• Question: if monkeys eat bananas all the time does that mean that they dont like apples??

    Asked by chloo to Austin, Kirsty, Nicola, Nike, Sarah on 18 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Austin Elliott

      Austin Elliott answered on 18 Jun 2012:

      I don’t know if monkeys prefer soft fruit, or if it’s just more common in the tropics where most monkeys live than hard fruit like apples. However, I’d be surprised if a monkey would turn down a nice apple…!

      One reason that monkeys need to eat fruit is that. like us humans, they don’t make (synthesise) Vitamin C. So they/we have to get it from the diet – ripe fruit often being a good source of Vitamin C.

    • Photo: Kirsty Ross

      Kirsty Ross answered on 19 Jun 2012:

      In addition to what Austin said, I’ve been to Monkeyworld in Dorset and the monkeys there are fed all sorts of fruit and veg. They usually hide it in tools to make the monkeys think about how to get at the food. In the wild monkeys are omnivores like us and will eat fruit, veg, insects and meat when they can get it.

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