Monkey Day is observed every year on 14 December. It is observed to celebrates monkeys and “all things simian”, including other non-human primates such as apes, tarsiers, and lemurs. Monkey Day is celebrated worldwide and often also known as World Monkey Day and International Monkey Day.
On the similar line, 3 March is observed as World Wildlife Day. It is held every year by all member states of the UN. It is aimed to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants. The theme of World Wildlife Day 2021 is “Forests and Livelihoods: sustaining people and planet.”
Here is list of some endangered species of monkey:
- Indri – Found in Madagascar, this lemur faces hunting due to hunting and deforestation.
- Roloway monkey – This bearded monkey found in Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana lives in tropical forests. They’re hunted for their meat.
- Western chimpanzee – Another monkey threatened by hunting, it has a larger territory. They live in the rainforests and savannahs of western Africa.
- Ecuadorian White-Fronted Capuchin – Locals hunt them because the White-fronted Capuchins threaten local crops. The Capuchins range through Ecuador and Peru.
History of World Monkey Day
Beginning in 2000 when they were both students at Michigan State University, contemporary artists Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin created and popularized Monkey Day. The Day was jokingly scribbled on a friend’s calendar, and then they celebrated the holiday with other MSU art students. Sorrow and Millikin became famous when they included Monkey Day in their artwork and alternative comics that they published online and exhibited internationally with other artists.
There are many countries that celebrate Monkey Day, including the United States, Canada, Italy, India, Pakistan, Estonia, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Thailand, and Turkey.
Monkey Day is an annual event at many zoos. There is an annual World Monkey Day celebration at the Lahore Zoo in Pakistan that includes art competitions and educational activities about monkeys, such as over one hundred children wearing monkey masks, readings about monkeys, and performances to highlight the threats monkeys face and their evolution. Tallinn Zoo in Estonia celebrates Monkey Day by auctioning artwork created by chimpanzees and conducting intelligence tests on Japanese macaques.