Monkey Coloring Pages

• Spider monkey: long arms and a tail that grips branches like an extra hand
• Capuchin: a clever monkey that uses stones to crack open nuts
• Howler monkey: its call carries for about three miles through the forest
• Squirrel monkey: small and quick, with a white face and a black muzzle
• Mandrill: the largest monkey, with a red and blue face
• Japanese macaque: the snow monkey that warms up in hot springs in winter
• Pygmy marmoset: the smallest monkey in the world, light enough to sit in your hand
• Golden lion tamarin: bright orange fur with a mane around its face

The quick way to tell a monkey from an ape is the tail. Most monkeys have one, and apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans don't. Only some monkeys from Central and South America can hang by their tails. Monkeys live in groups called troops and spend a lot of time grooming one another, which keeps them clean and keeps friendships strong. Wild monkeys eat much more than bananas: fruit, leaves, seeds, flowers and insects. A baby monkey clings to its mother's belly at first and rides on her back when it is older.

Monkey fur is mostly brown, black, gray or golden, but the faces are where the color is. A mandrill has a red stripe down its nose with ridged blue cheeks and a yellow beard. Snow monkeys have pink-red faces and thick gray-brown coats. Capuchins have a cream face and shoulders with a dark cap. Faces, ears, hands and feet have little hair, so color them in a skin tone: tan, pink, gray or black, depending on the kind. Use short pencil strokes for fur, and a marker for bananas and leaves.