Monkeys and apes are both primates, which means they’re both part of the human family tree. As distinguished relatives, we should probably be able to tell them apart and if you happen to go on a primate safari, you can see these two incredible wildlife up-close and personal in Mgahinga National Park.

Before looking at differences, it’s important to know that apes and monkeys are both primates. There are more than 300 species of primates on Earth, including human beings and other apes, monkeys, and prosimians, such as lemurs. Primates are distinguished by having hands, handlike feet, and forward-facing eyes. Except for humans, most primates are agile tree-dwellers.

Monkeys’ vs Apes

Given that lemurs and humans are both primates, for example, you can see that there are significant differences between the many different types of primates. Most of the differences can be described in terms of physical characteristics and evolutionary development over time.

Apes have no tail

The easiest way to tell the difference between apes and monkeys is the presence or absence of tail. Why don’t apes have tails? They’ve developed a different form of locomotion that doesn’t need them and spend less time in the treetops, compared to monkeys which largely live in the tree canopy.

Body size and shape

Apes’ body shape and skeleton are much closer to those of humans. They are usually larger and heavier than monkeys and have broad chests with shoulder joints that help them to swing through trees.
Monkeys’ body shape is more similar to other mammals, which is generally smaller than apes with a narrow chest. Their skeletal structure is similar to a mid-size mammal like dog.

Movement

Apes have a much more upright body position compared to monkeys, which allows them to walk comfortably on their two hind legs like humans. They also have evolved shoulder joints to help them use their arms to swing from branch to branch, a movement that is also known as brachiating.
Meanwhile, monkeys are usually running on tree branches rather than brachiating. On the ground, monkeys walk with the entire sole of the foot touching the ground but with the palm of the hand raised – they almost never walk bipedally.

Relative Intelligence

This one may not be easy to tell from a quick glance, but apes are relatively more intelligent than monkeys. They have larger brain to body size ratio than monkeys, which makes them able to think through and solve problems better. Chimpanzees, the closest apes to humans genetically, can even create and use simple tools to help them gather and access food.

Communication Skills

As with other primates, apes and monkeys spend their lives in complex, tightly woven societies and frequently communicate with each other.

Both of them communicate with smells, visual messages, sounds, and touch. Monkeys are able to use sound and body language to communicate with each other, but apes have far more advanced cognitive and language skills.

Although they don’t have the required physiological adaptations to produce speech, they show extensive language capability. Apes can even be taught to use sign language, body movements, and even technology to communicate with humans.

Where do monkeys and apes live?

Three species of great ape live in Africa: chimpanzees, eastern gorillas, western gorillas, and bonobos. The fifth species of great apes, orangutans, are only found in Southeast Asia. Lesser apes, like gibbons and siamangs, live in both Africa and Asia. These species are called lesser simply because of their size. Monkeys are a bit more spread out, named aptly by where they live— old world monkeys live in Africa and Asia, while new world monkeys live from Mexico on down through South America.

How do monkeys and apes differ in intelligence & behavior?

Primates are generally thought of as highly social and intelligent animals. Both monkeys and apes have the extraordinary ability of cognitive mapping, enabling them to remember where various food, danger, and landmarks might be in their home range. Both also use sounds and body language to communicate with each other.

Apes, however, have a much larger brain-to-body-size ratio than monkeys. Ongoing research studies have shown that some apes are capable of higher levels of cognition and communication than monkeys. Apes can problem solve and create and use simple tools, as Jane Goodall saw chimpanzees do for the first time in Gombe in 1960.