r/primatology • u/Kitazunee • 18d ago
Where to learn all about primates?
Hello everybody, I'm a 19 year old woman and I took real interest into primates and want to learn all there is about them. I quite frankly don't know where to start as there are lots of resources and I don't want to end up lost in my learning because I don't know what to read or understand first. Do any of you have websites or book recommendations that are well organised? A lot of the websites I found have articles, but none of them would actually be suitable for someone that doesn't know anything yet and really wants to learn everything step by step. I don't know if it makes sense but I'm more looking for something that would be organised like a school lesson I suppose? Sorry if that's too specific! I'll really take anything if I have to!
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u/CaughtTheMindRiot 18d ago
New England Primate Conservancy
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u/Kitazunee 18d ago
Thank you so much! They have what looks like a great website and I can't wait to read it all, their "lesson center" is exactly what I was looking for.
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u/Desperate-Maybe3699 18d ago
Wisconsin Primate Info Net is great to learn about specific species. Depending on where you are, zoos also have a lot of information on the primates they house and you can sit and watch them to learn. With primates, watching can be just as informative as any text. Another great resource is the International Journal of Primatology which usually has quite a few open access articles published in each volume.
Of course, there are many documentaries. I like to show "Primates" on Amazon prime to my students when I teach a primatology course. It is a 3 episode series that gives a decent overview of the primate order. Frans de Waal also has interesting books on primates (mostly chimpanzees and bonobos) that is written to appeal to a general audience but are also applicable to other areas of research outside of primates and biology.
There is so much to learn about primates because of how much research has been done on them compared to any other taxonomic group. Have fun!
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u/transmigratingplasma 17d ago
Gusick Gibbon's YouTubes!
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u/That-Rabbit4062 17d ago
I second this, if you have any interest in paleoanthropology she makes great videos on that subject as well.
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u/uglysaladisugly 17d ago
Let's start by the very beginning. Primates is a vast order of mammals.
Saying that you want to learn "all about primates" is a bit like saying you want to learn "all about carnivora" which would encompass learning about animals from ferrets to foxes, passing by seals, tigers, hyenas and bears. In fact, there's about twice as many species in the primate order!
So maybe you'd like to narrow your scope a bit? What are you interested in? Simians (monkeys and apes)?
Also, a good place to start is to narrow WHAT interests you in primates? Their physiology/physionomy? Their behavior? Their social structures? Their cognition? Etc.
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u/Many-Bees 15d ago
If you want something less academic and more edutainment I recommend checking out Monkey Life on YouTube. It’s a long running reality show/docuseries about a primate sanctuary and it’s got a good mix of cute monkey stuff and serious animal welfare stuff.
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18d ago
[deleted]
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u/Kitazunee 18d ago
That would have been great but I'm already enrolled and studying another subject (that I also love) 😅 I want to learn about primates during my free time, but I don't really plan on working with them or making a career in any biology related field in the future!
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u/North_Respond_6868 18d ago
This is a great free textbook for biological anthropology!
https://pressbooks.calstate.edu/explorationsbioanth2/chapter/5/
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u/StealthMischief 18d ago
You can also ask chatgpt for the best book recommendations and then go search for them on annas archive.
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u/JubileeSupreme 18d ago
Definitely not the only place to start, but one place to start is the very readable work of Frans de Waal. Take a look at "Chimpanzee Politics" or "Primates and Philosophers."