#not primate vid

[bignosebaby]

Human See, Human Post: How Social Media can Hurt Primates, and How we can Help.

"Animal influencers present their pets as perfect animals who love them and are sources of endless joy in their unique and quirky lives. Even those that preach responsible animal practices flatten the complexities into soundbites clean enough to keep even the most cautious animal lover clicking. This bombardment of pet primate content is appealing by design and a promotion for primate ownership that comic book ads could only dream of. Not only are these photos and videos of pet primates everywhere online, they draw you in. I love primates and if I didn’t know better I probably would find that video of a capuchin in a little outfit or that orangutan on roller skates pretty cute, but I know how they got there and where they go from here. No matter how sweet it looks, for the animal the likely scenario is birth to cage to YouTube to euthanasia at sexual maturity. There are variations, but a definite pattern.

Combatting the clickable tide of pet primate content is tough. I can’t expect someone scrolling their feed on lunch break to research the flood of animal videos one by one, or to respond well to accusations that the cute monkey video they hit like on is depicting animal cruelty.

Making money off of social media has never been more viable and while a pet monkey might cost a couple thousand dollars, the ad revenue, sponsorships, and fame from making pet monkey videos can cover the initial investment and then some. Clicks add up, and by taking yours away from someone and giving them to something better you can support ethical animal treatment and conservation without even thinking about it. Blocking and reporting accounts that post primate exploitation images while following and sharing accounts that post primates in ethical and healthy scenarios such as the wild, sanctuaries, or zoos, really matters.

The decades to come may see people equally appalled by the primate mistreatment disguised as love."

I wrote this article on primate welfare and social media! Read the full piece on Project Simia.

[taysanimaladventures]

Thaddeus finally got a new friend after his old partner passed and she.. uh.. does a great job helping him manscape.

[despazito]

internet search tips on how i sift through junk or mischaracterizing content when looking up visual animal references:

Use the scientific name instead of common name for less false ID (especially if you want to see real wolverines or jaguars instead of the x-men or car maker)

Instead of “baby“, try “juvenile” or a more species specific term (bird=chick, bovid=calf, carnivoran=cub, etc..)

If it’s a rarer animal without many results try searching its name in a native language, it’s usually on wikipedia

Search the scientific name in inaturalist for multiple party verified ID sightings with locations

Searching “skeletal” in place of “skeleton” gives different results and usually less products

try adding “zoo” to your search if you want to look at over-exploited viral species like otters, foxes, primates, or exotic cats. there can still be shady zoos but it weeds out videos of animals in people’s living rooms

Add “vet” if you’re searching for reference on how large/small an animal looks next to a human instead of exotic pet vids. vets and zoos can be very fond of sharing educational pics of an anesthetized animal’s cool features or a huge paw/teeth besides a human hand. vet visits for beloved zoo animals also tend to draw the media so there’s many articles written for them and in general i just love learning about weird vet procedures on exotic animals, 10/10 rabbit hole.

“Morph” or “mutation” tends to give you more legit resources on animal variations instead of photoshop edits.

Even though i know there’s a difference I also find that searching “leucistic” just gives you less fake stuff than the more commonly known albino or “white___” unless its a very common mutation. same with “dilute” instead of blue and such.

[thanks-for-the-memeries]

Like primates are crazy because they’re so intelligent, and social, but some of them are like unquantifiably strong too, and people act surprised when they lash out when they treat them like a human child/pet

[iamthekaijuking]

Here’s the skulls I made for the vid!

For garang I used Gorillas and Macaques for reference, and for luna I used members of Hesperocyoninae for reference because that’s what I think it is, but like with most things in monhun its phylogenetic placement in the tree of life is kinda subjective.

I don’t have much to say about garang other than, aside from a missing pair of premolars on the mandibles, the dental formula matches perfectly with primates.

I do have more to say on luna however. The pronounced snout arch makes me think Lunagaron might deal with a lot of bite stress and have a very powerful bite. There’s also the long teeth and notch in the tooth line on the upper jaw, which are obvious adaptations for fish eating, but the robustness of the teeth and the iron reinforcement makes me think luna might be more like a cursorial phytosaur or otter, able to eat a wide assortment of things but perfectly capable of eating slippery stuff and being able to crack open armored prey like turtles or mollusks.

I know in the past I’ve said I think luna might have had more aquatic ancestors, and while that’s possible, it’s probably more likely that this trend towards aquatic-ness is actually new. I actually brought up the semi-aquatic luna theory to UHC.

I still stand by a few things I’ve said here such as the thick tail partially being due to fat stores and the scales helping with hydrodynamics and the immune system, but I’m not really sure about luna having one set of teeth anymore.

[pissvortex]

I’ve noticed there’s a slight trend of ppl going to the zoo to show apes different pictures and videos. Was actually introduced to the trend by a vid of someone showing an orangutan the WOMBO COMBO SSBB video. As someone studying primates, do you think this has any adverse effects on them? Would you discourage the zoo guests from doing this? I know you said at the sanctuary you worked at, y’all would put on movies for the chimps. But since you were invested and involved in their long term care, I assume the rationale and long term effects are probably different that zoo goers showing apes internet bs on their phones.

the main negative impact seems to be that some gorillas are genuinely getting screen addiction and developing bad socialization habits such as ignoring other gorillas in their enclosure. basically there's no reason for zoo guests to be doing that. it's a lot different if its like occasional enrichment at a sanctuary though.

[specimentality]

…. YIKES. They claim to be “returning captive bred animals to protected wilderness areas and reserves in their native habitats.” But the page is full of inappropriate wildlife interactions, especially ones that would mess up this goal.

THESE SCREAM “RED FLAG” so loud. Also the irony of her saying “reminder, wild animals belong to the wild” in the caption of her kissing the lemur is insane. If you want to release a lion you shouldn’t be sleeping with it and carrying it like that😭 that’s like wildlife rehab 101

@is-the-primate-vid-cute they have a bunch of primate footage that seems inappropriate but I don’t know enough about nonhuman primates so if y’all have input I’d appreciate it

But UGH it’s frustrating that pages like this that showcase inappropriate wildlife interactions (and definitely encourage the wildlife trade despite their claims that they don’t want to) get so much attention :/

[manicpixiedreamjew]

biology/zoology/science/anthro tumblr

I have been trying to find this linnaeus quote and the history behind homo sylvestris as a classification for orangutan, but maybe my searching skills are abysmal bc I can't find any pertinent info

it's unclear if the "orang-outang" is referring to the actual orangutan (altho id assume so bc its in a book about them), but I've also seen chimps referred to as orangutangs (as generic "people of the forest")

does anyone have any idea? maybe @is-the-primate-vid-cute ?

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

scout’s blog gives me the urge to eat ice cream.

The primate vid blog gives me the urge to play Donkey Kong.

Tumblr is going to make me quit my jobs and simply sink into a pile of self care.

[is-the-primate-vid-cute]

https://www.reddit.com/r/AnimalsBeingBros/comments/xo4iho/i_rescued_a_monkey_from_a_lab_now_he_trust_me/

The video has been taken down but this comment alone is enough to confidently rate this situation as cruel. Ethical sanctuaries do not promote this behavior, they do their best to get baby monkeys with appropriate surrogate monkey moms as soon as possible and when an animal is so wholly dependent on a person, that person steps back to no longer impede on the animal's development. This is not ethical professional behavior.

🤔🤨🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮

"I decided to keep him" so he's a pet then.

From another anon:

Um, the op gave an explanation in the comments but I don't believe it. Is it true zoos went take monkeys from labs? And what of Thabo not eating when the op leaves?

🚩No proper sanctuary would ever let someone "keep" an animal. 🚩

Some zoos will take lab animals, some won't. When an animal refuses to eat, that's a huge sign something is wrong mentally or physically. This animal is absolutely not getting a better life just because he's "free from cages". This monkey deserves a proper social life consisting of other macaques, not humans. Sounds like it's the human dependent on the monkey, not the other way around.

[taysanimaladventures]

Happy squeals for some apple!

[geeoharee]

so I went and binged a load of @is-the-primate-vid-cute posts and learned that 'self-attacking' is something monkeys do when they're really stressed out and have no way to deal with it. like usually monkeys that have been kept in bad situations because someone thought a pet monkey would be fun and did not consider whether they were able to offer a fulfilling life to a monkey [do not buy a monkey] [or a parrot]

and this is silly but: it was so nice to learn that our cousins also go "the only fucking thing I can do about this is to bite my own hand!!" because oh my god I did that for years and I haven't even heard about it from other autistic people very much.

hey, fellow apes who are having trouble being in the places they're in! I love you!

[bignosebaby]

hi! same anon lol :) I was wondering how you decided which animals you wanted to specialize in? I absolutely love primates, but I'm trying to decide between lemurs and apes. (and then I get into a vicious cycle where I think maybe I want to work with rhinos or maybe I want to work with elephants or big cats or arctic animals maybe id just rather focus on general conservation where the majority of the work is educating people or doing materials work)

To be honest, narrowing your focus is the last thing to do right now. I love apes with a passion and I have an anthropology degree (a field which has some overlap with ape studies) so I look primarily for jobs in ape conservation, but frankly I am not picky!

Working with primates can be a highly competitive field, and finding paid conservation jobs can be challenging. Caring about a lot of different species and aspects of conservation is a major assets, because it means you have more areas to look for employment. Even if you do decide to focus on a particular species, having experience working in any form of conservation will be an asset on your resume in building transferable skills.

While ape conservation is my dream field, I have been job hunting in environmental policy, national parks, sustainability projects, and communications and marketing. Building a resume and career is a slow process so be an opportunist! Find opportunities, make contacts with people and organizations that do what you want to, and apply for jobs and volunteer opportunities.

Mod E from @is-the-primate-vid-cute set out originally to work with big cats, ended up working with primates by chance, and fell in love with it. Right now they are working with birds of prey- you never know where a career may take you! Loving a lot of things and being passionate about conservation is a great thing, so lean into it and find ways to take that core passion and apply it to opportunities that will get your foot in the door.

[jasvvy]

studying primates and chimpanzees are the fucking nuttiest creatures there’s ever been

>gorilla vid title: gorilla eats cake and is happy >chimpanzee vid title: huge fucking brawl breaks out and everybody is injured, fires break out, poo is slung. 

[magnetothemagnificent]

@is-the-primate-vid-cute , I'm the anon that sent the ask about the thought of a cross between a macaw and a macaque. So, behold.....the Rhesus Macaw, with the intelligence of both a primate and a parrot, and the potential for maximum chaos.

[id in alt text]