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Primates

An intrepid male orangutan crosses an artificial bridge connecting trees on either side of a public road.

Watch the First Known Video of a Sumatran Orangutan Crossing a Human-Made Wildlife Bridge in the Treetops

A public road in Indonesia separates forests housing about 350 wild orangutans, among other animals. So, conservationists built several canopy bridges to prevent habitat fragmentation

The monkeys sometimes steal food from tourists.

Gibraltar’s Famous Monkeys Are Eating Dirt, Likely to Alleviate Stomach Aches From Munching on Tourists’ Junk Food

The British territory’s Barbary macaques are the only wild monkeys in Europe. But many are consuming human snacks high in calories, sugar, salt and dairy, and low in fiber

Chimpanzees from the Western group attacking members of the Central group in 2019.

These Wild Chimps Have Been Fighting in a ‘Civil War’ for Nearly a Decade. It’s the Bloodiest Split Ever Seen Among Their Kind

The Ngogo chimpanzees in Uganda have divided themselves into two main factions, and dozens of deaths have been recorded since the split in 2018. A new study details the unprecedented violence, which could shed light on the evolutionary underpinnings of human warfare

Punch with his stuffed animal

Why Has Punch, an Adorable Baby Monkey, Struggled to Fit in With His Troop? Scientists Explain the Lives of Japanese Macaques

Experts say the other monkeys’ aggressive behaviors toward Punch are pretty normal

Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) get jealous of their siblings' grooming sessions. 

Like Humans, Baboons Get Jealous of Their Siblings

A new study found that young baboons try to interrupt their mother when she is grooming a sibling

Rhesus macaques at the Oregon National Primate Research Center

A Massive Monkey Research Center Might Turn Into a Primate Sanctuary. Animal Activists Rejoice, While Scientists Worry

The Oregon National Primate Research Center will explore a potentially federally supported transition with the National Institutes of Health

A polar bear cub walks along the ice in Svalbard, Norway.

See 24 Astounding Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest—and Vote for Your Favorite

The public will choose the winner of the People’s Choice award in a vote that runs from February 4 to March 18

A neural circuit that processes motivation and reward seems to act as a "brake" when faced with an unpleasant task, a study suggests.

Can’t Get Started on a Daunting Task? This Brain Circuit That Slams the Brakes on Motivation Might Be to Blame

Monkey experiments hint at a “motivation brake” pathway between two brain regions. Manipulating it may lead to new treatments for depression and other psychiatric conditions

Same-sex behaviors seem to be common among rhesus macaques.

Biologists Reveal How Same-Sex Sexual Behavior May Have Given Some Primates an Evolutionary Advantage

Nonhuman primates like bonobos and chimpanzees might engage in same-sex sexual activities to strengthen bonds, particularly in harsh environments or within strict social structures, a new study suggests

Bones from a chimpanzee on the left, Sahelanthropus tchadensis in the center, and an Australopithecus species on the right

New Fossil Analysis Suggests This Seven-Million-Year-Old Primate Walked on Two Legs, Potentially Making It the Oldest Known Human Ancestor

Fresh findings about arm and leg bones advance the debate over whether Sahelanthropus tchadensis was bipedal, but not everyone is convinced

The Burtele foot, discovered in 2009

The Human Relative Who Owned This 3.4-Million-Year-Old Foot May Have Belonged to a Species That Lived Alongside Lucy

Newfound fossils in modern-day Ethiopia suggest that the mysterious foot belonged to a recently named species, Australopithecus deyiremeda. The finding could alter the story of human evolution

Chimpanzees, like some other apes, kiss each other on the lips. 

How Did Humans End Up Smooching on the Lips? It May Have Started Out With a 21-Million-Year-Old Kiss

Our ancient primate relatives—including Neanderthals—may have enjoyed a nice peck on the lips. But researchers still don’t know why we do it

A population of black-and-white ruffed lemurs on Madagascar is experiencing changes in the cadence of its breeding, researchers say.

Lemurs Are Having a Mysterious ‘Baby Boom’ in Madagascar. Here’s Why That Might Not Be a Good Thing

Researchers are investigating a sudden spike in pregnancies in one black-and-white ruffed lemur population that might signal environmental stress to the mammals

Two chimpanzees sit in the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Uganda, where the study took place.

Chimpanzees Weigh Evidence to Make a Smart Choice, in a Process Resembling Human Rationality

When presented with multiple clues about the location of food, chimps revised their choices based only on stronger clues, indicating they were comparing the worth of pieces of information

These six keel-billed toucans were discovered bound and sedated in June by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The Wildlife Confiscations Network helped find experts at qualified facilities to care for the birds.

Once Smuggled Animals Are Rescued, Law Enforcement Officers Call Her

As coordinator of the Wildlife Confiscations Network, Mandy Fischer helps match trafficked animals—from alligators to jaguars to baby monkeys—with sanctuaries and care facilities

The epigenetic clock is emerging as a wildlife conservation tool.

This ‘Clock’ Could Warn of Hidden Stresses to Animals, Offering a Long-Sought Signal That a Population Is Nearing Collapse

The epigenetic clock measures biological age and could help scientists assess the health of polar bears, dolphins, baboons and other threatened creatures “while recovery is still possible”

Jane Goodall visiting a chimpanzee rescue center in 2018 in Entebbe, Uganda

Jane Goodall, Legendary Primatologist and Anthropologist, Dies at 91

She was considered the world’s leading expert on chimpanzees and was renowned for her global conservation efforts

Chimpanzees in Uganda's Kibale National Park love eating figs, which scientists found had the highest level of alcohol at the site.

Chimps Consume the Equivalent of 2.5 Alcoholic Drinks per Day by Eating Fermented Fruit, Study Finds

Scientists report that chimpanzees consume about 14 grams of alcohol daily and suggest the result might help explain humans’ interest in booze

Many rodents have nails on their thumbs and claws on the rest of their fingers. A new study suggests this trait might have been key to their world domination.

Rodents Conquered the World With the Help of Their Thumbnails, Study Suggests

The trait might have given rodents greater manual dexterity, allowing them to access new foods, such as nuts

Five-year-old Segi, rescued in 2021, learns how to climb at “jungle school,” run by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation.

An Orangutan Sanctuary in Borneo Is Giving the Endangered Primates a Second Chance, Just When They Need It Most

The critically endangered species gets a helping hand from an Indonesian facility as the island’s human population is about to explode

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