A spider monkey named Elvis at the Boise Zoo in Boise, Idaho, USA recently celebrated his 60th birthday. He is currently the oldest known spider monkey in the world. Zoo staff are unsure of Elvis' exact birth date, but they celebrate him on July 2 every year.
Elvis had a black coat and a small white patch on his forehead. He uses these long limbs to swing from tree to tree, grabbing food along the way. It is very lively, a bit grumpy towards male employees, and does not like any male employees working in the zoo, but only likes female employees and is full of protectiveness towards them.
Spider monkeys are usually found in Mexico , Panama and Ecuador , and generally like to stay in high tree crowns. They have flexible shoulder joints that help them move easily between branches, but no opposable thumbs.
Their hook-shaped hands can swing quickly through the trees. Additionally it has a prehensile tail that can be used like a fifth leg. There is a friction pad on the underside of the tail that allows greater flexibility and is as unique as a human fingerprint. Although coloration varies between species, all babies are born with pink faces and ears.
Spider monkeys typically feed on fruit, which a study earlier this year found typically has an alcohol concentration of between 1% and 2% by volume, a by-product of natural fermentation.
Robert Dudley, a biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who has been studying humans' love of alcohol for the past 25 years, wrote a book in 2014 arguing that it began in our apes and Monkey ancestors.
The study, published in March, supports the "drunken monkey" hypothesis and adds to our understanding of how alcoholism first develops in the human brain.
In addition, the researchers collected urine from these free-ranging monkeys and found that the urine contained secondary metabolites of alcohol.
This result suggests that the animals are actually using alcohol for energy, and not just through their bodies.
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