Remember Monkey Island??

Monkey Island has been a big attraction at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo for decades. After Monkey Island was completed in 1934, the May Company donated 150 monkeys for display.

As the zoo web site says, "Modern zoo animal care standards are quite different. Instead of placing as many monkeys on display as possible, Monkey Island now has an interesting combination of animals co-existing in the exhibit. Featured are the dramatically marked black and white colobus monkeys."

You will also find the deer-like Klipspringers and Rock Hyraxes on the Island.

If you look closely, you will see that several of the monkeys have colorful tails.

This isn't the product of colorful evolution. The tails are marked so the zookeepers can distinguish the monkeys and track their movements and prevent aggressive behavior.

Remember, that the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is free on Mondays for residents of Cuyahoga County.

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Dr. Kristen Lukas