Monkey (eBook)

Desmond Morris (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2013 | 1. Auflage
224 Seiten
Reaktion Books (Verlag)
978-1-78023-129-7 (ISBN)

Infos

Monkeys populate our culture, from the adorable hijinks of Curious George and the loyal friendship between Aladdin and Abu to the menacing gait of the winged ones in The Wizard of Oz. We visit them in zoos and even sometimes keep them as pets la Catherine de Medici and Michael Jackson. As renowned zoologist Desmond Morris shows, it is not surprising that we are so attracted to them. While we sometimes view monkeys as trivial or comic, their mischievousness is delightful, and their urge to explore and love of activity fascinate us.

Monkey unpacks human attitudes toward these animals, tracing our connection with them throughout history. Morris reveals that our fascination with monkeys extends through many cultures and eras—ancient Egyptians revered baboons, monkey deities featured prominently in ancient Chinese and Japanese religions, and sacred status was given to the langur monkey by some groups in India. He also describes how our relationship with monkeys has changed since Darwin, and even become more troubled—this in-depth knowledge of our own origins amplifies our identification with and concern for the idea of monkeys' primitivism and destructive behaviors. Drawing a vibrant picture of these beguiling animals and their continued popularity with humans, Monkey brings a new understanding to our complicated relationship with the ever-curious George.

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The monkey has remarkable intelligence and adaptibility and has enjoyed a close relationship over millennia with human societies. Monkey deities feature prominently in the ancient religions of India, China, Egypt and Central America. Among peoples of tropical Africa, monkey masks and images are still in use in various ceremonies, dances and rituals. Monkeys are present in the human arts of carving, cartoons and painting, as Desmond Morris explores in this book. Yet numerous species continue to be exploited by humans in ways as various as labouring on coconut farms, performing in many parts of Asia for tourists and in the West in circuses, serving as substitute astronauts in space experiments and working as domestic companions for the disabled.New monkey species are still being discovered, for example the blond capuchin (long thought extinct) in Brazil in 2006, and the Burmese snub-nosed monkey in 2010. But the future is not secure: some species are declining at a frightening rate, and logging and related agribusiness industries daily shrink further their natural habitats. And monkeys are bushmeat in some tropical countries. Morris’s Monkey is the up-to-date appraisal of the past, present and possible future of one of the most inquisitive and playful animals on our planet.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 12.8.2013
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Natur / Ökologie
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Naturführer
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften
• Themenwelt: Technik
• ISBN-10: 1-78023-129-6 / 1780231296
• ISBN-13: 978-1-78023-129-7 / 9781780231297