The Year of the Monkey requires some explanation. Here is our primate primer. 

The monkey is the 9th of 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac.
Monkeys are primates.
Let’s look at some of our favorites!
First, the ape.
It’s not actually a monkey, but another primate. Still, they’re good friends.
An ape has no tail.
There are great apes and lesser apes, depending on their size. Lesser apes include the gibbon. We’re not talking about the gibbon.
Let’s meet our two favorite great apes.
The gorilla.
The gorilla lives in Central Africa. Adult males have a streak of silver hair on their backs, and why they’re known as “Silverbacks.”
Our other favorite Great Ape: the Chimpanzee.
They also live in Africa. They eat everything they can, similar to some of us! Perhaps too similar.
Now that we’ve got apes off our back, back to monkeys.
You have your Old World , and your New World.
They all have tails.
New World monkey tails – have prehensile tails, meaning their – can grab onto things.
Old World monkeys can’t do that. Grasp or hold objects with their tails.
Whatever you do, please do not tie a monkey’s tail into a knot.
There are more than 250 kinds of monkeys in the world, including the howler and the golden.
There are more differences among these primates, but for now, remember that all monkeys are our friends. Except the gibbon.
So let’s peel some bananas and welcome 2016, the Year of the Monkey!