Primates Handy creatures Primates such as chimpanzees and humans have hands with four fingers and a thumb. Humans, apes, monkeys, lemurs and tree-shrews all belong to a group of mammals called primates. Most are adapted to living in trees and have hands with fingers and feet with toes for gripping branches. Apes, including chimpanzees and gorillas, are our closest relatives in the animal world. Their bodies are a similar shape, and, like us, they have long arms and fingers and toes for gripping.
Some apes are very clever and use tools such as sticks and stones to help get food.
Monkeys such as baboons and marmosets are similar to apes but usually have a tail to help them balance as they swing through the trees. Some, like woolly monkeys, have a prehensile tail which they can use for gripping. But they are largely gentle and eat only leaves and shoots. Mountain gorillas are very rare and live only in scattered areas throughout central Africa. Chimpanzees remind us of ourselves with their sense of fun and expressive faces.