Where Primates Live
Video, LESSONS, AND ACTIVITIES

Activities for understanding where in the world primates live
​and the importance of preserving and protecting their natural habitats
The video below takes you on a tour to visit the continents on which primates naturally live.
Human primates, of course, inhabit every continent. What about our primate cousins? Where do they come from? And, just as importantly, where do they NOT come from? This question may invite conversations about why monkeys and apes are living in parts of the world that are unnatural for them.

Then have fun while learning!

Watch

Discover, Play, and Learn

Five activities bring you on a journey of discovery of where in the world primates live
​and the need to preserve and protect their natural habitats. 

Goals

Here's What You'll Learn:
  • World geography as pertains to natural primate distribution and habitats
  • The continents on which nonhuman primates are native
  • That human primates inhabit all continents
  • The natural worldwide distribution of nonhuman primates
  • What primates are and the differences in their biological order
  • The differences between great apes, lesser apes, monkeys, and prosimians
  • The differences between Old World and New World monkeys

Objectives:
  • Learn that human primates inhabit all continents and impact the viability of our nonhuman cousins
  • Understand the need to protect nonhuman primate habitats and, thereby, the primates that live in them
  • Understand where in the world nonhuman primates belong and where they do not belong
  • ​Consider the ethical dilemmas inherent in keeping nonhuman primates where they do not belong
  • Understand that over 66% of primate species are at risk of extinction
  • Understand that primates need to live wild in their natural habitats, and not in unnatural captive conditions
HELPFUL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

​Primates 101

What Are Primates?

​Primates are placental mammals that typically have flexible hands and feet with opposable thumbs, fingernails, forward facing color vision, and highly developed brains. 

There are an estimated 703 species and subspecies of primates.
​Over 66% of primate species are endangered. ​What can you do to protect them? Step 1: Learn about them!
​
Are all primates monkeys? NO!
The biological order of primates is divided into the following classifications:

Great Apes
Bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, humans, and orangutans


​Sumatran orangutans are great apes
Higher Primates
New World and Old World monkeys​

​
White-faced capuchins are New World monkeys
Lesser Apes
Gibbons



​
​Silvery gibbons are lesser apes
Prosimians
Lorises, pottos, galagos (bushbabies), tarsiers and lemurs

​Philippine tarsiers are prosimians
Research and Learn:

Explore the resources listed below to learn the differences between great apes, lesser apes, monkeys, and prosimians, including:

  • What are their major differentiating characteristics?
​
  • Who has tails? Who does not have tails?
 
  • What are the differences in where and how they live?
 
  • What else can did you learn about their differences?

​Resources:
What Does It Mean?
​Here are a few definitions to help.
​​Placental Mammals:
Any member of the mammal family characterized by the presence of a placenta, which facilitates exchange of nutrients and wastes between the blood of the mother and that of the fetus.

Opposable thumb:
A thumb that can be placed opposite the fingers of the same hand. Opposable thumbs allow the digits to grasp and handle objects and are a characteristic of primates.

​Neotropical: 
Relating to, or constituting the tropical New World biogeographic region that extends south, east, and west from the central plateau of Mexico.
​
Check out the Glossary for more definitions.

​New World vs. Old World​

What's the Difference Between New World and Old World Monkeys?

​New World Monkeys

  • Found from southern Mexico to Central and South America, except in the highest mountains
  • Are more primitive than Old World monkeys.
  • Their brains are considered less complex than those of Old World monkeys
  • Their thumbs, when present, are not opposable
  • Their nostrils are further apart and tend to point outward
  • ​Most have 36 teeth
  • ​They have slender bodies and limbs with long narrow hands
  • Most have a prehensile or partially prehensile tail
  • Include marmosets, tamarins, titis, capuchins, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys, howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, owl monkeys, the sakis, and the uakaris.​
​
No apes, other than humans, live in the New World

Old World Monkeys

  • Found in southern Asia, with a few species as far north as Japan and northern China, and in all of Africa except the most arid deserts
  • Most, but not all, have opposable thumbs
  • Their tails are are never prehensile
  • Their nostrils are close together and tend to point downward
  • Many species have cheek pouches to hold food, and many have thick pads on their buttocks
  • ​They have 32 teeth
  • Are more closely related to the apes and, therefore, humans than they are to the New World monkeys
  • Include macaques, baboons, mandrills, mangabeys, colobus, langurs, vervets, lemurs, galagos, pottos, tariers, lorises, patas, proboscis, guenons, and snub-nosed monkeys.
All apes are found in Old World regions of the world.

​Research and Learn:

​Research and list some other differences between New World and Old World monkeys.

How many can you find?

What species demonstrate those differences?

What countries are they from?

What continents are they from?

​How do those characteristics benefit them in their natural habitats?
​
What Does It Mean?
​Here are a few definitions to help.
Opposable:
Capable of being placed opposite to something else.

Prehensile:
Adapted for seizing, grasping, or taking hold of something.

​​Cheek pouches:
A sac in the cheek of certain animals in which food may be carried.
​
​Check out the Glossary for more definitions

Where They don't belong​

Where in the world nonhuman primates do not belong

Worldwide Distribution of Nonhuman Primates
Research and Learn:
​
​Take a look at the world map above. It depicts the natural worldwide distribution of nonhuman primates.

  • In what countries and regions do nonhuman primates NOT naturally live?

  • Why do you think they do not live there?

  • Why do they live where they do?

  • Why and where are they found in countries and regions in which they do not belong?

  • What are the ethical dilemmas of keeping them in countries outside of their native habitats?

​Name That Species​

​Find your favorite primate species
​
Visit Primate Species Profiles to find you favorite primate species and learn more about it.
​Write an essay or draw a picture that depicts:
​
  • Where does that primate species live?
​
  • Is the species from the New World or Old World?
​
  • How do they live?
​
  • What do they eat?
​
  • How do they communicate?
​
  • How does their habitat influence what they eat, how they behave, and how they communicate?
​
  • What are some fun facts about the species?
​
  • What is the species' conservation status?
​
  • What are the threats to the future of the species?
The mandrill is an Old World monkey and the largest of all monkeys.
​Who's your favorite?

Card Games​

Primates and Their Habitats Card Games
​
Activities for introducing the diversity of nonhuman primate species ​and the habitats ​in which they live​. 

Did you know that some monkeys live in cities? That some live in semi-deserts? And some live in snow-covered mountains? ​​Find out who lives where while playing card fun games. 36 game cards are divided into 27 primate cards and 9 habitat cards. Select from 4 card games.
​
Here's what the cards look like.
Visit Primate Habitat Matching Game to download the card deck and for game instructions.

Print the Game Cards and Play

Picture
Primates and Their Habitats playing cards
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Copyright © New England Primate Conservancy 2016-2018. You may freely use, copy and share these Learning Activities for educational purposes. 
​For questions or comments, e-mail us at info@neprimateconservancy.org. 
© 2017-2019 New England Primate Conservancy.
​All Rights Reserved.