opposable thumbs, which has got to be disappointing for them. What's the point of having a thumb if it isn't opposable? Can you even call it a thumb? But then, their thumbs, indeed all of their fingers, sport claws, so be sure there's a cage between you and it if you start flaunting your own thumbs.

Thanks for the photo, Steve.

Monkey ID Needed

I can't determine what species of monkeys these are. Or maybe my inquiry is flawed from the start. Maybe they're a Jim Henson creation, and these two'll break out with a song about goblin babies at any moment.

Any takers on this one? Monkey? Muppet?

UPDATE: A3 has identified this monkey for us. It is Trachypithecus auratus, the Javan Lutung. Thanks, A3.

Photo source: Marc T

Sympatry

I learned a new vocabulary word when researching the frugivorous long tailed macaque. This monkey, who inhabits much of Southeast Asia, tends to do its foraging in the undercanopy: that portion of the jungle and swamp that is below 20 meters. Why so low, why so often on the ground? They do so to avoid feeding competition with other symaptric monkeys.

Vocab word: sympatry: "occupying geographical ranges that at least partially overlap without interbreeding."

I guess it can be said that I live in sympatry with a whole host of other humans with whom I have no intention of interbreeding, and with whom I compete for food. Most notably: at work when the drooling masses descend like vultures to a carcass whenever someone brings in a tin of homemade brownies. David Attenborough would cringe at the level of ferocity we humans can display to get our paws on those brownies. It's a Hobbesian world.

Photo source: Keven Law

Sleepy Primate

I'm a sleepy primate (that's great, maybe even super, ape to these monkeys below) today. Our ten-month-old son has been enjoying getting up before 5am for the past couple of days.

I wish I had some proper fangs to bare at him. I imagine in the dim light of the LED night light we have in his room that the fangs would look nice and intimidating. Maybe he wouldn't be so eager to get up...

(hamadryas baboon, mandrill, and golden snub nose monkey)

Photo source: Edgar Thissen




















Photo source: Tiger Jack


























Photo source: In Cherl Kim

Squinty-eyed Tarsier

Photo source: Jack Jacob
The only thing worse than a wide-eyed tarsier is a squinty-eyed tarsier. Add in that white-knuckled strangle grip on the branch, and you've got a recipe for a Madagascar variant on Gremlins.

Don't feed them after midnight, and don't assume your clock is telling the right time. They're clever little beasts.

Real Charmer

Photo source: digitalia
The red uakari is just asking to be misunderstood. They've got hardly any tail to speak of, so one might assume them to be ungainly in their arboreal homes. But that's not so; their long arms and legs make them as dexterous as any other monkey.

And what about that red face? No, he isn't angry. Quite the opposite: he's healthy and happy. Healthy, because it is presumed that the bright red face is meant to display health, as opposed to those afflicted with malaria, who tend to take on a pale countenance. Happy because this particular monkey is the nicest monkey in Peru. A real charmer, despite looking very much like a zit I had when I was fourteen.

Be Thankful

I thought we could all use a medley of primate rears today, as an exercise in gratitude. You are most likely sitting down as you peruse this post, so take a moment and be thankful that your rear isn't as swollen and engorged as these (well, hopefully). It's gotta be painful right? The baboon in the second shot looks like she's letting it dangle instead of trying to sit on top of it.

From the looks of that last photo, the big red booty gives young ones something of a fleshy saddle to straddle. Makes riding on mommy's back a bit more comfortable. And look at their intertwined tails. How precious is that?

Photo by Hanan Smart




















Photo by Amsk


























Photo by Beate

Of Gorillas, Fishbowls, and Moms

This is Bokito, a gorilla housed in the Rotterdam Zoo, who achieved international fame on May 18, 2007, for escaping his enclosure, attacking a woman, and then going on a smashing spree in a nearby restaurant. He was sedated with a tranquilizer gun and placed back in his enclosure, which is (has been?) to be upgraded to include one-way mirrors for visitor viewing, as opposed to the open windows that had him living in a fishbowl environment.

Photo by Edgar Thissen
























The woman he attacked had been visiting him on average four times a week, and claimed a special bond with him. She is seen in the video below. As any primatologist will tell you, don't make eye contact with primates: it will see such behavior as a challenge and will make them angry (as seen in the video). It's no wonder that Bokito sought out this woman and savaged her, including a many-times-over fractured arm and over 100 bite marks.

Despite having been warned by zoo staff to stop antagonizing Bokito, she's now suing the zoo (or was, as of 2007). Though zoo visitors should be kept safe from the animals at all times, and clearly the enclosure wasn't sufficient to contain Bokito (who had escaped back in 2004 as well), it's impossible not to see a bit of poetic justice going on here.

My cousin once taunted a silverback at a zoo. I was still in a stroller at the time. My mom was trying to get him to stop, but my cousin was persistent. The gorilla responded by hurling feces at us. I was saved from being pelted with gorilla poo that day by my mom's quick reaction: she yanked my stroller back just as the poo splattered in the very spot where I had been innocently parked. Thanks, mom.


The Great Escape Of Gorilla Bokito - The funniest bloopers are right here

Stumpy

I think I know why this monkey is so upset. It could be that it's got a tooth ache. But more likely it takes umbrage with its name: stump-tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides). Really, stump-tailed? Of all things you could have called it, why go with that? Why not wrath-faced macaque? Why not luxuriantly-coated macaque? Why focus on the one thing it is least proud of?

Personally, I would have named it the 'mulletted macaque', but that would have gotten me eaten. It's best for the safety of me and my family that I'm not in charge of anything taxonomically oriented, especially when it comes to fanged primates.

Thanks for the photo, Will.

Photo by Sebastian Niedlich

Tarsier: The Face of Evil

You think tarsiers looks freaky with their eyes wide open? How about when they squint them? How about when they look down upon their human prey from their lurking spot high in the tree canopy, the knuckles of their long fingers and toes white as they squeeze a tree branch in anticipation of squeezing the life out of you? It's the face of evil.

Mandrill Digits

Ushindi, a mandrill at the Franklin Park Zoo, shows off his fangs and his quasi-opposable thumbs and big toes. I never realized how much like a tree frog feet mandrill's hands and feet could look when pressed against plexiglass. But here, at Ugly Overload, you learn something new all the time. Even if it's completely useless.

Photo source: (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)