21 Interesting Ape Facts You Won't Believe

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published December 26, 2024

The fastest way to tell the difference between a monkey and an ape is to look at the tail. Most monkeys have a tail, while apes do not._[4]
One difference between apes and monkeys is that apes have an appendix and monkeys do not._[4]
While there are hundreds of species of monkeys, there are only a few species of apes._[4]
The largest type of apes are gorillas. Mountain gorillas can grow to 6 feet tall and weigh 300 to 485 pounds._[8]

Like chimps, bonobos, and orangutans, gorillas are great apes because of their large size and human-like features

Apes are divided into two categories: 1) great apes (gorillas, bonobos, chimps, and orangutans, and 2) lesser apes (gibbons and siamangs)._[2]
Great apes live in the jungles, mountains, and savannas of Africa and Asia. Lesser apes live in Asia's evergreen tropical rainforests and monsoon forests._[2]
A group of apes is called a tribe or a shrewdness._[7]
Gibbons, a type of ape, are monogamous. Only 3% of the animal kingdom have only one mate at a time._[10]
Humans share about 98% of their DNA with chimpanzees. Chimps are part of the great ape classification._[10]

Chimps are great apes, not monkeys. Along with bonobos, chimps are our closest living relatives, sharing 98.7% of our genetic blueprint

The laughing patterns of human infants match those of great apes, which means that laughter is biologically grounded._[6]
Siamangs, one of the lesser apes, mate for life, and each couple has their own unique song._[9]
April is Ape Awareness Month._[3]
Orangutans are the largest tree-living mammal in the world._[10]

Orangutans are considered great apes, not monkeys

The word "orangutan" in Malay means "person of the forest."_[1]
Apes have tear ducts to keep their eyes lubricated and clean, but they don't cry when they are sad. Instead, they scrunch up their faces and make noises._[10]
Apes can't talk because they don't have the neural control required to control vocal cords._[10]
Orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees are all grouped in the family Hominidae with humans._[5]
Orangutans, chimps, and gorillas have about 6 billion, 5 billion, and 4 billion neurons, respectively. Killer whales and elephants have about 11 billion. Humans have over 20 billion._[10]
All apes have been classified as endangered species._[5]
Gibbons and orangutans spend most of their time in trees; gorillas, chimps, and bonobos live on the ground._[5]
Apes are primates. Primates are mammals that have hair instead of fur, fingernails, opposable thumbs, large brain-to-body size, grasping fingers, fingerprints, depth perception, and a reduced sense of smell._[10]