Meet The Rhesus Monkey
The rhesus monkey is a well-known type of Asian primate, mainly due to its enormous use in experiments. Although they are not threatened, many criticize the bad conditions that these animals suffered to obtain scientific advances of enormous caliber.
Where does the rhesus monkey live?
The rhesus monkey is a haplorrhine primate, which means we ‘re talking about an Old World monkey. It is a cercopithecus, as is the green monkey, but in this case we are referring to a member of the genus Macaca , such as the gibraltar monkey.
This is a known invasive alien species as it can be found in Florida as well as Morgan Island. Some of these animals were released, although in other cases this was due to natural disasters such as hurricanes.
What are the characteristics of the rhesus monkey?
The rhesus monkey is a medium-sized primate that barely exceeds eight pounds in weight. They are species that have a tail of about 20 centimeters, with gray and brown fur and a pink face.
We are talking about diurnal animals, which live both in trees and on the ground. They are animals that normally move like quadrupeds, although they can also move using their hind limbs.
It has also been observed that these animals consume termites, grasshoppers, ants and beetles. Like other monkeys, they have cheeks where they can temporarily store food.
the intelligence of the species
Monkeys, like other primates, are animals that live in groups of 20 to 200 individuals. Typically, there are four times as many females as males and both have separate hierarchies.
Females do not leave the group and their hierarchy is given by inheritance. It is interesting to note that younger females tend to quickly surpass their older sisters in the hierarchy.
A social animal requires great intelligence and a good communication system. Like other primates, rhesus monkeys use facial expressions, vocalizations and gestures to communicate through submission positions or affiliated behaviors, such as grooming , which is when monkeys take care of each other.
Rhesus monkeys are extremely intelligent, and an example of this is their ability to monitor their own mental state and understand simple rules. There are also records of when a monkey tried to wake up another that was unconscious on a train tracks.
the monkey and the research
The rhesus monkey has also been a species that has contributed immensely in medical research, becoming the most used primate in this discipline.
An example of this is the Rh factor, a red blood cell protein that allows the detection of blood types in humans and was discovered thanks to this species.
Another of the famous studies that have been done with this monkey were Harry Harlow’s deprivation groups. In them, monkeys were taken from their mothers and later allowed to choose between a wire mother that provided milk or a stuffed animal that did not provide food.
The puppies chose the mother they could hug at the expense of their health. Harlow did more experiments that are currently described as cruel, although at the time, the results made it possible to change all the care that was given to orphaned children.
This monkey has also contributed to the development of vaccines, treatments and diagnoses for diseases such as rabies, polio, HIV and smallpox. He even traveled to space, and for that reason we owe many things to this primate who suffered from the progress of man.
