Monkey

Endangered tropical monkeys were seized in Turkey on Feb. 22.

An Istanbul court has indicted a Turkish social media influencer, Meriç İzgi, for smuggling wild animals into Turkey.

Three macaque monkeys have been seized from the YouTuber to date after İzgi got accused of separating them from their mothers and driving them to death.

Two baby macaque monkeys, rescued from illegal kidnapping at the Habur Border Gate of southeastern Gaziantep province, were named "Peanut" and "Olive" (Fıstık and Zeytin in Turkish) by the locals.

The names of two rhesus monkeys, which were seized by customs guards on the Iraqi border last week, will be determined by visitors of the Gaziantep Zoo.

A relaxing soak in a hot tub is a time-honored stress reliever but the advantages are not confined to humans, with monkeys also benefiting from spa time, researchers in Japan say.

German Justice Department has announced that three scientists from the prestigious Max Planck Institute are being prosecuted for  cruelty as part of experiments on animal brains, AFP reported.

Primates may be smarter than previously thought, as the tests they were subjected to were totally wrong, BTA quoted the Daily Mail as saying. The newspaper cites a joint study of British and American specialists. In the words of Dr. David Livens, hundreds of studies have intruded us that primates are smart, but not as much as humans.

Long-tailed macaques living near an Indonesian temple have figured out how to run a ransom racket on visiting tourists.

The monkeys grab valuables, such as glasses, hats, cameras or, in one case, a wad of cash from the ticket booth, then wait for temple staff to offer them food before dropping their ill-gotten gains and dashing off with the tasty prize (see video below).

The fire keeps burning. Last year was the turn of the Red Fire Monkey, now it is the turn of the Red Fire Rooster. According to Chinese astrology, the zodiac cycle consists of 12 animals taking their turn each year. But it is also the five elements - wood, fire, earth, metal and water - that give their own particular character to the animal.

Today is the start of the Chinese New Year, which happens to be a Monkey year. According to the 12-year cycle of animals in the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Monkey occupies the ninth place, this one being the year of the Red Fire Monkey. The cycle not only depends on animals, but also on the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water.