Primates and Their Habitats

Primates and their Habitats

Activities for introducing the diversity of nonhuman primate species
and the habitats in which they live

Most nonhuman primates live in the world’s rainforests. But did you know that some live in dry semi-deserts? Or that some live in cold, snowy mountains and other regions that may surprise you? Did you know that, because we humans are moving our settlements into their habitats, some primates live in cities alongside humans? Yet—despite the diversity of their habitats—did you know that over 66% of the world’s primate species are endangered? All are at risk due to habitat loss—and most habitat loss is due to human activity.

Nonhuman primates are indicator species for the health of ecosystems. That means that if their habitats are in danger, so is every other creature that lives there. Each ecosystem includes exactly the right number, combination, and diversity of plants and animals to create a beautiful, interdependent relationship that allows it to flourish. This interdependence is why biodiversity exists. Biodiversity keeps the Earth and her creatures living and thriving.

The good news is that because most habitat destruction is due to human activity, it is preventable, repairable, and reversible. We cannot and should not sit back and wait for someone else to do something. We must each be the change that we hope for.

The first step is to learn about the many diverse primate species, where they naturally live, and what they need to thrive, survive, and produce future generations. Their futures are dependent upon the survival of the ecosystems that nurture and support them, and that they nurture in return.

Learn where your favorite monkeys and apes live as you enjoy playing these card games. And maybe someday you can help protect them.

Learning Goals:

Introduction to the diversity of primate species
Gain familiarity with the difference between apes, monkeys, and prosimians
Understand that primate species can vary greatly in appearance
Learn where in the world primate species naturally live
Learn some world geography
Understand that nonhuman primates live naturally in habitats to which they are specifically adapted
Learn that, although most primate species live in the canopy of the world’s rainforests, many live in other surprising habitats
Gain awareness that animal species are adapted to nourish their habitats and those same habitats nourish the animals that live in them
Learn that a primate’s appearance can be an indicator of its native habitat

Play and Learn

THE DECK

The cards in this photo are printed on white card stock

FEATURED PRIMATES

The cards introduce but a few of the 703 species and subspecies of nonhuman primates. Click the button below to find out...

Who's in the Cards

FEATURED HABITATS

The habitats are identified as “suits” on the cards by the following icons:

THE GAMES

Monkey Match-Up

A memory game for younger players

Advanced Concentration

A more challenging memory and matching game

One-Handed Solitaire

A fun solitaire game

Go Fish—With a Twist

A “fishing” game for multiple players

MATERIALS AND PREPARATION

1. Download the printable game cards.

Click here to download

2. Print the cards. For best results, print on card stock. Laminate if you wish.

3. Cut out the cards to create a deck of 36 cards.

36 game cards are divided into 27 primate cards and 9 habitat cards.
Please note that there are three times as many rainforest cards in the deck, because most nonhuman primates live in the world’s tropical rainforests.

HELPFUL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Primate Facts
- The biological order of primates
- Where primates live
- The differences between New World and Old World monkeys
Where Primate Live Video and Activity
Life in the World’s Tropical Rainforests
Conservation Statuses: What Do They Mean?
People and Other Primates
Africa’s Primates At-a-Glance
Asia’s Primates At-a-Glance
Latin America’s Primates At-a-Glance
Primate Species Profiles
What You Can Do to Help Animals and the Environment

monkey Match-Up

A memory and matching game
for younger players

Educational Objectives:

Players correctly match primate picture cards and become familiar with how different and alike primate species are
Players correctly match primate habitat cards, becoming familiar with the notion that the world has a variety of ecological habitats
Players may understand that specific primate species live in specific habitats

OBJECT OF THE GAME:
Turn over pairs of exactly matching cards by matching the primate or habitat photos in the cards.
The game can be played with one, two, or more players.

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Print two sets of Primate Habitats Cards.

2. Select exactly matching cards from each of the decks to form pairs. Select the number of pairs that best suits the ages of the players and the number of players. Since this is a memory game, younger players may do better with fewer cards to recall. If playing with 2 or more players, add pairs so everyone can have several turns.

3. Shuffle the deck.

4. Lay out, face down, 4 rows of 4 cards (8 matching pairs), 4 rows of 5 cards (10 matching pairs), or 4 rows of 6 cards (12 matching pairs), depending upon the number of pairs you have selected for your players.

5. In turn, each player chooses 2 cards and turns them face up. If they are the same photo, that player wins a pair and plays again. Matching cards are removed from the game and held by the player until the end of the game.

6. If they are not the same cards, the cards are turned face down again and the player to the left takes their turn.

7. The game ends when the last pair has been picked up.

8. The winner is the person with the most pairs. There may be a tie for first place.

9. Learn more about the primates and habitats in the cards here: Who’s In the Cards?

This is a match

This is not a match

advanced concentration

A more challenging memory and matching game

Educational Objectives:

Players correctly match primate species to their natural native habitats
Players become familiar with a variety of primate species
Players become familiar with a variety of primate habitats and learn that the world has a variety of ecosystems
Players learn which primate species live in which habitats
Players learn, from the cards, the country of each species and its habitat (world geography)

OBJECT OF THE GAME:
Turn over pairs of matching cards by matching the habitat icons (suits) depicted in the corners of the cards.
The game can be played with one, two, or more players.

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Shuffle the deck.

2. Lay all cards face down in 4 rows of 9 cards per row, or 6 rows of 6 cards per row.

3. In turn, each player chooses 2 cards and turns them face up. If they are from the same habitat, that player wins a pair and plays again. Matching cards are removed from the game and held by the player until the end of the game.

4. If they are not from the same habitat, the cards are turned face down again and the player to the left takes their turn.

5. The game ends when the last pair has been picked up.

6. The winner is the person with the most pairs. There may be a tie for first place.

7. For added interest, print and add more game cards to the game.

8. Learn more about the Primates and Habitats in the cards here: Who’s In the Cards?

Lay out the cards face down

An example of the same habitat “suit”

One-handed solitaire

A fun solitaire game

Educational Objectives:

Players become familiar with primate species
Players become familiar with primate habitats
Players learn which primate species live in which habitats
Players become learn that the world has a variety of ecosystems
Players learn, from the cards, the country of each species and its habitat (world geography)

OBJECT OF THE GAME:
A fun picture card game to play alone
Can be played in the hand and does not require table or other surface

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Shuffle the deck.

2. Hold the shuffled deck face down in your hand.

3. Draw 4 cards from the back of the deck and place them on top, fanned out, so that the picture and habitat suits can be seen.

4. If the 1st and 4th card are the same picture type—that is, either both are habitat pictures or both are primate pictures—discard the 2 middle cards, placing them on your lap or other surface.

5. If there are previously drawn cards in your hand, arrange them so that 4 cards are visible.

6. If there are not enough cards to do this, draw from the back so that 4 cards are visible.

7. If the 1st and 4th card are the same habitat suit, discard all 4 cards.

8. Again, if there are previously drawn cards in your hand, rearrange the hand so that 4 cards are visible.

Hold the deck in one hand, face down

If the 1st & 4th are primates...

Draw from the deck until 4 cards are visible

Draw 4 cards from the back of the deck and facing you

Or if the 1st & 4th are habitats...

An example of the 1st & 4th cards being the same suit

Discard the 2 middle cards

9. If there are not enough cards to do this, draw from the back so that 4 cards are visible.

10. Continue in this fashion until the end of the deck is reached. If all cards are discarded, you win the game.

11. An optional rule to increase the odds of winning: Previously drawn cards can be redrawn after the deck has been cycled through, preserving the original sequence of the cards.

12. Learn more about the Primates and Habitats in the cards: Who’s In the Cards?

Go Fish—with a twist

A “fishing” game for multiple players

Educational Objectives:

Players become familiar with primate species
Players become familiar with primate habitats
Players learn which primate species live in which habitats
Players learn, from the cards, the country of each species and its habitat (world geography)
Players teach each other about the world’s primates and their habitats

A “fishing” game for 2, 3, 4, or 5 players of all ages.
The twist? Players teach each other about the world’s primates and their habitats while playing.

OBJECT OF THE GAME:
Win the most “books” of cards. A book is any four of a kind, such as four rainforest habitat cards, four rocky cliff habitats, four savanna habitat cards, and so on.

THE HABITATS:

THE DEAL:
A dealer is designated. The dealer shuffles the cards and deals five cards clockwise one at a time, face down, beginning with the player to his or her left. The remainder of the pack is placed face down on the table to form the stock pile.

The Deal

HOW TO PLAY: 
1. Each player gets five cards. Hold your cards up in front of you and do not let the other players see your cards.

Player 1

Player 2

Player 3

2. If you are dealt four of a kind (four of the same habitat suit cards = a book), remove them from your hand and lay them on the table in front of you. You get a point. Announce, “These primates (specify the species) from these regions (name the geographic region) live in this habitat (specify the habitat type)” and show the pictures to the other players as you describe them.

Step 2 with 4 urban habitat cards. Announce: Common marmosets from Brazil, chacma baboons from South Africa, and rhesus macaques from central, south, and Southeast Asia live in urban habitats, showing the primate cards as you name them and showing the urban habitat card

3. Moving clockwise, players take turns asking one specific player for a given habitat card. If someone asks you for a habitat that you have, you must give all of your cards of that habitat to that player. If you do not have any cards of that habitat, tell you opponent to “go fish.” He or she takes one new card from the stock pile of cards.

4. If the stock pile gives the player their fourth habitat card, the player has a “book,” announces the primates, geographic regions, and habitats to the other players, and places the habitat “book” in front of him or her. A point is earned.

5. When it’s your turn, select a player you think might have a card you need. If the player has the desired card, he or she must pass it over to you. If that player has more than one card for the habitat that you seek, he or she must give them all to you. If not, you must “go fish.” If you receive the card you asked for, you go again.

After taking cards from the pile, you may have more than 5 cards in your hand

6. When you receive a card you requested, show the card to the other players. Announce to the other players the name of the habitat, the primate, and the geographic region he or she is from, and show the photos of the primate/s and/or habitat depicted in the cards.

Please note: since most non-human primates live in rainforests, there are three sets of four rainforest groupings. A book of four rainforest cards must consist of three primates and one habitat picture.

A rainforest habitat match

7. When you get the fourth card of a book, show all four cards to the other players and announce, “These primates (specify the species) from these regions (name the geographic regions) live in this habitat (specify the habitat type)” and show the pictures to the other players. Then place the card on the table face up in front of yourself, and take another turn.

Step 7, announce: Sumatran orangutans from Sumatra, Indonesia, common squirrel monkeys from South America, and white-headed capuchin monkeys from Latin America, all live in the rainforest, showing the primate cards as you name them and rainforest habitat card

8. If you run out of cards and there are still cards left, you may draw five more cards from the deck.

9. Play continues until all hands are empty and there are no more cards to draw from. The winner is the player with the most points at the end of the game.

10. Find out more about Who’s In the Cards?

Two “books” of cards—rainforest habitat and urban habitat = 2 points

Click or tap to enlarge thumbnails

Who‘s In the cards?

Following are the digital versions of the playing cards.
Habitats are described to the left of the habitat cards.
Click on each primate species for a full profile of the species and to learn about the species.

Mangrove Habitat

A mangrove is a tidal swamp ecosystem found in tropical deltas, estuaries, lagoons, or islands.

Mangrove trees have developed unique adaptations to their harsh conditions.

Mountain Habitat

Mountains provide a diverse array of habitats in which a large range of plants and animals may be found. On some mountains, species that live there may be found nowhere else in the world.

Rainforest Habitat

A rainforest is a tropical woodland with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches (254 cm). It is marked by lofty broad-leaved evergreen trees forming a continuous canopy.

We included 3 sets of rainforest cards because most nonhuman primates live in the world’s tropical rainforests.

Learn more about Life in Tropical Rainforests

Rock Cliffs Habitat

A cliff is a vertical, or nearly vertical, rock exposure formed by the processes of weathering and erosion. The lack of soil, highly acidic bedrock, and constant erosion, limit the vegetation to mosses, lichens, and herbs growing on bare rock or crevices, and to sparse trees and shrubs rooted in deeper soil pockets.

Savanna Habitat

A savanna is a plain characterized by coarse grasses and scattered tree growth, especially on the margins of the tropics or subtropics where the rainfall is seasonal.

Semi-Arid Habitat

A semi-arid habitat is characterized by relatively low annual rainfall and having scrubby vegetation with short, coarse grasses. It is not completely arid.

Urban Habitat

Urban habitats are areas dominated by human activities and human constructions. These include towns, cities and associated landscapes.

Copyright © New England Primate Conservancy 2018, You may freely use, copy and share these Learning Activities for educational purposes.
For questions or comments, e-mail us at info@neprimateconservancy.org.