National Monkey Day

National Monkey Day is a worldwide celebration of monkeys and other primates like apes, tarsiers, and lemurs held on December 14 every year.

The observance is also known as World Monkey Day, International Monkey Day, and simply Monkey Day.

Find out more about this celebration by reading these frequently asked questions about National Monkey Day.

When is National Monkey Day?

National Monkey Day is celebrated on December 14 every year around the world.

What day is National Monkey Day this year?

National Monkey Day falls on December 14 every year.

FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about the holiday.

How did National Monkey Day begin?

The celebration of all things monkey began in 2000 by artists Eric Millikin and Casey Sorrow. As art students at Michigan State, the two gained notoriety when included “Monkey Day” references in their artwork and online comics. What started as a spoof holiday took off from there.

Environmentalists, animal-rights activists, and artists soon got on board the Monkey Day cause, bringing national status. Hallmark Cards even gave its seal of approval, noting the holiday is “a day when monkey business is actually encouraged.”

How do I celebrate National Monkey Day?

Here are some ways you can celebrate and enjoy National Monkey Day with your family and friends:

1.) Learn – Go online and find out more about these highly intelligent primates. Check out the National Monkey Day comics and monkey-themed artwork created by prominent artists like David Malki, Rob Balder, and the day’s original creators (Sorrow and Millikin).

2.) Experience – Take a field trip to your local zoo and interact directly with the primates there. You’ll find they are charming and fascinating animals to observe. Many zoos offer special Monkey Day events.

3.) Donate – Contribute to a charitable organization like the International Primate Protection League, the National Wildlife Federation, or the Jane Goodall Institute to help fight for the conservation and preservation of primate habitats and sanctuaries.

4.) Have fun – Spend the day acting like a monkey! Throw a costume party to draw attention to simian-related issues like animal rights, medical research, and evolution. Serve Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream to your guests!

What do monkeys eat?

As omnivores, monkeys eat plant-based and meat foods. Their diet usually includes fruits, seeds, nuts, and some flowers. The meat they eat takes the form of small lizards, insects, and bird eggs.

Unless in a controlled environment, monkeys wouldn’t encounter bananas in the wild.

Monkey fun facts

Monkeys (also known as simians) are found all over the world. There are over 260 species found in Africa, Central America, South America, and Asia.

Monkeys are generally categorized as either Old World or New World monkeys. Old World monkeys, like baboons and macaques, live in Africa and Asia, and most do not have tails. New World monkeys, like marmosets, capuchins, and spider monkeys, live in the Americas, and most have prehensile tails.

The smallest monkey weighs only a few ounces (the pygmy marmoset), while the largest monkey (the male mandrill) can weigh up to 80 pounds.

Monkeys are family-oriented mammals. Groups of monkeys gathered together are called tribes or troops.

All monkeys are intelligent animals with opposable thumbs.

Some monkeys live in trees (arboreal monkeys), while other monkeys are savanna dwellers.

Some monkey species are endangered, like the black spider monkey, whose rainforest habitat is at risk of destruction.

Best monkey moments video

10 good monkey jokes

How does a monkey descend the stairs?
It slides down the banana-ster.

What do you call a monkey floating in the sky?
A hot air baboon!

What happens when you double-cross a monkey?
It goes bananas!

What time is it when a monkey gets fleas?
Lunchtime!

What do you call monkeys that share an Amazon account?
Prime-mates!

What did the banana say to the monkey?
Nothing. Bananas can’t talk.

Where do monkeys go for a cold one?
The monkey bars!

What’s a monkey’s favorite game?
Hangman.

What do you call the monkey that wins the gold medal?
A chimpion.

What do you call an angry monkey?
Furious George!

What did the monkey say when part of his tail was cut off?
It won’t be long now.

Where do monkeys get all their gossip?
They hear it through the ape vine.

Monkey captions for Instagram

It’s a jungle out there.

Suburban safari.

This place is a zoo.

Monkey see monkey do.

Watch out, zoo, here we come.

Monkeying around.

A wild and crazy place.

It’s all monkey business.

Cheeky monkey.

Monkey in the middle.

National Monkey Day hashtags

Use these hashtags when you post Monkey Day images to social media:

#NationalMonkeyDay
#MonkeyDay
#Monkeys
#monkeysofinstagram
#primate
#instamonkeys

Monkey quotes

Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.
Winston Churchill

One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun.
Jane Goodall

Monkeys are superior to men in this: when a monkey looks into a mirror, he sees a monkey.
Malcolm de Chazal

An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men.
Charles Darwin

Space. It seems to go on and on forever. Then you get to the end, and a monkey starts throwing barrels at you.
Phillip Fry(from Futurama)

The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.
Robert Benchley

Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn’t mean the circus has left town.
George Carlin

The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of its behind.
Joseph Sidwell

The mind is a monkey, hopping around from thought to thought, image to image. Rarely do more than a few seconds go by in which the mind can remain single-pointed, empty.
Dani Shapiro

The quizzical expression of the monkey at the zoo comes from his wondering whether he is his brother’s keeper or his keeper’s brother.
Evan Esar

The only reason why God created man is because he was disappointed with the monkey.
Mark Twain

Monkey quote meme

Monkey sayings

The most accomplished monkey cannot draw a monkey; this only man can do, just as it is also only man who regards his ability to do this as a distinct merit.
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

Comedians are the monkeys of acting. When you go to the zoo, everybody loves the monkey exhibit.
Tracy Morgan

Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage.
H.L. Mencken

If you ever start taking things too seriously, remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the universe.
Unknown

People go to the zoo, and they like the lion because it’s scary. And the bear because it’s intense, but the monkey makes people laugh.
Lorne Michaels

I am not nearly so interested in what monkey man was derived from as I am in what kind of monkey he is to become.
Loren Eiseley

I became fascinated with the concept of speak no, see no, hear no evil. And – and the actual depiction of three wise monkeys. … I began collecting it over the years. And I kind of figured that I might be the – the fourth monkey, the feel no evil monkey.
Mackenzie Phillips

I learned the way a monkey learns by watching its parents.
Prince Charles

By Phil Taylor

Phil writes science, politics, and religion.

Overtime

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